Any grower who works with MasterTag has the option to print plant labels at their own growing operation using My Print. The online printing tool gives growers the flexibility to make changes to their plant labels on the fly.
“The My Print tool allows you to quickly print the label items MasterTag has created for you or take advantage of some of our other built-in features online,” says Gregg Minnebo, Digital Systems Lead at MasterTag. “It can be really helpful for growers.”
Here’s an example of what the system looks like in practice: A grower has already ordered and received their plant labels, only to find out that they need to make a price change the very next day. If the grower has My Print, they can easily change the price on the label and print them on-site in seconds.
It nips a potential garden center mishap in the bud.
How the My Print System Works
Once growers set up their printer—an Epson 6500, 7500, or 8500—all they have to do is navigate to the label they’d like to print on MasterTag Online. As soon as the feature has been enabled for the grower, a “My Print” button would appear. The grower clicks that button, chooses how many labels they want to print, and the printer takes care of the rest.
“It’s a basic computer-based solution,” Minnebo says. “You don’t need print servers or anything like that, just the printing tools that are already on their PC.”
The process is simple by design, but that simplicity comes with some important trade-offs that growers should understand before committing.
Who Should Use the My Print System
My Print isn’t meant to be a grower’s primary, one-size-fits-all printing solution, and Minnebo is the first to say so.
He recommends the My Print system to all growers, but thinks small- to mid-size growers might see the greatest benifits—he also encourages growers to purchase their labels through the MasterTag Online store for greater efficiencies. Using the My Print system is ideal for an unexpected price change or printing a few hundred labels at a time.
“It’s not the tool to use if you’re planning to do all of your label printing on-site,” he says. “If you do the math, it’s not financially viable. You have to consider what your input costs are.”
From the start, My Print was designed as a solution for growers who need to make last-minute changes, not a total replacement for ordering through MasterTag Online.
If growers are already ordering pre-printed labels from MasterTag, Minnebo says, the My Print system serves as a great supplement if something goes wrong with their original order.
“It’s really helpful if a grower were to come up 100 labels short or there were production issues that damaged some of their labels,” he says. “But if they need 1,000-2,000 more labels, it would be much easier to call us up and place an order or order through MasterTag Online.”
Part of what makes My Print practical for those smaller, last-minute jobs is how straightforward the technical setup is.
The Technical Side of the Printer
When a grower uses the My Print system, they can only print adhesive labels in certain sizes.
In order to print their plant labels on-site, growers can purchase MasterTag’s Ink Jet label rolls which include free print credits or you can buy My Print Credits, which are 2 cents a piece if you haven’t purchased their material. The credits aren’t limited to MasterTag products, either.
“Growers can buy the credits if they’re getting the print material elsewhere and they can print that way,” he says. “Or they can buy the roll of adhesive from us and just print when they’re ready.”
MasterTag can work with label materials outside of its own—even from competitors. The print quality the My Print system has, however, makes the company stand out.
“We’re getting good feedback on the quality of the print based on the artwork we have,” Minnebo says. “The primary reason our customers go with us is because our quality is better. Our QR codes and barcodes are crisper and read better on the scanners.”
Setting Growers Up for Success
Before a grower invests in the My Print system, Minnebo ensures they understand how it works and why it makes sense for them to have.
“The system is pretty easy to set up, but I’ll still get in touch with the grower beforehand,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll even visit them to make sure everything is set up and working correctly.”
Once the system is set up, growers are adequately prepared for any plant label emergency that comes their way. Whether they need 10 labels ASAP or 500, My Print will have their labels printed in minutes—sometimes seconds.
For most growers, My Print will sit quietly in the background until the day they really need it. Growers who want to see the system in action before committing can visit MasterTag at Cultivate’26 in Columbus, Ohio, from July 12-14 at booth 1937.
