There are variety of thermal printers on the market. Some printers do require a notch or hole between the labels for sensing each label (e.g. Dymo and Brother printers have special requirements). For example, Dymo brand printers typically require an oblong hole between each label. You would need to purchase our labels compatible with Dymo printers if you require the oblong hole between the labels. You can find a list of our Dymo printer compatible products at https://www.onlinelabels.com/dy-cross-ref.htm. This product (RL989RD) does not have a hole or notch between the labels. These labels are commonly used in Zebra thermal printers or thermal printers which use the gap between the labels for sensing each label.