Plenty of the print you see at launches, weddings, shopfronts and building sites was never sold by the company that printed it. It was sold by a designer, an agency, an event planner or a sign maker, and printed quietly by a trade printer in the background.
That's white label printing. If you've ever turned down a print job because you “don't do print”, this one's for you.
Key takeaways
- White label printing lets you sell print under your own brand while a trade printer produces it.
- You keep the client, the brief and the price. The printer handles production.
- You don't need a printer, a workshop or stock of materials.
- It suits designers, agencies, event planners, wedding decorators, sign makers and contractors.
- Clean, print ready artwork is what keeps white label jobs fast and painless.
What is white label printing?
White label printing is when a printer produces work for another business without putting its own name on it. The business that sold the job presents the finished print to its client as part of its own service.
For example, an event planner designs a backdrop and a welcome sign for a client's party. They order both from a trade printer, the printer produces them unbranded, and the planner hands them over on the night. The client deals with one person from brief to delivery: the planner.
In plain English The printer prints. You keep the client.
How does white label printing work?
It's simpler than most people expect. Here's how a typical job runs with us:
- Your client briefs you. They ask you for a backdrop, a hoarding, a set of signs or a dance floor. You agree the design, the sizes and the price, exactly as you normally would.
- You send us the job. Print ready artwork plus the spec: size, material, finish and quantity. Not sure which material suits? Ask us before you quote your client.
- We check the file. Every file gets an artwork check before it goes near a printer. If something needs fixing, we tell you, not your client.
- We print and finish it in Uxbridge. Printed, cut and finished in house, with no Print Station branding on the product.
- You hand it over as your own work. Collect it from us or ask about delivery across London. Your client gets the finished print and deals only with you.
No press, no ink, no rolls of vinyl in your spare room. Your job is the client and the creative. Ours is the print.
Who uses white label printing?
You don't have to call yourself a print reseller. If print is part of what you deliver, white label printing can work for you.
Graphic designers and freelancers
- supply the print as well as the artwork
- stop sending clients off to another supplier
- keep control of how the final piece looks
Creative and marketing agencies
- launches, activations and retail displays
- printed to your client's brand guidelines
- rollouts across many sites
Event planners and wedding decorators
- backdrops, dance floors and welcome signs
- seating plans and wayfinding
- fast turnaround in event week
Sign makers, contractors and fit out teams
- hoardings and Correx site signs
- interior graphics for builds and refits
- extra capacity when your own kit is busy
Why use a white label printing service?
Sell print without buying a printer
Large format printers, flatbeds and digital cutters take serious money, space and know how. White label printing gives you access to all of it without owning any of it.
Say yes to more jobs
When a client asks for a 3 metre backdrop, a printed hoarding or a wedding dance floor, you can quote it instead of passing it on. More of the project stays with you.
Keep the client relationship
You handle the brief, the artwork, the approvals and the price. Your client never has to deal with a second supplier.
Get specialist kit and experience
Your job runs on professional equipment, with an artwork check before it prints. You can see what we print on in our machines.
Save hours on production
Material prep, printing, cutting and finishing all happen without you. That time goes back into design and selling.
Will my client know who printed their order?
Not from the print itself. We print to your spec with no Print Station branding on the product, so you can supply it to your clients as part of your service.
If packaging, paperwork or how the job is delivered matters to you, mention it when you order. It's always worth agreeing these details with any printer before the job goes ahead.
Pro tip White label doesn't mean pretending you own a factory. It means your client gets one clear point of contact, and that's you.
White label printing vs traditional printing
The print itself is the same. What changes is who the client sees as their supplier.
| Traditional printing | White label printing | |
|---|---|---|
| Who the client orders from | The printer | You |
| Whose name the client sees | The printer's | Yours |
| Who owns the client relationship | The printer | You |
| Who sets the price to the client | The printer | You |
| Who runs the presses | The printer | The printer, behind the scenes |
| Equipment you need | None, you're the buyer | None, you're the brand |
Is it the same as print reselling?
They overlap. A print reseller sells print to their own customers at their own price. White label describes how the printer works for them: quietly, with no branding. Most resellers use white label printers, but you don't have to be a reseller to use one.
Is it the same as unbranded printing?
Unbranded printing is one part of it: no printer name on the product. White label printing is the whole arrangement, where you own the client and the printer handles production.
How do you get white label files right first time?
On a white label job, a file problem lands on your desk, not your client's. Work through this before you send anything:
- Send a print ready PDF. Flattened, with fonts outlined and images embedded.
- Set it up in CMYK. If your file is RGB we can convert it to CMYK, but there is a possibility of colour change. Our guide to CMYK vs RGB explains why.
- Add 3 mm bleed. Keep text and logos inside the safe area so nothing gets trimmed. The full numbers are in our artwork guide.
- Use vector logos. Your client's logo should stay crisp at three metres wide. Here's why vector files matter.
- Check resolution at full size. A photo that looks sharp on screen can look soft on a backdrop. Check it at the finished size, not the thumbnail.
- Confirm the spec in writing. Size, material, finish, quantity and deadline. Clear specs mean no surprises for you or your client.
White label printing with Print Station
We print for creative agencies, event planners, wedding decorators and contractors from our studio in Uxbridge. You send the spec, we print it unbranded, and you get trade pricing on repeat work. That's our white label printing in London, built around trade.
Real jobs from our studio: a printed site hoarding for a Yotel build, and a printed monogram dance floor.
Turnaround you can promise your client
- Standard: 7 to 10 working days for most orders.
- Express: 3 days, for event week orders and quick reprints.
- Super express: 24 to 48 hours for time sensitive jobs. Message us to check capacity.
Big rollouts too
We printed sanitiser totems and sneeze guards for the reopening of 500 Costa Coffee stores, so multi site work doesn't scare us.
What we print for the trade
Popular trade jobs include backdrop printing, printed dance floors, site hoardings, Correx signs and wedding signage. Opening an account is easy: message us on WhatsApp or email with your company name and the kind of work you order.
Grow your print offer without the printer
You bring the client and the creative. We bring the printers, the finishing and the experience, and we stay out of the spotlight. If you're ready to add print to your service, let's talk.
