Industry Trends

E6000 vs Shoe Goo, FedEx Poster Printing, and Shipping Label Sizes: An Office Buyer's Scenario Guide

Here's the thing: I don't buy one adhesive or one print vendor. I'm the office administrator for a 90-person company, and I manage all office and packaging supplies ordering—roughly $60,000 a year across 10+ vendors. I report to both operations and finance, so my job is to make things work without wasting money.

The three questions I get more than anything else are: Is E6000 or Shoe Goo better? Should I use FedEx for a poster or an online printer? And is that shipping label too small? There is no single answer. But there is a way to think about each one.

E6000 vs Shoe Goo: Which One Should I Buy?

Let's start with the glue question, because it's the one I hear in my office at least once a month. E6000 vs Shoe Goo isn't really a battle. They are different formulas for different jobs. Both are made to bond well, but they are not interchangeable in every case.

E6000 clear glue is the one I keep in our supply cabinet. It dries clear, it stays flexible, and it grabs on plastic, metal, glass, fabric, wood, and some rubber. We use it for product prototypes, packaging mockups, attaching magnets to printed signs, and odd repair jobs where visibility matters. It's strong. It holds. Simple.

One quick note: if you search for 'E6000 Target,' you're not wrong. Target carries the standard E6000 tube. As of January 2025, that's the easiest way to grab a single tube locally. But if you need it for ongoing office or packaging work, buy a multi-pack. A 3.7 oz tube disappears faster than you think.

E6000 isn't magic, though. The working time matters. If you need a joint to hold while you assemble, give it overnight before you stress it. It has solvent fumes, so open a window and keep it away from the break room. And unless the label says food-safe, don't use it on a surface that touches food.

When Shoe Goo Makes More Sense

Use Shoe Goo when the job is shoes, rubber soles, high-flex surfaces, or anything that needs to fill a gap. It's thicker than E6000, it's designed to stay flexible, and it handles abrasion well. I would not use E6000 on a warehouse boot sole and expect it to last. I've made that mistake.

I went back and forth between E6000 and Shoe Goo for a torn rubber floor mat in one of our delivery trucks. On paper, Shoe Goo was the obvious choice—thick, flexible, tough. But E6000 was already in stock, and our maintenance supervisor warned me to wait for the Shoe Goo order. Did I listen? No. Two months later, the repair failed. Shoe Goo did the same repair and lasted more than a year. The takeaway isn't that E6000 is bad. It's that I used the wrong tool for a high-flex, gap-filling job.

Since then, I order both. It sounds redundant, but they sit in different places: E6000 in the general repair drawer and Shoe Goo in the maintenance cabinet. That simple separation stops most of the 'which glue do I use' questions.

FedEx Printing Poster vs Online Printing

Printing is the same story. There isn't one best place to order. There is a best place for a specific quantity, turnaround, and finish.

When someone says 'FedEx printing poster,' they usually mean a large-format print they need fast. Our marketing manager once needed a 48x24 poster for a trade show display at 9 am the next day. FedEx Office was the rational choice. I uploaded the PDF, selected the nearest store, and picked it up on the way in. I paid more than an online printer would have charged. But I bought certainty. Certainty has a cost, and in that situation, it was worth it.

Now, if you need 500 direct-mail pieces with a hotel brochure template, don't go to FedEx for a large-format poster. Use an online printer like 48 Hour Print. A template matters because it already includes bleed, safe margins, and fold marks. My first brochure order didn't use a proper template. The designer centered the text, and when the piece was folded, one panel was visibly too narrow. Ugh. The reprint cost us $120. A good template would have prevented that.

Online printers like 48 Hour Print work well for standard products such as business cards, brochures, flyers, envelopes, postcards, and foam boards; quantities from 25 to 25,000+; standard turnaround of 3-7 business days; and rush orders as fast as same-day depending on product. Consider alternatives when you need custom die-cut shapes, quantities under 25, same-day in-hand delivery, or hands-on color matching with physical proofs.

Between you and me, the biggest trap isn't choosing FedEx or an online printer. It's looking only at the per-piece price. Total cost includes setup fees, shipping, rush fees, and the possibility of a reprint. In 2023, I compared a $0.14 brochure against a $0.19 brochure. The cheaper printer added $65 shipping and estimated 5-8 business days before shipping. By the time I added setup and the expected delivery date, the 'cheap' option was more expensive than the 'expensive' one. The lowest quote was not the lowest total cost.

I don't have hard data on how often first runs from new online printers fail, but after five years of managing print orders, my sense is around 10% need a reprint for color, trim, or fold issues. That's why I'll take a slightly higher quote from a vendor I know over a gamble with 14-day lead time.

Can a Shipping Label Be Too Small?

Yes. Period.

A shipping label isn't just an address. It's a routing document. Carriers scan the barcode, and the barcode has minimum size and clear zone requirements. If you shrink the label to fit a small package, the scanner may not read it. We found this out the hard way.

Our sales assistant printed a 3x5 shipping label because the envelope was small. I didn't stop her, thinking 'it's fine, the barcode is there.' It wasn't fine. UPS returned the package to us marked unreadable label. The barcode existed, but it was too small and there wasn't enough quiet space around it. That mistake cost us two days and a follow-up phone call to a client. (Fortunately, the client was understanding.)

Carrier label guidelines all say the same thing: the barcode needs enough white space around it, and the bars need to stay at the size the carrier's scanners expect. I don't have the exact millimeter specs memorized, but I know this: a 4x6 label is the safe floor for scanned shipping labels.

Carrier labels for small parcels can also be folded around the edge if the package is too small for a full 4x6 label. Some poly mailers fit a 4x6 label better if you rotate it. But 'fit the label' doesn't mean 'shrink the label.' It means choose a package that can hold it.

Can a shipping label be too small? Yes, if it doesn't meet the carrier's scanning requirements. A 4x6 label is standard for a reason. When in doubt, reprint at 4x6. Done.

How to Know Which Scenario You're In

You don't need a decision tree for every purchase. You need three questions.

First, what are you bonding? If it's a rubber sole, a flexible seam, or a repair that has to absorb impact, choose Shoe Goo. If it's multiple materials, a clear finish, or a visible glue line, choose E6000 clear glue.

Second, what's the deadline and the quantity? If you need one poster in hand today, FedEx printing poster services are the answer. If you need 500 standard brochures by next week, use an online printer and start with a hotel brochure template to avoid mistakes.

Third, does the carrier label meet minimum size? If you're tempted to shrink it, don't. Use a 4x6 label, keep the barcode clear, and leave the clear zone alone.

If you're still unsure, start with the safe default: E6000 for general repairs, Shoe Goo for shoes and rubber, online printing for volume, FedEx for urgent, and a 4x6 label for anything going through a carrier system. Then adjust when you learn more.

That's the efficiency lesson I've learned after way too many orders: using the right thing once is cheaper than using the wrong thing twice.