Sheets win on flexibility and lose on unit cost. Rolls win on automation and lose on minimum quantity. The crossover is a specific number, not a matter of taste.
A4 sheets run through an ordinary office laser or inkjet printer. No applicator, no die, no minimum run beyond the pack size. They are the right answer for samples, short promotional runs, test batches and any label a person applies by hand.
Labour. One person applying 500 labels by hand is an afternoon; a semi-automatic applicator does it in minutes. Once a label is applied more than a few hundred times a month, the labour cost overtakes the material saving within a quarter.
A die, a plate if there is print, and a minimum run. That setup is what makes low volumes expensive on roll stock — not the paper. It amortises away as quantity rises, which is why the crossover point moves with the label size and the number of colours.
Not quantity alone — application method. If the label goes on by hand, sheets stay competitive far longer than people expect. If it goes through an applicator, rolls win from the first thousand.
Most of our customers do. Sheets for samples and short runs, rolls for production, cut from the same master so the colour and the adhesive match between the two.