A product label printing and checking system, comprising data processing means configured to: control the printing of product labels; control the acquisition and reception of images of the printed labels by an image acquisition device such as an optical scanner; and check the printed labels for defects, wherein each printed label accords with a label format specification for that label, whereby the label has a common layout and comprises printed product-related information located in one or more regions on the label, wherein the data processing means includes a label checking module in which there is provided a reference image of the label, and the checking module is configured so that the acquired images are sequentially compared against the reference image according to pre-determined quality control indicators relating to the expected information content and location in the label regions, and wherein the label is flagged for review or rejection if it is non-compliant. The label format specification may be determined and/or stored before a print run, in the form of an accessible file. This may then be retrieved by the label printing and checking system before a print run using that label format. In an aspect of the invention the label format specification may be used to provide instructions to be sent to a printer for the printing of each label. The reference image and its associated inspection mask may thus be configured in real time by assembling specifications for label region location, region information and inspection tool, and optionally inspection tool parameters.