Hot Stamp Printing: Time to Transform Your Brand

Hot stamp printing is a process whereby an engraved image, hot stamping die or type, is heated and then forced down fronting a part with a marking foil sandwiched in between. It is a dry printing technique of lithography in which pre-dried ink or foils are fronted to a surface at high temperatures.The surface where the die meets the part is where the ink from the foil makes its mark. Though this may be a simplified description of hot stamp printing, it is the basis of the mechanism, and where you need to start.

How Does it Work?

The press-hardenable material heats to over 900 degrees, to an austenite temperature in an oven, during the initial stage of the press line. The material is then transferred quickly to a press, and the part forms while the material is heated. The part then gets a cooling - put in a water-cooled die basin - for some few estimated seconds at the bottom of the stroke. During this process of cooling, the material's grain structure converts from an austenitic state to a martensitic condition.

Why Choosing Hot Stamping?

• Hot stamping can be applied to mark a multitude of different materials, the most common substrate being plastic.

• The most positive part about hot stamping is that it is a dry process. You don't need to have a bunch of degrees in chemistry to operate a hot stamp printing machine as you don't need to bother with mixing inks.

• Hot stamp printing is a long-lasting process. When a component gets printed with a fitly formulated film, it can withstand some very harsh situations. When applying a metal die against a plastic part, you can brand the part at the same time. So, if it happens that the color fades or wears off, the labelled image will remain there.

Advantages of the hot stamping technique

High Tensile Strength.

Some relatively complex parts are produced in a single-step die when applying modern hot stamp printing process. The outcome is a complex, near-net-shape part possessing yield strengths, many times stronger than a mild steel part.

Complex Components

Multi-component assemblies can be re-designed and formed as one element. Hot stamping permits the forming of complex parts in one stroke thereby eliminating some downstream joining processes such as welding.

No Springback

Most probably hot stamping's most significant merit, apart from its strengthening capacity, is its stress-relieving capability that resolves shortcomings with springback and warping. These two present a common problem when forming advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) and high-strength steel (HSS).

Hot Stamp Printing: Utility to Businesses  

Producing business cards, promotional stuff, compelling product packaging, and so on, are essential for the effective promotion of any company. While it may seem plausible to accomplish that by using regular printing methods, there are still other attractive surface techniques that are ideal for producing more compelling surface treatments as well.  The hot stamp printing machine employs foil and fuses the foil material into the surface, ideally on paper to produce a brilliant surface shine that looks professional and stylish.

Conclusion

Hot stamp printing is a permanent process. When you mark a part with a fitly formulated foil, it can withstand some very rough conditions. When applying a metal die on a plastic substrate, you can effectively brand the part at the same time. So, if the color should fade in the course of time, or wear off, the labelled image will remain. Is your business using this printing technique? Share your comments and experiences with foil printing or any alternatives you may be using.

Recycling of Shrink Sleeves Labels: A Positive Future Outlook

Shrink sleeves offer a lot of benefits to brand owners such as label landscape for product promotion, placement of information and scope for creation of decorative packaging. The shortcoming for shrink sleeve labels is, however, recycling. The issue of sustainability and recycling that still continues to muddle the label and packaging industry. This kind of label mandates removal before recycling the pet bottles.

Findings on Sleeve Label Material

Recyclers, nonetheless, have witnessed progress on shrink sleeves. They are working hard to find feasible solutions to difficulties encountered in recycling containers that use shrink sleeve labels. Things are getting much better for the future recyclability of shrink labels. According to the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), a trade group, new label technologies are commercially available from many suppliers.

The challenge that exists now is to drive these technologies into actual commercial use. APR is hopeful about the future of shrink sleeves’ recycling. More and more companies today are creating sleeve label film that is easily separable from the PET bottle at the time of recycling. Historically, sleeve label material has been made from glycol-modified PET or PVC. Both PET and PVC plastics sink in water and mix with PET flake. The development of new polyolefin label by a few of the label manufacturers, however, offers an option for label pieces to float in a separation tank.

Recommendations of the APR

Companies using shrink labels need to follow the recommendations put forth by the APR. It recommends companies to use sleeve labels that remain afloat in water and isolate them from PET flakes in a sink or float material separation step. They also recommend using printed label inks that do not stain PET flakes while washing or rinsing during the recycling process. It is necessary for companies to use an APR guidance document to examine the effect of a label on PET bottle recycling. Moreover, they need to utilize shrink sleeves labels that leave minimum 20 percent of PET bottle surface area open.

Research of the APR in 2013 showed recyclers spending about two to four cents per pound of reprocessed plastic to remove shrink sleeves. The use of these labels registered seven to nine times growth from 2007 to 2013.

The Road Ahead

Brand owners of consumer goods are mindful of sustainability and recycling issues when it comes to shrink labels. They are all set to adopt easily recyclable shrink-sleeve label film. Renowned companies such as Coca Cola shifted to recyclable shrink sleeve material for its holiday orb bottle. The big challenge, however, is the pace at which the companies can push the use of recyclable shrink sleeves label.

Why Unique Wine Labelling is Indispensable for Wine Brands

Will a bad label hamper the sale of a wine? Does a weird color combination on a wine bottle turn off buyers easily? Graphic artists have been working on wine labels for quite some time now, and they know what works best.

Ask an occasional imbiber the kind of wine they prefer and you will get ‘umm’, ‘hmmm’, ‘well’ and all sort of vague and considered replies. While oenophiles may come up with spontaneous responses, the majority of us who are not oenophiles will resort to these vague responses. But, if asked what kind of label one prefers, you are guaranteed to get some surprising replies as if everyone holds a degree in graphic designing. From occasional drinkers to wine enthusiasts, almost everyone cares about the label of the wine they buy, regardless of how the wine tastes. The first impression is the last impression, and that’s why top selling wines have good labels.

Evolving Wine Labels: The Need of the Hour

A wine label is technically the first point of contact between a brand and a customer, so it should be reflective of what’s in the bottle and what separates it from other brands. An attractive wine label can make a good wine more desirable and bad wine salable. Making it on the market boils down to whether the label makes a positive or negative first impression. In recent past, a huge number of wine companies targeting millennials have entered the market, with wine labels and packaging designs that are more animated, modern, and artistic, as compared to the aesthetics of traditional designs. You can, however, still have a unique traditional label and work around it a little to make it attractive and eye-catching. For example, here are some of the coolest wine labels of all time.

1. Antica Terra Pinot Noir Erratica- Rocks always look cool and so does this label.

   2) Big Table Farm wines- Simplicity at its best!

    3) The Tentacle- Red Wine: Tentacles all around the wine, definitely an eye-catching design.

    4) Blackbird Vineyards Contrarian- Surely promises some dark and rich wine inside the bottle.

Growing Potential Customer Base

The young generation of drinkers represents a huge untapped customer base still in the phase of exploring wine options. The young generation ages 18-29 or 19-34, has been a driving force for changing wine label designs and styles. Wine companies around the globe realize the potential of this growing customer base, which is one of the reasons wine labels and packaging have to be more unique and eye-catching these days.

The Way Forward

As you can see, wine labels and packaging have not been immune to trends affecting other consumer goods. The need of the hour for wine companies is to take a leap forward with their labeling and packaging, and realize the potential in millennials’ growing buying power. Also, the growing recognition of the value and increasing influence of the internet on shaping consumer perceptions, wine companies are being compelled to change the way they brand themselves starting with their labels and packaging choices. Considering so many factors, it is important that a wine company creates labels and packaging that have synergy with their brands and target markets. If you are looking for a label printing company for wine labels in Texas, make sure you factor in the quality of it’s previous labels before signing on the dotted lines.

3 Essential Ideas Brewers Should Consider at Beer Events

"As competition in the global beverage market hots up and brand owners look for innovative ways to catch consumers’ attention, the label is emerging as the primary message carrier." Carol Houghton reports.

The beer market is exploding incredibly with almost every state in the US having, at least, one microbrewery. In addition, with so many beers available to the people,  a lot of consumers are making their choice based solely on the beer labels. A lot of reliable researches have reviewed that beer drinkers claim that the glimpse and style of the beer labels can be as important as any other factor. 70% of those surveyed testify that the brand of beer one chooses says a lot about one’s personality. So, as an established brewer, you can utilize this possible niche and leverage this opportunity to boost your business brand through platforms such as  major beer events.

                   

3 Essentials to Boost Your Brand

1. Expand Your Network

As a well-established business, you need to identify the possible and high-yielding niches. If you are looking forward to launching your brand and attract more customers to your batch, then probably it would be a great idea for you to go out there and infiltrate as many beer events as you can. Here, you can get a ridiculous number of customers to try your beers without exerting too much effort. If you own a well-established brewery and want to leverage your market share, you need to be quite selective on the events that you wish to sponsor. Make a list of the top beer events throughout the year, then go out there and brew a shocker.

2. Market Your Brand

You should strive to keep up with competition among a multitude of people and other several people and other breweries. Your goal is to drive them into liking your beer and also keep their memories revived. In so doing, you can be assured that more customers we'll be buying your products later on. At the same time, you need to take note of what your competitors are doing to market themselves and see how you can measure up to them.

3. Choose the Right Style of Beer

Bringing the appropriate beer for the event is one of the most important factors for managing a successful beer event. For instance, if you have been around for a few years, you might as well want to keep the crowd in ecstatic moods by introducing one of your rarest releases. Some people may not be familiar with your other styles, and this will provide a playground for you to showcase the other side of your coin,  and of your breweries.

Recycling of Shrink Sleeves Labels: A Positive Future Outlook

Shrink sleeves offer a lot of benefits to brand owners such as label landscape for product promotion, placement of information and scope for creation of decorative packaging. The shortcoming for shrink sleeve labels is, however, recycling. The issue of sustainability and recycling that still continues to muddle the label and packaging industry. This kind of label mandates removal before recycling the pet bottles.

Findings on Sleeve Label Material Recyclers, nonetheless, have witnessed progress on shrink sleeves. They are working hard to find feasible solutions to difficulties encountered in recycling containers that use shrink sleeve labels. Things are getting much better for the future recyclability of shrink labels. According to the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR), a trade group, new label technologies are commercially available from many suppliers.

The challenge that exists now is to drive these technologies into actual commercial use. APR is hopeful about the future of shrink sleeves’ recycling. More and more companies today are creating sleeve label film that is easily separable from the PET bottle at the time of recycling. Historically, sleeve label material has been made from glycol-modified PET or PVC. Both PET and PVC plastics sink in water and mix with PET flake. The development of new polyolefin label by a few of the label manufacturers, however, offers an option for label pieces to float in a separation tank.

Recommendations of the APR

Companies using shrink labels need to follow the recommendations put forth by the APR. It recommends companies to use sleeve labels that remain afloat in water and isolate them from PET flakes in a sink or float material separation step. They also recommend using printed label inks that do not stain PET flakes while washing or rinsing during the recycling process. It is necessary for companies to use an APR guidance document to examine the effect of a label on PET bottle recycling. Moreover, they need to utilize shrink sleeves labels that leave minimum 20 percent of PET bottle surface area open.

Research of the APR in 2013 showed recyclers spending about two to four cents per pound of reprocessed plastic to remove shrink sleeves. The use of these labels registered seven to nine times growth from 2007 to 2013.

The Road Ahead

Brand owners of consumer goods are mindful of sustainability and recycling issues when it comes to shrink labels. They are all set to adopt easily recyclable shrink-sleeve label film. Renowned companies such as Coca Cola shifted to recyclable shrink sleeve material for its holiday orb bottle. The big challenge, however, is the pace at which the companies can push the use of recyclable shrink sleeves label.

Cold Foil Printing Technology: Enhancing Elegance of Labeling and Packaging

Labels and packages have surfaced as an important marketing tool to reposition and rebrand numerous products. One of the label print and packaging ways that enhance the aesthetic appeal of the final product is cold foil label printing. The process, also known as cold foil stamping, provides a smoother metallic surface and is more suitable for high-end printing processes. The printing process has an efficiency to enhance overall business ROI and reposition the product in a highly competitive market with a new flair. The brief read discusses how label printing technology works and its advantageous for different products. Let’s start.

Cold Foil Label Printing Process

During cold foil label printing process, an image is printed by using a standard printing plate along with the UV-curable cold foil adhesive. UV dryers are used to activate the adhesive. An image is created using the extracted foil affixed to the printed adhesive. The foil spools are further nipped on a surface to form an image, and make the surface bright and attractive.

Advantages of Cold Foil Printing Process

Affordable

Unlike the hot foil label printing, the cold foil label printing technology does not need expensive stamping tools. The process is print receptive, uses affordable printing plates, and is a comparatively faster process as compared to the hot foil process. The absence of dyes reduces the cost and tooling time.

Fast

Stamping tools may need up to two weeks to give results, whereas, with printing plates, it takes less time to form labels. Cold foil printing technology, therefore, has a high delivery rate as compared to the traditional printing process.

High Coverage

The coverage area differs for both hot and cold foil stamping process. Hot foil stamping is a cost-effective process if the foil image is positioned in a small area. Cold foils are ideal for situations when you need moderate or full coverage.

Enhances Visual Representation

As compared to hot foils, cold foil label printing technology can be used for designing more attractive labels. If you want a combination of vibrant colors and attractiveness in the product labels, cold foil printing is an effective way to use different shades and distinguished colors at one place.

Conclusion

Cold foil printing technology has helped label manufacturers meet market expectations and reposition numerous products in the highly competitive market. Cold foil printing is apt to enhance shades, reduce packaging cost and enhance visual representation of products. If you are looking for a cold printing service provider, make sure that they have an excellent market experience and a good track record to manufacture labels and packages.

3-Blunders Made During Packaging FMCG Products

Packaging is a great marketing tool that plays an important role in building brand equity. Even a small mistake in packaging or labeling design may have an impact on the success of your product. A consumer takes less than four seconds to have a glance at any particular product on the shelf. This is why you need to ensure that the product presentation is flawless, or else it may drive away consumers, especially for FMCG products. No matter how good the product is, packages and labels are something that make or break a product. It is, therefore, important to understand and analyze the common mistakes that occur before giving your dream product the final shape. In this write-up, we discuss the three common mistakes that companies make during packaging of FMCG products.

#1. Hiring a Naive Label Manufacturer

Label is the first-line of communication as it provides information about the product such as the ingredients, nutritional facts to the consumers. Many FMCG product manufacturers, however, fail to understand the importance of label and make the mistake of hiring a naïve label printing service provider who is unaware of the current packaging trends. It is, therefore, important to hire a label printing service provider who understands the current trends and uses different label printing technologies such as flexographic or shrink sleeve.

#2. Ignorance about Basic Theme of the Product

A common mistake that may ruin the image of your product is ignoring the basic theme of the product. Before designing the label, it is to know basics such as the purpose of the product and target audience. Labels of food and beverages products, for instance, need to follow guidelines laid down by the state department and provide information about the nutritional facts and ingredients of the product. Failure to consider these factors may have an impact on your product and win the trust of the consumers.

#3. Lack of Innovation

If you plan to stay ahead of your competitors, you need to think out-of-the-box and create something new. It is necessary to take risks and avoid modifying already existing designs available online. Before designing a label for a product, it is necessary to have some brainstorming sessions and create a rough draft of the design to check whether you are doing something different and innovative. The way you label a product creates brand equity and repositions it in a market.

The Way Forward

Hiring a label printing service provider who understands the packaging and labeling trends, informing the designer about the basic theme of a product and asking the designer to come out with uniqueness in label designs are some of the effective ways to create brand equity. Any blunder and ignorance towards packaging dithers a product and marks it down in the market where every single FMCG product manufacturer is struggling hard to create its space.

Selecting a Suitable Label Printing Material: A Concise Guide

The way you label a product has a direct impact on the purchase decisions of your target customers. Labeling and packaging not only protect your products from damage, but also play an important role in developing the image of your brand. A majority of the customers choose products that have shinier and attractive labels before judging the quality or characteristics of the product. Shrink sleeve, cold foil, flexographic are some of the printing technologies used for designing innovative labels. To create that perfect label, however, it is necessary to understand the various labeling materials and their specific uses.
Vinyl

A cost-effective material, vinyl label enhances the physical appearance of a product. Vinyl labels are easy to cut into any shape and use on any product. Clear, white and clear static cling vinyl are three types of vinyl labels you can use, depending on your specific requirements.

Polyethylene

Polyethylene is durable, pliable and suited for products that need better stretch resistance. It easily adheres to curved surfaces and, therefore, considered an appropriate for packaging food, pharmaceutical and FMCG products.

Paper

Commonly used for promotions, barcodes, paper labels can also be used on the product directly. Paper labels offer good value for money and have different finishes that provide additional protection and add to the appeal of the labels.  

Polypropylene

Polypropylene is waterproof, moisture resistant, tear proof and durable, which makes it ideal for labeling shower gels and other health and beauty products. White and clear polypropylene are the two of the most commonly used types of polypropylene labels.

Polyester

One of the most commonly used labeling material, polyester labels are appropriate for all types of applications such as product identification and asset labels for many products. Polyester labels also provide high durability and excellent resistance to temperature and chemicals. 

Conclusion

 

The product label you use delivers your sales message, and so it is necessary to choose the right labeling material. The right labeling material enhances the durability and aesthetics of your products. Lastly, in addition to choosing the right material and design, it is imperative to ensure the label printing company you select has proven competence, and substantial experience in delivering on the specific printing requirements of your industry. 

4 Tips to Devise an Effective Labelling Strategy

As packaging and labelling are the first thing that your consumers notice, devising an effective labelling strategy, be it for automotive labels, wine labels, or any other product, is indispensable. It helps you promote your brand effectively and acquire more clients. Being a small business, however, you may only have limited resources. In order to compete with leading brands, you need to utilize your available resources in the most optimal manner. This is possible with a comprehensive and well pondered label development plan, as it helps you increase your market presence, and makes it easier for your labelling company to better understand your requirements. Here are 4 tips to achieve this. 

Customize Your Message

Your product label has the power to promote your brand, however, it is not just meant to create a captivating shelf presence. The message you are trying to deliver is no less vital. While compliance authorities may require certain pieces of information such as product name, ingredients, net weight, as musts on the label, there are elements beyond these details your customers may like to read. The way forward is to research the trends in your industry, and find out what customers are looking for, and include it in your label development plan. 

Give Equal Importance to Your Container

Though the label is for the consumer, before he is influenced by it, the label has to fit the container first. In order to achieve optimal marketing promotional results, you need to give equal importance to the container of your product. Consider every element such as the shape, size, width, length, and the material of the container, and then choose your labelling options. Remember, the container should match your product’s overall design in a way that the label and the container look as if made for each other. 

Consider the Environment 

As different kinds of labels are meant for different types of environments, considering this aspect is crucial for every manufacturer. It is important from both the design and the functional standpoint of the label. Shrink sleeve labels, for example, are moisture and abrasion resistant, besides offering a 360 degree billboard graphics on contoured containers to increase the shelf presence. Given this, the material and printing process play a vital role in influencing the aesthetic value of any label and its use under different environments. 

Chose the Label’s Size and Shape First

Deciding the shape and size of your label before its designing is really important, as your labels may shrink the designs when they are ready. This is the reason it is wise to avoid complex designs. The planning phase of your labelling strategy should discuss the label’s shape and size beforehand to avoid any mistakes, and get optimal results. 

The Bottom Line

Hiring a label designer is a cost effective way to ensure that your labels deliver a stellar performance, while being cost effective. All that is important here is that you seek a person who is professional and has years of experience in providing solutions that match your business. At the same time, forget not to research well before hiring a printing company. The best companies offer a price quote, and are ready to offer solutions that specifically tailor to your business needs. 

Learn the Right way to Choose a Label Printing Solution

Whether or not you are making heavy investment on your product’s advertising, if you are not branding it correctly, there is a good chance that you might probably fail to attract potential customers. As they say, ‘first impression is the last impression’, if your product fails to make that first impression in front of your potential consumers, you are probably missing a huge chunk of revenue from product sales.  Time and again, market has witnessed failure of many manufacturers even before they started—failure to create the first impression being primary reason. 

When we talk about first impression, product labeling is the most effective and practical tool to drive consumers towards the product. No doubt there is no dearth of label printing solutions in the market, but choosing the right one is major concern. In this brief read we have discussed factors you need to consider before making the choice.

Factors to Consider

Your labels on your products are not just stickers, they are lot more than that. Labels are important to name your product and let the world know what the packaging has to offer. To send the right message to your consumers and to make a lasting impact, a lacklustre label is not going to work. You need a smart label solution that is applicable to your product’s container. Here are the 4 features to help you pick the right label.

Application

It is important to take note of the type of material and shape of your product’s container as not all labels available in the market are compatible with all kind of materials. As opposed to stretched labels, shrink sleeve labels are more flexible and thus compatibility with almost all types of material and sizes. Also consider the environment in which your product will be used. Most labels will apply smoothly at room temperature, however, same labels may not behave the same in extreme heat conditions.

Appearance

The key role of label is to enhance on-shelf visual appeal of the product without having to compromise with the information provided on the label. Having said that, different products have different appearance requirements, for example the kind of printing used on label packaging for food products may not be suitable for pharmaceuticals.

Labeling Types

Whether you want the whole product container covered under label or just a part of it, is another essential factor to choose the right label packaging. Considering the market trend, shrink sleeve label is the most preferred choice among numerous marketers as the label provides full coverage irrespective of the size or shape of the container.

Cost-effectiveness

The cost incurred is of course a key factor to choosing type of label. You will find many label printing solutions providers promising cheap cost, but don’t get lured by cheap prices for they might compromise the quality.

Bottom-line

Choosing the right label for any product is necessary to give it a brand identity and social acceptability. Always choose a credible label printing solutions provider who helps you choose the right label printing solution for your product.

5 Labelling Strategies for Hot Sauce Labels

Designs of food labels for products such as sauces should be in a way that they serve two purposes: create an impactful shelf presence, and comply with FDA regulations and standards. In fact, as packaging for most sauces are in a similar way: a bottle or a pouch, customizing food labels is the only way to differentiate your brand from the rest of the players. Here are five labeling strategies to help your product carve a niche of its own.

Let the Label Speak for Your Brand

As you aren’t the only manufacturer selling the same flavor of sauce in the market, you need to design a label that speaks specifically for your brand. You need to be as creative as possible, and better hire a professional artwork designer, besides seeking a good food label printing company.

Make Maximum Use of Your Label’s Shape

The shape of a label determines everything from how much artwork it allows to how it tunes with the shape of the sauce bottle. Rectangle shaped labels, for example, offer the maximum space for artwork. Oval, round, and other customized labels, on the other hand, make your sauce visually appealing to the customers. The primary focus in the design should be to use the maximum space on your labels, without making the content too cluttered, and complement it with the right artwork.

Carefully Select the Label Material

As a business, you would always want a hot sauce food label that is versatile, durable, and economical. At the same time, you also need a  design that instantly catches the attention of your consumers. One popular material prominent these days in terms of shelf look is semi-gloss paper. Other label materials include metalized silver paper, clear film, glossy white labels, and matte white labels.

Add a Unique Touch to Your Label

Endless ways such as spot UV coatings and cold foil stamping are there to detail your labels in an interesting manner and make your product stand apart in the market. Whether it is a label shape that you think would work, or an eye-catching artwork, always opt for ways that go with your brand and add a unique touch to it, so that customers are unable to forget it for a long time.

Make Your Label Useful with a Gift Tag

Sauces are one of those products most people don’t mind adding to their gift baskets. A nice gift tag, therefore, imprinted on a particular line of your sauce food labels can help you promote it. It is a great strategy to increase your sales during the holidays or some festive season when people are prepared to spend more than the usual.

Conclusion

It would, therefore, be correct to say that packaging in these days is precisely an art and labeling its integral part. It is not just about placing your product in a nice bottle or jar, but also making it worth the attention it requires to bump your sales figures. Food labels such as for sauce, therefore, need to be created with artworks and content that work in the market. A professional printing company can help you turn your dream creating an effective label into reality while maintaining the required standards and precautions that fall under the FDA.

Parameters to Consider Before Hiring a Flexographic Label Printing Company

Designing and printing play a key role in an organization’s growth. Whether you own a food company or a pharmaceutical, proper product labeling not only helps you in business promotion, but also in building a brand. Furthermore, well designed and good quality printed labels represent your high corporate standard, which in turn attracts more audience and in turn increases your conversion and sales.

While some companies make a smart choice of advanced printing technologies such as flexographic label printing, others are still struggling to make a mark in the highly competitive market. If you had been ignoring this essential business aspect for a while, it is about time that you found a finest printing and designing company among available options, for your unique printing and designing needs. Below are some key factors that you should keep in mind when hiring a label printing company.

Work Quality

When hiring a printing company, it is important to know about their work quality. You can ask them to show some printing samples, ask them about the ink type and the types of printing techniques they use for printing. While inspecting the samples offered, look for label printing quality as well as the image quality i.e. hazy or clear? Low cost printing packages offered by the printing company is not always a good idea. The reality behind the low cost can prove a wrong decision, as the product printed are not up to standard which will reflect your brand badly. More often than not, cheap price means cheap quality, as printing company uses cheap ink and substrate to offer label printing. We suggest you to select a company that may be a bit more expensive but offers value for money in the form of prime quality work.

Company’s Reputation

Next important factor to consider when hiring a printing company is its reputation. If a company has global status or is popular in the local market, then definitely the company is offering quality work. To ensure the quality services of a particular company, you can also review their website, client list, and years of experience. You can also scan their social media image on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media websites to know their online presence and what people have to say about them. Having said that, sometimes even the start-up printing companies offer quality printing services at reasonable prices. All you need to do is explore your options well, compare services, and make an informed decision.

Level of Customer Service Offered

It is important to ensure the company you are about to hire is trustworthy and offers you quality services with comprehensive client management skills and effective communication. It is always efficient and cost effective proposition to choose a company that can manage your entire project ranging from designing, printing, finishing, binding, to storage as well as guide you at every step indicating what is good and beneficial for your company’s labeling project. some other factors that you can include in your inspection kitty is to visit company’s premises, investigate printer’s green footprint and know the right printing technique for your job.

Conclusion

A quality label printing is a prerequisite for companies to establish as a brand and build long term relationship with their customers. Hope these factors help you identify a good, design, printing and packaging company from among the clutter. Once you have identified the company, carrying a good relationship with your working partner will potentially enable you to get better services in long term such as great offers, discounts, faster turnaround and personal attention to your work.

Flexographic Label Printing for Food Products Packaging

Flexography is an advanced printing process, which uses a flexible relief plate for printing labels on batches of product packaging. It is an advanced form of letterpress printing compatible with almost all types of substrates, including plastic, cellophane, paper and metallic film. Today, flexographic label printing is used extensively for printing non-porous substrates required for various types of food packaging. The reason why it is such a favorite is because it can print batches of products packages in one go without compromising on the quality of the print.

Flexography is also widely used because of its wide range of ink types, most of which require very little or no drying time. Its water base makes it beneficial for printing on a range of different materials like plastic, acetate, brown paper, foil and the like. Flexography churns out large rolls of material that is then split to the required finished size by slitting machines.

Benefits for Food Packaging 

Flexography offers numerous benefits over other types of reproduction technologies available in the market. This is especially true when we talk about labeling of food product packaging. For companies manufacturing food related products, flexographic label printing offers the perfect balance of stability, reliability, and safety. Labeling is also crucial aspect of packaging for all food manufacturing entities. 

As there are various government regulations that require food manufacturing companies to package their products in containers printed with ink that doesn't wear off, flake, deface or otherwise degrade. Apart from these challenges, there are also various other challenge such as choosing a technology that is compatible with the type of material used for product packaging. Most of the food packaging comprise plastic, cellophane or non-porous materials to which traditional printing processes using traditional inks do not adhere easily. 

Flexographic label printing, on the other hand, adheres to the surface without the risk of corrosion or compromised safety to consumers. In addition, considering the versatility of the technology and its capability to print batches of product packages with just one template, it is a cost-effective choice for food industries. 

There are definitely several other advantages of flexographic label printing that makes it an ideal choice for a commercial application such as food packaging. However, when choosing a service provider, always ask for sample labels that the company has produced in the past and ensure that the company adheres to all labeling guidelines stipulated under food label laws. 

Summary: Labeling food products requires a high quality printing technology that complies with guidelines stipulated under food and safety act of a particular state and also appeals to the targeted market. This is the reason flexographic label printing is gaining importance in food product labeling industry as it not only saves time, but money as the ink dries up fast and is capable of printing continuous patterns.