Labels: Labeling It
According to Ampersand Label sales representative Michelle Izzi, the clear label on Davies Gate's Lavender Herb Rub jar provides high-quality graphics that can't be achieved with traditional silk-screening Advances put a new face on cosmetic and personal care package labels.
By Marie Redding, Senior EditorLabel printers are reportedly seeing increased work loads these days. Many product marketers are dressing up their labeling, and others are looking to meet regulatory requirements. FDA's labeling requirements, for instance, have spurred many advances. Ampersand Label Inc. (Garden Grove, CA), a producer of custom-printed, pressure-sensitive labels, has added a third 12-color press because of the increased time it takes to make extended-text labels needed for the Drug Facts panels required on many labels.
Innovations
To dress up labels, Dow Industries (Wilmington, MA) uses a varnish to create a raised effect on a label, called a tactile finish. "We lay down varnish to simulate embossing," says Andy Farquharson, Dow's president. Parlux Fragrances used this finish on its label for a "360º Around the World" gift set by Perry Ellis for Men.
Foils, holographic finishes, and detailed graphics are also common techniques for a label company these days. "We must all strive to improve in this business," says Tom Silvano, president of Label Graphics Manufacturing (Little Falls, NJ). He says that "package designers are creating more-challenging items, so labels are getting more complex. Being able to do the more-elaborate ones, on a 12-color press—that's where the growth is for our company."
And, "the clear, no-label look is still in," according to Elisha Tropper, president of Prestige Label (Brooklyn, NY). Ampersand produced a clear label for the Lavender Herb Rub by Davies Gate, on shelves in April.
Tropper also tells us that cold-foil stamping has come a long way and can now be considered as an alternative to the pricier hot foils. "For years, we weren't able to achieve the same high-quality look as hot stamping, but now you can't even tell the difference," says Tropper.
Digital Printing
Another new development in the industry is the move toward using digital printing for samples.
"Short-run digital printing offers quick turns and an economical solution for rollouts and prototypes," says Tom Medved, sales representative for Labels West (Woodinville, WA). Medved says that Labels West did a digital run for one company presenting a new line of bath and body products to Costco. Prestige Label has been using digital printing for short runs, large runs of multiple SKUs, and sales samples.
Scented Labels
Tiny capsules with fragrant oils, FOLCOScent capsules are so small they feel like grains of powder. Made by the German company Follman, the capsules represent a form of microencapsulation. They are made with a polymer-based capsule wall, which means they are strong enough and small enough to withstand high heat during printing. These capsules are dispersed into different types of print varnishes, developed by the New York–based company, Scentisphere.
Once in varnish form, the scent can be applied directly over graphics during the printing of a label. Then, by gently rubbing, you will shear the capsules in that spot, resulting in a whiff of the scent.
After a few seconds, the fragrance evaporates into the air and the scent is no longer detectable, which solves the potential problem of having a store shelf filled with an unappealing mixture of different fragrances. The label remains in a dormant state until activated again by rubbing. You can even rub over and over in same spot, and you'll still smell the fragrance.
"This technology will open doors for marketers by offering ways for them to communicate to the customer what's inside [using] packaging," says Bob Burnstein, cofounder of Scentisphere. "You usually don't know exactly what you're buying until you get to the store, so what happens at the point of sale is very important in making the sale."
A study done by the Point of Purchase Institute shows that a huge amount of last-minute decisions are made at the store. In a study analyzing more than 30,000 purchases covering 14 cities and 4200 consumers, 68% of purchases on major shopping trips are unplanned purchases, and 54% of purchases on fill-in shopping trips are unplanned.
The formulation of the Rub 'n Smell varnish is similar to that of scent strips in magazines, but those capsules are made differently and mixed with an adhesive, which is then applied between two sheets of paper. The pages need to be torn apart to break the capsule walls and disperse the fragrance. Capsules made of nonpolymers, according to Burnstein, "are limited in their application, and in many cases require special equipment for use with print."
The FOLCOScent capsules can be used with a variety of different print varnishes, such as those for water-based flexography, sheet-fed off-set, and gravure printing.
"The Rub 'n Smell varnish should even be able to last through the intense heat that in-mold labels are subjected to, as long as it's applied to the outermost layer," says Burnstein.
Since the varnish can be used during the printing process, it doesn't add a costly extra step to production. According to Burnstein, it should only add a fraction of a penny to the cost of a label.
He tells us that several label, cosmetic, luxury fragrance, and personal care companies are now in the process of testing Rub 'n Smell labels, and that we may see some on shelves by this September.
Shrink Sleeves
Clear and printed shrink sleeves are becoming more widely used alternatives to silk-screening and pressure-sensitive labels. Ameri-Seal Inc. (Chatsworth, CA) offers its customers preproduction samples that are digitally printed. Ameri-Seal's president Howard Millstein says, "Before our digital process, in order to provide sample sleeves, you had to actually etch rotogravure cylinders to see your graphics on a shrink sleeve. This can be expensive and time-consuming, but now our customers can receive 1 to 100 shrink sleeve samples in five to seven days."
Sleever International of Paris, France, produced the shrink-sleeve labels for two new products by Ingrid Millet, including Le Corps Hydrating Body Oil Mist, which has been on shelves since the end of February. Pink and blue pastel effects were done by applying colored varnishes to the sleeves.
Ameri-Seal is developing printed sleeves for a new shampoo and conditioner for Colgate-Palmolive, which couldn't be revealed just yet.
Sleever International's shrink-sleeve labels were varnished pastel pink and blue for Ingrid Millet's bottles, on shelves since February.Glitter shrink sleeves are also in the works, but, says Millstein, "the formula hasn't been finalized yet." Ameri-Seal can do holograms on shrink sleeves, but, according to Millstein, "no one has been able to use glitter in the actual shrink material." The problem is that the glitter, which is a metal, will break down under the high temperatures of extrusion. However, Millstein says, "we've made major progress over the years, and we are close to being able to present our new glitter shrink sleeves sometime soon."
Future Developments
Dow Industries has a process in which it puts glitter in a varnish, which is then applied to a label.
"This effect will be used for a line of personal care products that will be on shelves by the end of the year," says Farquharson. They are also doing holographic, hot stamped foils on labels and testing a scented varnish by MicroScents (Chattanooga, TN). For more on scented labels, see the sidebar above.
"Scented labels have a place in certain markets. It could be exciting for the future," says Farquharson.