Barcode Label Sizes and the Ribbon Each One Needs

Start from the label, not the printer. The label's width, measured across the roll, decides which printer class you need (2-inch, 4-inch or 6-inch) and which ribbon width to order: at least as wide as the label, usually a few millimetres wider, never narrower. The label's length along the feed, plus the gap between labels, decides how many labels one ribbon roll prints.

Sizes are written width × length in millimetres, with the width measured across the label as it feeds. This guide goes from label to ribbon. For a ribbon size by printer model, use the ribbon size chart. For how to measure a label and why width matters, read how to choose ribbon width and length.

Only a few label sizes are named by a carrier or a standards body. The rest are simply commonly used.

100 × 150 mm (4 × 6 inch) is the commonly used shipping label. The GS1 Logistic Label Guideline names A6 (105 × 148 mm) or 4 × 6 inch for compact logistic labels that carry the SSCC and limited extra data. In millimetres it is usually written 100 × 150, a rounded figure for 101.6 × 152.4 mm, so measure the label on your own roll.

A5 (148 × 210 mm) is GS1's larger logistic label, suited to pallet labels and labels with more trade-item data. The guideline also says the label may be any size, so treat A6 and A5 as the two sizes that meet most users' needs, not as a rule.

100 × 100, 100 × 50, 75 × 50, 50 × 25 and 38 × 25 mm are commonly used sizes for carton, product, shelf and small-item labels. They are not a standard. Label makers cut many other sizes, so always measure the label you actually buy.

The printhead's width caps the widest label a printer can print. Three classes cover the sizes above.

So 100 × 150, 100 × 100, 100 × 50 and 75 × 50 mm labels need a 4-inch printer. 50 × 25 and 38 × 25 mm labels fit a 2-inch printer, or a 4-inch printer with a narrower ribbon. A 148 mm wide A5 label needs a 6-inch printer. Codewell slits ribbon up to 160 mm wide, so labels up to about 155 mm wide can still have a ribbon a few millimetres wider.

One edge case: GS1's A6 label is 105 mm wide, just over the 104 mm print width of the 4-inch printers above. Check your printer's maximum print width and media width before you order A6 stock.

The rule is the same for every size: the ribbon must be at least as wide as the label, and usually a few millimetres wider, never narrower. Zebra's manuals give the printhead as the reason, since a ribbon at least as wide as the media protects it. A narrower ribbon lets the label edge rub the head and leaves the edge of the label unprinted. A ribbon much wider than the label wastes the width that is never used, so you do not need the printer's full width for a narrow label.

Two small-label cases need care. First, check the printer's own ribbon-width range. The Godex RT200i, a 2-inch printer, lists ribbon of 56–59 mm, so even a 38 mm label on it takes a ribbon in that range. On a 4-inch Zebra ZT411 the listed minimum is 51 mm, so a 50 × 25 mm label there takes a ribbon of about 55 mm rather than 110 mm.

Second, label guides matter more on narrow labels. A label that wanders sideways by 2 mm leaves little margin on a ribbon only 4 mm wider than it. Set the guides snug.

Codewell slits custom widths from 25 to 160 mm, so every width in the table above can be cut to order.

The core is a property of the printer, not of the label. As a guide:

Some desktops take either core, for example the Honeywell PC42t Plus (½-inch up to 75 m, 1-inch up to 300 m). Check your manual or the roll that already works in the printer. Codewell supplies ½-inch and 1-inch cores, with notched cores available, wound inside or outside. The ribbon size chart lists core and winding for each model.

Labels per roll = roll length ÷ (label length + gap), with everything in millimetres. The label length is the dimension along the feed. The gap is the space between one label and the next; about 3 mm is common, but measure yours.

Worked examples, each with a 3 mm gap:

1. 100 × 150 mm labels on a 300 m roll: 300,000 ÷ (150 + 3) = about 1,960 labels.
2. 100 × 50 mm labels on a 300 m roll: 300,000 ÷ (50 + 3) = about 5,660 labels.
3. 50 × 25 mm labels on a 110 m roll: 110,000 ÷ (25 + 3) = about 3,928 labels.

Treat these as the cautious figure. They assume the ribbon moves one full label length plus gap for every label. The simpler sum, roll length ÷ label length, gives 2,000 labels for 300 m of 150 mm labels, a 2% difference. On a 25 mm label, ignoring a 3 mm gap overstates the result by 12%. A printer with a ribbon-saving setting may do better than the table. Round down to whole labels.

Longer rolls mean fewer changeovers, but the roll has to fit your printer: a ½-inch core desktop takes a short roll, an industrial printer takes up to 450 m or more. Within that limit, match the roll to how fast you use it. Zebra's ribbon data sheets give about one year as the expected shelf life, stored at around 22°C and 50% relative humidity, so on a slow line a shorter roll avoids ribbon sitting past its date. Storage advice is in ribbon storage tips. Codewell slits lengths from 50 to 600 m.

Send five things: the label width and length in millimetres and the gap; the label material (see which ribbon for which label material); the printer model; the core size and winding if you know them, or a photo of the last roll; and what the label must survive. Codewell names the grade and the size, and sends a free sample roll to test. There is no minimum order on standard sizes, standard sizes are dispatched the same day, and delivery is free across India. Try the ribbon selector for a starting grade.

Codewell sells ribbon only, not labels, printers or printheads, so the ribbon is sized to the labels you already buy.

Sources: GS1 Logistic Label Guideline, Release 1.3 (July 2019), section 7; Zebra, Honeywell and Godex printer specifications and manuals for the models named above; Zebra ribbon data sheets.