The total cost of label production is determined by three key factors: quality, cost, and productivity. These must not be considered in isolation from each other, which nevertheless occurs due to the complexity in practice. While clear ideas exist regarding the achievable quality and costs of a label printing machine prior to any investment decision, productivity in consideration of the process variability often receives too little attention when making a purchase decision. The question is: How big is the influence of this criterion on the total operating costs?