Price gun label sizes and compatibility explained

Ever bought a sleeve of labels that wouldn't feed through your gun? Price gun labels have to match the gun on two counts: the label dimensions and the number of print lines. One-line guns take shorter labels, two-line guns take taller ones, and the exact size lives in your gun's manual or molded near the label door. Match those numbers and any roll feeds fine.

Labels are cheap; a case of wrong labels isn't. Five minutes of checking beats a shelf of sleeves you can't use.

How are price gun labels measured?

By width and height, usually in millimeters. A common single-line size runs about 26mm wide by 12mm tall, and common two-line labels are the same width but taller, around 16mm, to fit the second row of print. Rolls are sold with a set count of labels each and packed in sleeves of several rolls.

Width is about fitting the gun's cradle and feed path. Height is about the line count. A short label through a two-line gun leaves the second line printing off the edge, and a tall label through a one-line gun feeds badly or wastes half its face. The gun and the label are a matched pair; treat them that way.

One buying note: when you compare suppliers, compare by label count rather than by roll, because rolls are wound to different counts. The cheaper-looking sleeve sometimes holds fewer labels.

One-line vs. two-line guns: what's the difference?

A one-line gun prints a single row of characters, which for most stores means the price and nothing else. That covers the everyday job: mark the case, stock the shelf.

A two-line gun prints a second row, which stores use for a date, a unit price, or a stock-keeping unit (SKU), the code that identifies the exact product. Date coding is handy for rotating perishables, and a SKU line helps when the register and the shelf need to agree about which item is which.

My honest advice for a small store: buy the two-line only if you'll actually use the second line. An unused second line is just a taller label at a higher price, forever.

How do I know which labels my gun takes?

Check three places, in order of effort. The manual states the label size outright. The gun itself often has the size molded into the plastic near the label door or printed on a sticker. And if both have vanished into history, measure a leftover label: width, height, and count the character positions on the print band.

When you switch brands at the same stated size, buy one sleeve first and run a roll through. Feed spacing differs slightly between makers, and a test roll tells you in two minutes what a case would tell you expensively.

Which adhesive should you pick?

Permanent adhesive is the default and the right answer for most shelf goods; the label stays put until someone peels it with intent. Removable adhesive comes off cleanly, which suits glassware, gift items, and anything a customer will resent scraping. Freezer-grade adhesive is made to grip in the cold, because standard labels let go inside a cooler or freezer case.

Colors do a job too. White is the everyday workhorse, and fluorescent labels pull eyes toward markdowns and specials. A bright orange label on a clearance endcap does more than a sign twice its size.

Labels, rollers, and the guns themselves are stocked in the label guns category, with the rest of the counter kit in store supplies.