Posted by Star Label on | Comments Off on Custom Digital Labels and Your Application
The Many Uses of a Custom Digital Label
Consumer product labels need to entice customers with attractive graphics while complying with information and disclaimer requirements from regulatory agencies. As such, companies must have control over the labeling process—especially if the business offers a wide range of specialty products. A custom digital label provides the level of design flexibility and control necessary to create appealing labels that comply with local, federal, and/or international regulations.
Modern printing technologies and materials let you harness virtually all PANTONE® colors for product marketing. Digital templates and version control also let you print small runs of labels so your products are compliant in every state and after every regulatory change.
Great labels are essential for every industry. The following specialty industries see immense benefits from custom digital labels.
Cannabis Labels
If there’s any sector that’s hard to put a label on,it’s the cannabis industry. Every state with decriminalization, medical, or recreational legalization laws on the books also has a lot of fine-print that producers must navigate successfully. At a bare minimum, the product labels on cannabis products need to include:
Marijuana strain name
Net weight in grams
Percentages of THC and CBD
The lab name, test confirmation number, and the date of testing
Different states and products come with additional labeling requirements and cannabis producers need different runs of labels for each one. Because of the track and trace requirement, these businesses must also produce small batches of labels per shipment of unprocessed materials. Digital printing can cut down on the cost of small or changing label prints.
Labels provide more than the technical details, however. Your company needs to cultivate a loyal following for your brand. Some companies use flashy graphics while others offer helpful information for first-time consumers. Digital labels can support a wide variety of marketing methodologies.
Safety is another consideration for consumable and medical cannabis labels. While users have a responsibility to keep what they buy safely out of unauthorized hands, your company may have some degree of product liability without proper warnings and safety measure in place. Suppliers can opt for labels that are tamper-evident and child-proof for product containers, mitigating some of the risks.
Cosmetic Label Printing
Cosmetics come in all shapes and sizes, socosmetic labels need to do the same thing. Nail polish bottles are often designed with vivid colors on the clear label material. Lipsticks need clear color designations and codes on the bottom of each tube. With digital labels for cosmetics, your company can control everything from the materials to the glossiness of the finish on product packaging.
Cosmetics often need to sell themselves as a luxury good. This requires great branding, quality components, and appealing visual experience. Also, every cosmetic product needs to market itself as something unique that stands out from its competitors. Custom cosmetic labels let your team control:
The shape. Cosmetic goods come in a wide array of containers. The labels often need to cleanly wrap around a container. Other fronts- and back-facing labels should mirror the outline of the container’s shape.
Adhesion. Many labels need to stick directly onto cosmetic containers and need to last the lifetime of the product. Other labels may have tamper-evident features.
Regulatory requirements. Many cosmetics toe the line between pharmaceutical and consumable products. Their labels need to include details such as ingredients, directions, and safety cautions and warnings. Make sure all labels say what they need to according to state, federal, and industrial requirements. Organic and fair trade products carry their own labeling considerations.
Once the label is printed on our digital printer, make it pop with a high-gloss or matte finish. Additional embellishment techniques are available as well. Cosmetics are a highly competitive industry, and goods could be fighting for shelf space with competitors that look nearly identical. Every detail matters and every detail is delivered with custom digital labels.
Craft Beer Labels
There’s not much room on beer cans and bottles, butcraft brewers need to use this space optimally to feature their brands. Our graphics teams can help you make the most of the space with high-contrast fonts, graphics, and color choices. Digital printing software also lets you fine-tune details down to the last pixel. When your labels are ready to print, our high-quality digital printers make sure the labels are just as crisp as the beer.
Beer cans
We can print your beverage labels on optically clear material, which creates a “no-label-look”, making it appear like the graphics are printed directly onto the can. We also offer digital printing services with a wide range of colors to support labels that stand out in the craft beer market.
Our digital print runs also come in custom order sizes so you can test new beers, seasonal productions, and support other niche marketing initiatives. If you produce small runs of craft beer in cans, we can print pressure-sensitive labels that strike the perfect middle ground between pre-printed cans (which require large orders and long lead times) and shrink sleeves that require costly application equipment.
Beer bottles
For craft beers in bottles, beverage label printing offers a wide variety of options. You can create custom labels around the body of the bottle and then another signature label around the bottle’s neck. Even bottle caps can be given a unique image so you capture every inch of the surface for great marketing.
Food Product Labels
Food and beverage productsneed labels that catch a consumer’s attention. Clear images and crisply designed elements make food products more appetizing. As food consumers become more invested in choosing organic, fair trade, and specially sourced items, your labels need to broadcast that information at a glance.
Just as consumers want to know more about their food before they buy it, the FDA requires food manufacturers to disclose a substantial amount of information on every label. We provide digital label printing so you can display that information with the most enticing visuals. Missing details or improper product descriptions can result in costly recalls under some FDA stipulations. Star Label Products can help guide your label creation and custom food labels to give you peace of mind.
Pharmaceutical Labels
In the pharmaceutical industry,accurate labeling is everything. Your products’ labels are subject to scrutiny from the FDA and potentially dozens of other regulatory bodies depending on what is being packaged and where it is being sold. To help protect pharmaceutical manufacturers, Star Label Products has built a digital label printing process specifically for pharmaceuticals that is designed for quality assurance and precision.
After each print, our machines rewind and inspect the labels to ensure the information is clear and that it matches the approved content. Our Quality Assurance process uses the world’s most accurate inspection system because we know how important it is to your company and customers.
Pharmaceutical labels need more than accuracy, however. They must also engage their target market and be approachable for new users. Digital printing lets you do the most with images and crisp text on:
Clear adhesive labels.
Multi-Ply and double-sided labels.
Specialty Materials
Star Label Products Premiere Digital Label Printer
Digital printing starts at the computer and with great designers. Our experienced graphic design team can create perfect graphics and layouts that grab the attention of your target market. Digital printing offers pressure sensitive labels that can be printed in smaller batches without plates or traditional inking processes.
At Star Label Products, our printing process is unique. We use HP Indigo Digital Printers so your labels only require a single pass through our press. Even better, HP Indigo digital printers use electrically charged inks that offer accurate PANTONE® 6- and 7-color emulations. Many print service providers struggle to accurately hit color targets consistently. With Star Label Products, you do not need to worry about color consistency. Your colors will always remain the same order after order with Star Label Products.
Digital printing is the go-to solution for small runs of labels or tight deadlines. Digital labels also give products high-resolution text and graphics. When your products need reliable, long-lasting labels that meet regulatory requirements without sacrificing aesthetics or design elements, pleasecontact us.
Posted by Star Label on | Comments Off on Digitally Printing the Perfect Cosmetic Label
How to Make Labels for Cosmetic Products
Using digital label printing techniques comes with many perks for package designers. This process:
Allows for high-quality printing on customized orders, even for smaller runs
Provides a nearly limitless range of shapes, colors, materials, and designs to work with
Lowers the time and money investments needed to produce eye-catching labels
Gives designers the ability to make last-minute changes quickly, easily, and without additional costs
You can find short-run digital labels proudly displayed on promotional items, event marketing materials, samples, and newer products that have short-medium sized quantities with many SKUs. For cosmetic products, custom pressure-sensitive labels prevent many of the issues associated with new product launches and changing regulations.
Use these tips to create custom digital labels for your cosmetic product lines.
Benefits of Using the HP Indigo Digital Label Printer
The HP Indigo Digital printing press continues HP’s tradition of providing top-performing technological systems for digital converters. Using HP Indigo digital presses, designers can:
Craft high-quality labels with clear and detailed graphics that rival those made using more costly methods like offset printing
Conserve materials to reduce costs and maintain environmentally friendly operations
Create custom color palettes that accurately represent existing branding
Digitally printing labels lets cosmetic manufacturers create packaging that stands out from the crowd. The HP Indigo Digital printing press produces full-color designs that attract the eye and keep customers coming back for more. HP Indigo printing is unlike any other digital printing. A proprietary ink and operating system are used to create digital label perfection!
How to Design Digital Cosmetic Labels
At its core, cosmetic label design conveys your product’s content, purpose, and value to potential buyers. As FDA-regulated products, cosmetic merchandise must include labels that conform to stringent standards. Digital cosmetic labels should include the following information:
The product’s identity: The label’s most important job is to let the customer know what the product does. For example, labels tell whether products function as anti-wrinkle creams, body lotions, scented scrubs, or other designations.
The product’s net content: This is the actual weight of the product when you exclude packaging or other materials. Don’t confuse net content with the package’s dimensions, as this measurement applies only to the amount of product within the container.
Declaration of ingredients: The FDA mandates that cosmetics manufacturers describe their products’ ingredients on the labels. List ingredients in descending order, starting with the most-used substance and ending with the least-used substance.
Warnings: The FDA requires many cosmetic products to clearly display warnings on packaging. This is meant to prevent accidental injury from misuse and also shields manufacturers from liability.
Cosmetics manufacturers can take care of all these labeling requirements using digital printing techniques. Furthermore, any errors or omissions discovered before, during, or after printing digital cosmetic labels can be easily changed without incurring extra costs.
Design Your Next Cosmetic Label with Star Label Products
Star Label Products seeks to be a one-stop shop for all of your custom digital cosmetic labeling needs. With our comprehensive range of design, printing services, and time-tested expertise, we’re ready to meet any challenge that our clients throw at us.
The Star Label Products experience includes:
The use of state-of-the-art HP Indigo Digital Label Printing Presses to provide superior labels for both short-run projects and larger print runs
An experienced graphic design team that helps clients create attractive, accurate, and compliant labels that accurately conveys your brand identity as well as all FDA-required information
Expert guidance to ensure that all materials and design decisions maximize your product’s potential and effectiveness
In the cosmetics world, the look of your label is just as important as the product it represents. Whether you’re launching a new product, revamping an existing offering, or putting together a promotional package, Star Label Products is your partner for retail success.
Posted by Star Label on | Comments Off on Flexography 101: The Basics of the Flexographic Printing Process
If you work in the printing sector, you’ve likely heard the word “flexography” but don’t yet have any context for it. If so, you may have asked yourself: What is flexography used for?
Flexography is a modern high-speed printing process suitable for most packaging and label applications. It allows for fast, cost-efficient, high-quality label printing for a variety of mass-produced goods. This blog post will serve as a crash Flexography 101 course for printing and labeling stakeholders who want to know more about the process.
How Does Flexography Work?
In flexographic printing, the starting material comes in the form of a roll, which passes through a series of rotary flexible relief plates. A specialized roller feeds each flexible plate with ink, with a single flexible plate required for each individual printed color. The relief plates work in tandem to provide all colors for the final print product.
In cases where additional processes are required – such as laminating, embossing or die-cutting – they can be integrated along with printing in a single pass, greatly increasing production speed and capabilities over more traditional printing methods.
Flexographic printing also allows for printing on various substrates, including:
Paper
Plastic film
Corrugated cardboard
Non-woven fabric
Metallic surfaces
Multilayered film composites
This material flexibility has led to increased use of it for a broad range of products, such as:
Self-adhesive labels
Cut & stack labels
Food packaging
Plastic bags
To that regard, purpose-built flexographic label printing machines have been developed, offering efficiency and speed advantages over many other label printing methods. Flexographic label presses can print label rolls of various materials quickly without sacrificing quality, making it the ideal printing method for food, beverage, and consumer products.
Flexography vs. Offset Printing
Even though flexographic and offset printing methods widely overlap in terms of meeting printing needs, there are some key differences that set them apart:
Flexography uses rotary flexible plates to directly print on the substrate, rather than printing indirectly through a series of offset plates, as is the case in offset printing.
As opposed to the secondary die-cutting, folding, or laminating processes used by offset printing, flexographic printing integrates these processes into a single pass operation.
Absorbent, non-absorbent, porous, and non-porous materials can be printed using flexography, whereas offset printing only works with smooth and flat surfaces.
The technological advancements in modern flexography have made it the method of choice for many applications, due to the advantages it offers for both clients and manufacturers alike, such as:
A dedicated flexible plate for every color means flexography offers extremely high color accuracy.
The ability to combine printing with almost any additional process into a single pass operation allows flexography to provide significant economies of scale.
Flexographic printing offers fast printing speeds, operating at up to 750m/2,000 ft. per minute.
Flexography is able to reliably print on a variety of substrates.
A variety of inks can be used in flexographic printing, such as solvent-based, water-based, or UV curable inks, adding to the method’s flexibility.
UV Flexography
UV flexography uses inks that are curable with ultraviolet light rather than the standard drying methods used for water- or solvent-based inks. UV curable inks can be dried faster than their counterparts, reducing production time.
UV curable ink offers a range of benefits, such as::
Faster drying
Volatile organic compound (VOC) free
Superior print quality for many applications
Only dry when exposed to UV, so the printer can be left print-ready
Easy to use
Flexographic Label Printing Services from Star Label Products
Flexography combines printing and other processes into a single pass, producing vibrantly printed products in a fast and efficient manner. Flexographic printing has become the printing method of choice for companies in demanding sectors such as food and beverage, cosmetics, and consumer packaged goods industries.
Star Label Products specializes in flexography, using modern, state-of-the-art flexographic printers operated by experienced technicians. Contact us to discover how Star Label Products can support your label printing needs.
Posted by Star Label on | Comments Off on The New Prop 65 Warning Label Size Requirements
Prop 65 Warning Label Requirements for California
What is a Prop 65 warning label, and what’s the deal with the new Prop 65 warning label size requirements? In short, it’s the state of California protecting its residents from drinking water that may contain hazardous chemicals.
The State, through the authority of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), publishes a list of chemicals associated with the cause of cancer, birth defects, and related reproductive trauma. This list is updated at least once every year. The current version of the list that was originally published in 1986 contains over 900 chemicals.
Proposition 65, otherwise known as the Safe Drinking and Toxic Enforcement Act, mandates that businesses with 10 or more employees must provide a “clear and responsible” warning label for all products that Californians purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. This also prohibits businesses in California from disposing of these listed chemicals into local water sources.
Businesses must also cease the utilization of listed chemicals in those same sources of drinking water. That mandate is enforced 20 months after each listing.
The following examines the various requirements for these labels and how affected businesses can remain compliant.
Prop 65- The 2018 Amendment
Prop 65 was officially written into law in November 1986, when voters in California approved it by a 63-37% margin. The current revised version of Prop 65 has gone into effect as of August 2018.
The newly amended Prop 65 mandates specific warning methods and content for several types of products. This includes food items, diet supplements, alcohol, and furniture. It also provides for specific types of exposures, such as eateries, dentist offices, wood dust, diesel engines, interior parking structures, amusement parks, gas stations, and hotels.
There are exemptions:
Government organizations,
public water utilities, and
businesses with fewer than 10 employees do not fall under the mandate of Prop 65 warning labels for 2018.
Exposures that pose a zero cancer risk, that contain listed chemicals that naturally occur in edible items, and cause no reproductive effect, as well as discharges that do not provide a “significant amount” of a listed chemical, are also exempt.
Prop 65 Warning Label Size Requirements
New requirements include a warning label to be on any consumer product. Prop 65 warning label size requirements are as follows:
Letters and characters have to be rendered in a minimum 6-point type. It cannot be any smaller than the largest font size utilized in other consumer products.
The warning must feature an exclamation point in black outlined by a yellow triangle, and the word “WARNING” must also be featured and printed boldly in capital letters.
The warning has to feature the full name of a listed chemical a minimum of one time.
A new standard for Proposition 65 warning labels
If the warning is included on a product, a short-form warning is allowed and does not need to feature the name of the listed chemical, however, the other requirements must be met.
Short-form Proposition 65 warning label
Any qualifying consumer product made available over the internet has to feature a warning on the associated website that informs the buyer before the purchase. These products should also feature a short-form warning on the product or a long-form warning on the label that adheres to the requirements.
If any of these product labels or packaging provides consumer information in a non-English language, the Prop 65-compliant warning has to be provided in that language, as well as in English.
Stay Compliant
Though the number of regulations laid out in this proposition, new and old, may seem daunting. Your business can easily satisfy the warning label mandates of Prop 65 with the right printing partner.
