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Labels and Shrink sleeves: The Latest in Labels

Improving Printing

Label printers are concerned with how to improve printing techniques while keeping production costs down. One technique gaining attention recently is high-definition flexographic printing. This technique is not only less costly for companies to use than other printing options, but recent improvements have made its quality comparable to its more-expensive alternatives.

"Generally speaking, there used to be two tiers of printing techniques," says Elisha Tropper, president of Prestige Label Company, Inc. (Brooklyn, NY). "There were the high-end processes like gravure and offset printing, which cost more because of equipment reasons. Then there were lower-end, lesser-quality options like flexographic printing."

What Prestige Label has done to elevate the quality of flexographic printing is change the way negatives are handled during the printing process. In traditional flexographic printing, negatives are burned onto a plate. In high-definition flexographic printing, images are taken directly from computerized graphics. A laser is then used in the platemaking process to turn the images into plates. Prestige Label uses DuPont's FAST system for digital platemaking. According to Tropper, time-wise, the computer-to-plate process can take 20 to 45 minutes, whereas conventional platemaking can take three to four hours.

The benefits of high-definition flexographic printing are many. Aesthetically, there isn't the loss of quality that is involved when burning a negative's image onto a plate. "With flexographic printing, graphic designers used to have to estimate how much quality they would lose in the art from negative to plate," says Tropper. "With high-definition flexographic printing, the image integrity is such that the quality differential between flexographic and offset printing is negligible."

With its lower costs and higher print quality, high-definition flexographic printing can help smaller brands' labels compete with those of more-prominent companies. "Marketers who felt that more-complex graphics and colors were beyond their reach are now finding that they're not," says Tropper. "Their labels can look as established as, or even more so than, those of bigger brands."

In addition, UV flexographic inks have improved. "They are now high-density inks, so that colors can appear much bolder," says Tropper. "Plus, you can also do in-line foil stamping, embossing, and screen-printing. These add-ins with flexographic printing are much less expensive than with other printing techniques." He adds, however, that UV inks can't achieve the textured inks that screen-printing can.

Clearly Stylish

Today's shrink-sleeve customers run the gamut, from very high-end brands to mass-market companies. Advancements in decorating are allowing mass-market brands to add prestige to their shrink-sleeve labels, and are catching the attention of luxury companies as well.

One of the latest trends in the luxury fragrance industry is to wrap secondary containers in shrink sleeves. Instead of marketing a primary fragrance bottle in a paperboard carton, which blocks customers' view of the bottle, the fragrance bottle is placed in a clear secondary container wrapped in a decorative shrink sleeve.

Several luxury brands have used the shrink sleeves of Sleever International (Morangis Cedex, France). Sleever's shrink sleeves were recently used on the transparent containers for Nina Ricci's Premier Jour summer edition fragrance, Issey Miyake's L'Eau D'Issey summer fragrances for men and women, and Yves Saint Laurent's Kouros eau de toilette. In October 2003, Sleever won a prestigious Formes de Luxe packaging award in the plastics category for the shrink sleeve that it created for Carolina Herrera's limited-edition fragrances, 212 On Ice for men and women.

In addition to decorative, shrink sleeves can also make these secondary containers tamper evident. Sleever's shrink sleeves have perforations that customers must tear before opening the secondary container. "The sleeve is both decorative and protective," says Marina André, marketing manager for Sleever. "It is designed to come off of the secondary packaging when you open it."

The sleeves can add stunning visual effects. For instance, on the Nina Ricci container, the shrink sleeve makes the primary bottle's white graphics hazy, giving them the impression of being underwater.

One special labeling effect for bottles that has been around in the industry for a while is printing a decorative design on a bottle's back label so that it is facing the front panel of the container. When customers look through the bottle's front panel they can see, through the bottle, the graphics printed on the back label.

Shrink-sleeve specialist Ameri-Seal Inc. (Chatsworth, CA) recently adapted this effect to its shrink sleeves. The company calls the technology double-sided printing.

Ameri-Seal's technique prints two sets of graphics on the back label. When customers turn the bottle around and look directly at the back label, they can see the second set of graphics, such as directions for use, that are printed back-to-back with the decorative graphics visible from the front of the bottle.

Ameri-Seal's technique allows both sets of graphics to be printed on the same side of the shrink sleeve. Both sets are printed on the side of the shrink sleeve that adheres to the container wall. The benefit of this is that, because the ink faces the container, it won't be scratched off when customers handle the container, or during shipping. Another benefit is that the shiny, plastic shrink sleeve enhances the look of the inks. By contrast, when graphics are printed on the side of the sleeve not adhered to the container, duller, matte inks are usually used to prevent scuffing.

The graphics are printed at the same time, in one printing pass. For the back label, to keep the two images' inks from interfering with each other, a foggy white layer is printed in between the two layers. Also, with the shrink sleeves, no adhesive is used that would interfere with the inks.

Basic Solutions Inc. (Chatsworth, CA) was the first company to recently use Ameri-Seal's technology for its feminine products, Inti-Mist and Nature's Dew. Launched in September 2003, the products are sold in mass-market stores.

"Ameri-Seal's labels gave us the high-end look we were looking for," says Kristopher Frankenberg, director of sales and marketing for Basic Solutions. "For instance, the image of the waterfall and the aloe plant on the Inti-Mist label helped to convey the product's feminine and natural-ingredients theme." The labels were printed in seven colors.

Technically, the shrink sleeve also helped solve another problem that Basic Solutions had. "The product bottles have an unusual shape, meaning that shrink sleeves were a better choice for us than labels," says Frankenberg.

Bob Garcia, general manager for Ameri-Seal, says that this is another way shrink sleeves outdo traditional labels. "Labels just won't fit well some places on bottles that have a lot of contours," he says. "With shrink sleeves, you can have graphics over 360 degrees of the container because the sleeve contours to the bottle's entire shape."

Such aesthetic benefits and improvements in decorating techniques are increasing demand for shrink sleeves. "We're seeing more and more companies looking to replace labels with shrink sleeves," says Mark Darby, vice president of sales and marketing for Gilbreth, an Impaxx company (Croydon, PA), and a leading manufacturer of shrink-sleeve labels. "It's the fastest growing segment in the labeling industry."

Green Labels

The good news in beauty packaging is that more marketers are focusing on environmental friendliness. For these companies, using recycled-content labels could be the next step.

Because there is already an established market for recycled paper, it's a bit surprising that many retail labels are not recyclable. It is the nonpaper liners and laminates in labels that, in part, make recycling more complicated.

Aveda, which helped pioneer new technologies for postconsumer recyclate (PCR) containers, is aware of the lack of recycled-content labels on the market. "We've asked our label suppliers to get us PCR label stock, but many of them haven't been able to find it," says John Delfausse, Aveda's vice president of packaging.

Ampersand Label Inc. (Garden Grove, CA), which supplied the resealable, extended-text labels for Aveda's Brilliant and Light Elements lines, says recycled-content pressure-sensitive roll stock is difficult to source. "It's not something that's used by the industry across the board," says Andrew Vale, Ampersand Label's East Coast sales manager. "Because it's not popular, there isn't pressure on material suppliers to develop more environmentally friendly alternatives."

For label converters like Ampersand Label, the recycled materials they are able to incorporate into labels depends largely on what materials suppliers are able to provide. Meanwhile, material suppliers base development of their materials on market demand.

The difference in aesthetics may be one reason that beauty brands choose non-PCR over PCR labels. "Most companies want a high-gloss, clean look for their labels," says Michael Maggio, Aveda's director of package development. "The exception is the wine industry, which has started using PCR labels for a more antique look." Without better-looking alternatives, converters are forced to continue using nonrecyclable elements, like virgin polypropylene, that provide the look manufacturers seek.

Cost is also a factor. Because supply and demand for recyclable labels is small, it drives the price up for companies that want to use them. "Companies are usually intrigued by recyclable options, but only a few companies like Aveda are actually committed to using recycled materials. The market will be largely consumer driven, since consumers will absorb the higher cost of packaging. Are consumers ready to support recycled packaging? Many say that they care, but may feel differently when it comes time to pay for it."

Material suppliers like Fasson Roll North America, the label division of Avery Dennison, are doing what they can to improve their technologies for recyclable materials. "We work closely with those in the recycling community, like APR [the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers], to ensure that the materials we supply are as recyclable as possible," says Chris Weir, business development manager for Fasson Roll North America.

One product of this effort is Fasson's S2001 label adhesive. The adhesive allows film stock to be easily removed from a container during the recycling process. For this adhesive, Avery Dennison received APR's 2003 Partners for Change award, which recognizes companies that make a significant contribution toward examining their products' recyclable qualities.

Marketers, as well as their label converters, have to know to ask for recyclable options. "There are materials available that meet and exceed recycling standards," says Weir. "Customers, however, must specify [to their label converters] that the ability to be recycled is a prerequisite for their materials."

Though Fasson doesn't yet use PCR in its materials, the company is exploring other options for earth-friendly label stock. Weir says that Fasson has looked into partnering with another materials supplier, Cargill Dow LLC (Minnetonka, MN), a firm that has developed an intriguing solution for environmentally friendly labels.

Cargill Dow, a joint venture of The Dow Chemical Co. and Cargill Inc., was founded in 1997. Its goal was to develop more environmentally sustainable material alternatives to petroleum-based plastic. One of its products is NatureWorks PLA, a clear resin made from corn. The resin can be melted down to use in film and label applications, as well as for rigid packaging.

"NatureWorks PLA is a 100%-corn-based packaging solution that competes, performance-wise, with traditional thermoplastic materials, such as PET, polypropylene, and polystyrene," says Brian Glasbrenner, Cargill Dow's business development manager for PLA films, North America. "Since the resin relies on a renewable resource for its creation, instead of petroleum, it offers the packaging industry a more sustainable option."

The resin is created using simple plant sugar found in ordinary field corn. The carbon and other elements in the natural sugars are drawn off through a simple fermentation process. They are separated and polymerized to make the NatureWorks polylactide (PLA) resin. The environmentally friendly factor comes from the fact that the corn-based resin can be broken down into compost, unlike petroleum resins.

Cost-wise, Cargill Dow has made improvements to make NatureWorks PLA more economical for brands to use. Many of these improvements come from market response. For instance, says Glasbrenner, "Water-based adhesives can be used with the resin, helping to reduce adhesive costs and making NatureWorks PLA labels less expensive than pressure-sensitive labels."

Aesthetically, NatureWorks PLA labels are also competitive. "Visible attributes, such as clarity and gloss, are just two components of NatureWorks PLA that make the materials excellent for labels," says Glasbrenner. "These components allow the labels to blend with the packaging for a clean, 'no-label' look."

Weir says that Fasson has talked with Cargill Dow about using NatureWorks PLA in label stock. "We would be ready to use it as soon as there is a demand from the marketplace," he says.

"It's going to be up to customers and consumers to help bring momentum and drive more usage of recyclable materials for labels into the marketplace," Weir continues.

Some in the industry say that labels from earth-friendly sources like corn or postconsumer recyclate may be more effective than labels that can be recycled. "The goal would be to make label stock from recycled materials or even NatureWorks PLA," says Delfausse. "Labels after use are not often recycled. Even if one could remove a label from a package, there is no one who would collect the material for recycling. We are very careful not to encourage consumers to recycle any material that in reality will not be recycled."

Meanwhile, brands like Aveda continue their search for other label options. "Our goal is to get PCR stock for our labels," says Maggio. "Once we have it, we will start using it for all of Aveda's labels. We encourage other companies to follow suit."

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