Factors That Affect the Cost of Custom Product Labels

Any producer of consumer packaged goods is familiar with analyzing production costs, because these costs ultimately affect the final pricing of the product. Custom label printing is one of the important factors in the equation. (Things like label size, print method, required tooling and the number of colors you use are all factors that will influence the unit label price.)

Many aspects of the label printing and application process can be customized to fit your production needs, which leaves you with several choices to make when you’re preparing a new label design. You may find that you have extra costs associated with label materials and processes you don’t need, or materials that won’t work with your production system and packaging needs. So, how do you make the right choices to lower costs and get reliable, affordable labels? Read more

Many people view energy drinks as a great alternative to coffee–functional beverages that help them wake up in the morning and maintain energy levels while offering unique flavors. For others, these drinks are viewed as a health hazard, causing anxiety and health problems while encouraging excessive consumption. 

The clash between these two sides places the energy drink industry in a tenuous position, trying to offer their customers the drinks they want while keeping up with the demands of government regulators and health organizations. How do you negotiate these differences to create energy drink labels that meet regulatory requirements and keep customers informed?

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Is business growth forcing you to re-evaluate your production systems? While some processes may be easy to scale, there’s a hard limit on what you can do with manual product labeling. For instance, you may find that it’s relatively easy to double the output of your existing production line, but it may result in a major bottleneck related to packaging. 

However, even though buying an automatic labeling machine and setting it up takes considerable capital, once you take into account the savings in labor, production and lost product costs, automatic labeling can significantly cut your labeling costs. 

So what factors do you need to consider when contemplating manual labeling vs. automatic labeling?

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Each year, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) conducts the Alcohol Beverage Sampling Program (ABSP). This program gathers a random selection of spirits and tests them for compliance. Of the bottles selected, 40% are deemed to be in violation of labeling regulations in some fashion. 

→ [Free Download] Hard liquor, distilled spirits, and craft beers all have their own labeling requirements. View our guide on Labeling Requirements to learn what they are.

Which TTB label requirements are most commonly violated, and how can you avoid mistakes on your distilled spirits labels? Let’s take a look! Read more

Label application challenges can be a huge source of frustration. If you get your label adhesive or substrate wrong, your product labels can fall off, and minor imperfections or slight angles in your packaging surfaces can also lead to improper application. 

All labels for commercial use are subject to their own unique circumstances. The following common problems will help you troubleshoot issues and find the proper commercial labels for your containers (while allowing you to make adjustments that eliminate potential problems moving forward). Read more

If products are left outside, or stored in locations that experience extreme temperatures, their exposed labels may not last as long as intended. Confused where to start when choosing the right type of label for your product? This outdoor label guide will help in selecting the right inks, face stock and coatings to produce weather-resistant labels that hold up to harsh conditions.  Read more

Efficient inventory management is everything when it comes to running warehouse operations. Depending on the size and location of your warehouse, you may be dealing with thousands of packages moving through on a daily basis, going into and out of multiple points. 

A warehouse labeling system can help you keep track of all these containers as they move through each point of your operation (this includes labeling for your containers as well as identification labels for your aisles, warehouse racks and bins). Organized systems not only help workers locate products, but they also create a trail of logs that allow for fast identification and the correction of errors in your supply chain. Read more