My Custom Label Order is Incorrect or Defective. What can I do?

My Custom Label Order is Incorrect or Defective. What can I do?

Please contact Primera Technical Support to troubleshoot this problem and possibly request a redo of your label stock. You and Primera Support can use this guide to determine the cause and find a solution. 

First, we must determine if the stock is indeed defective. It could be a problem with your print file or the printer.   It may be a problem with the stock but could also be a known limitation of the label stock (Example: Unable to scratch stock when it is wet or some stocks are not waterproof). We need to troubleshoot to find the cause. 

Things we need:

1. We need Pictures. Send pictures of the new stock with measurements if applicable. Send pictures of the older, correctly made stock if this is not the first order.

2. We need the print file for testing if there is a quality problem.

3. Send any supporting documents such as  Label Proof that would have been approved before purchasing in some cases or documents/pictures that would have been sent to the custom label agent during the ordering process.

Questions to Ask:

1. Did you test the material they are using before purchasing? (Did we send blank or printed samples) How do they compare? If it worked before, but not now, the stock is probably defective.
2. Is the material exposed to water, heat, cold, chemicals, odors, sunshine, or other UV light? Does that exposure exceed our claims for durability?
3. Does the same print work on different rolls of the same material? (Past orders, different rolls from the same order). Test all the label stock. In some cases, not all of it may be defective. We would only need to redo the defective rolls, and you can keep what is working.

Examples of Obvious Physical Defects

  1. Incorrect Custom Size Shape or Number of labels across. 
  2. Incorrect Core Size.
  3. It was perforated when it should not be or vice versa.
  4. Perorations occasionally go through the label.
  5. The printed Black Mark is missing or incorrect.
  6. Print Quality Issues. This same label stock worked before, but now it doesn't. This is usually water-related. The labels didn't bleed before when contacting labels, but now this latest roll(s) does bleed.
  7. Adhesive issues. It was sticking to the container using labels from a previous order, but now it is not.
  8. The printable surface is scratched.
  9. The printable surface is partially and occasionally missing (Ink does not dry in these areas)
  10. Sticky Top Surface. Labels Sticking to each other when the slack loop is being created

Options for Resolution


1. Replace Stock Custom Labels - RMA 27 - If your label stock is clearly defective or the size/shape doesn't match what was ordered, contact Support to start the redo process. Depending on the issue, we may want to see some or all of the defective stock before rerunning it. Our converter may need to determine the problem so they don't repeat it. If we can't determine if it is defective or incorrect from photos, we may ask for all or some of the labels to be sent back for analysis. 

2. Return the label stock for a Refund. We may not have any label stock that will fit your needs so you'll need to return what was ordered.   Since custom labels are not normally returnable, this refund will need approval from management. Contact support to start this process.

3. Order the correct type of stock. Sometimes the wrong type of label stock was ordered for the intended application. There is nothing wrong with the label stock it just wasn't designed to do what you require. We didn't do a good job setting your expectations. We can send samples of other stock types that might be better suited to your application. This article explains all the options we have for custom labels. Examples of this:
  1. Label stock not sticking to container in extreme conditions – Try testing "Super Sticky" Label Stock.
  2. Bleeding, Blooming, Running Smearing Ink. 
  3. Not water resistant enough. Some stock does not print as well as others or hold up to water as well. This is why the more expensive stocks are more expensive. Extreme Matte BOPP and Extreme Poly will always print the best and hold up to water the best. Vintage, Kraft, and Matte Paper will never look as good as Extreme stock or hold up as well after water contact.
  4. Application/Use/Storage Environment.  For example oils or chemicals in the product are causing the labels to run. Odors in the air are affecting the label. Handling/Application process, procedure, or timing is affecting the label. UV light exposure is causing stock to fade. In these cases exchanging the stock would not fix the underlying problem so if none of our stocks will work in this environment the environment would need to change. We recommend testing in the storage and use environment with sample labels we sent BEFORE purchasing custom stock.  

Other Situations:

Wrong Core. If the labels were run on the run size core, we can fix this faster without rerunning the labels. Contact Support to start the exchange process.   We will setup an RMA-31 to either reroll these at Primera or forward them to our converter if we don't have the proper core size. If it is just a few labels you may be able to reroll the labels yourself. We can send you the correct cores. This is only possible if you are going from the smaller core size to the larger core size. We have the ability to make any larger core size (3" I.D.) and send it to you. Follow this procedure.

Sticky Top Surface.
 If the top surface has leftover adhesive from the die cut, it can cause feeding problems in the printer. A redo is not always necessary. Our converter can fix these rolls for you. Contact support to start this process. You may also be able to fix it yourself if you follow this article

Missing Black Mark. Our converter can usually add black Marks to any label material after it has already been created. 


Article ID: 091522