What Should Go on an ESL Label to Keep It Simple and Useful?

For retailers swamped with inventory, pricing, and keeping customers happy, a good ESL label isn’t just something to show info—it’s a tool that has to be clear, not a hassle to maintain, and simple to use. The best ones mix only the stuff you need with a no-frills design, so both your staff and shoppers can find what they’re looking for in two seconds.​

Take Highlight’s 2.66-inch ESL labels, for example—they’re built exactly for that “simple and useful” sweet spot. Their dot-matrix EPD screens display text and symbols in sharp black, white, and red, and you can see everything clearly from almost any angle—even if a customer or employee is looking at it sideways. They use Bluetooth 5.0 to hook up smoothly with cloud systems, which means you can update prices, sale signs, or product details for the whole store in seconds. No more scribbling on paper tags or dragging a price gun around the aisles. They’ve got a 5-year battery life and are IPX7 waterproof, so they can handle spills, dust, and daily rough use without needing to be replaced all the time. They support multiple languages—so they fit right in even if your customers are from all over.​

But even the best hardware is useless if the label’s cluttered with junk. So what actually needs to be on an ESL label to make it work? Let’s break it down easy:​

First off, make pricing the top priority. The price needs to be the biggest thing on the label—bold, easy-to-read letters that you can spot from 3 to 5 feet away. A subtle color trick helps too—like red for clearance —to grab attention without making the screen look messy.​

Next up, keep product IDs simple. Throw on a scannable barcode or QR code—this lets your staff check stock or track items with a phone or scanner in a second. Pair that with a short product name (max 2 or 3 lines—no long paragraphs!) so shoppers know right away what they’re looking at. If you’re a chain store, a tiny store-specific code can help with stock checks across locations, but keep it small so it doesn’t get in the way.​

Use icons instead of words for extra details. Don’t type “organic” or “gluten-free”—just slap a little leaf or wheat-free symbol on there. Icons work for everyone, save space, and keep the label clean. Highlight’s ESL labels have up to 6 pages, so you can tuck longer stuff (like ingredients or where the product’s from) on the other pages—just make sure the main screen stays simple.​

And one last thing: add small, handy touches. A tiny LED light that blinks green when updates go through lets your staff know it worked without double-checking.

A great ESL label is one that doesn’t get in the way until you need it. It doesn’t overload you with extra junk, but it has exactly what you need: clear pricing, simple IDs, and tough hardware. Highlight’s ESL labels nail this by keeping things straightforward, proving you don’t need to overcomplicate something to make it useful. For retailers, that’s the goal: a tool that works hard, looks clean, and makes your daily to-do list a little easier.