Lightning Labels Blog

Low Resolution Gets Thumbs Up for Halloween Costume, Thumbs Down for Digital Printing

KindaCarsick's blogger dressed up as "Low Resolution Lady" for Halloween this year. Her costume is pure genius; it's been a long time since I have seen a costume this creative!

When it comes to digital printing, however, low resolution is nothing to be admired. A low resolution image that is sharp and clear on your computer screen will likely be pixelated in print ... compromising the aesthetic appeal of your labels, and sometimes the legibility of text images as well. Along with image color mode, having the correct image resolution for any digital files to be printed is EXTREMELY important to ensuring your labels are printed with the correct colors and clarity.

The good news is, preventing your labels from turning out like Low Resolution Lady's face isn't a guessing game. To ensure that your label designs look as beautiful in print as they do on your computer screen, I recommend that you review our art specifications before sending us any design files to be printed.

Here at Lightning Labels, we require all raster (image-based) files to have a resolution of 300 d.p.i. at actual size. And in case you are wondering about our image mode requirements, we only print in CMYK. If you happen to send us a file in RGB mode, we will convert it ... and that might not produce the exact colors you had in mind. And if there is any doubt about how your labels will look in print, you might consider taking advantage of our free press proof offer, which lets you preview exactly what your labels will look like before placing your final order.

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Product Labels: Still the Best Technology

I was brushing my teeth this morning and looking at all the products on our bathroom countertop. My wife had been cleaning out our cabinets so everything was on the counter. I was struck by how many product labels I could see. When I counted them all there were 56 different products with product labels - above is a photo of about half of them.

Now, not every product has a physical label on it - several products such as toothpaste are screen printed with all the product details printed directly on to the container. But the vast majority of products use physical labels adhered to bottles. Even major consumer products like Listerine that probably print millions of labels at a time have decided that a paper label is the best way to identify their product.

Despite all the technological advances of the last few years, the best way to identify and market your product at the point of sale is with a colorful product label. And with today's high quality digital label printing, that is perfect for short runs, tiny companies can compete with the likes of Johnson & Johnson. You might not have the marketing clout of the big companies but your product can have a label that is every bit as good. 

Jones Soda Dresses Up Limited Edition Cans for Halloween

I completely agree with packaging design blog TheDieLine.com that these special Halloween edition cans from Jones Soda feature truly creative designs. If you hurry, you might be lucky enough to find some of these collectors' items in the candy aisle of your local Target store.

Pepsi created its own "spooky" cans this year but the designs fall flat IMHO. What do you think? If you want to check out the Pepsi designs in person, they are being sold in Wal-Mart stores.

Snowed Under

We are getting slammed right now with a big fall snow storm, so we are closing early today and we will be closed all day tomorrow (Thursday). We should resume normal business on Friday. We apologize for any inconvenience, rest assured we will work hard to get through the backlog of orders on Friday.

Answer Honestly: Are Molson Beer Labels Using Variable Data?

Last week the Bevlaw blog discussed these Molson beer labels. This "Answer Honestly" campaign has been going on for over a year now and it seems to have been successful. Molson have been putting in hundreds of different beer label applications with different wording on the labels to the TTB.

I hadn't noticed these labels before so I stopped by my local liquor store and picked up a six pack of Molson Golden. Then I snapped the photo above in my office this morning. You get the idea here. Each beer in my six pack had a different question on the label. You are given two options with neither option being particularly appealing. It is obviously designed to provoke conversations in bars and living rooms while you enjoy a cold Molson beer.

I have discussed before this idea of using variable data labels as a way to differentiate your brand and this is precisely what Molson has done. Although, I had my press operators take a close look at these labels under a magnifying lupe and it doesn't look like they are printing these digitally, or at least not on an HP-Indigo press. The sharpness of the text is not up to HP-Indigo quality.

Molson is a very big brewery with long labels runs so no doubt they could probably print these labels conventionally, even if they have 200 or more different versions. Regardless of the print method, I applaud Molson for having a bit of fun with their labels and creating a talking point by using variable data.

With digital label printing technology, you don't have to print large label quantities to take advantage of this concept. Any company can decide to create many unique sayings on their labels, to give their labels a bit more punch. It is so difficult to stand out these days on the retail shelf, giving your labels an edge like this can help you differentiate yourself from your competition.

99designs is Another Avenue to Affordable Graphic Design

Earlier this year, I wrote about DesignBay, a marketplace for graphic design where you can outsource design projects inexpensively. That post generated several comments, both positive and negative, so I thought I should do a followup post about the market leader in this area, 99designs.

This is how 99designs (and DesignBay) work. Say you need a new logo, or product label, designed. You fill out the specs on their web site along with your budget and wait for the designs to come pouring in. One of the great benefits of this approach is that you don't receive just two or three designs back, you will typically receive dozens of original ideas from many different designers. You will have far more choice and you will likely pay less than if you hired a professional graphic designer.

Now, I know there are many graphic designers who read this blog and who are understandably negative about this idea. The way I look at it is this. If you have a tight budget and simply cannot afford to hire a graphic designer, then 99designs provides an inexpensive option. If you want to make sure that you have a consistent graphic look across all your products, that matches your web site and printed materials, then a professional designer is the way to go. Or if you really want to meet your designer face to face and have a personal relationship with them, then 99designs is not for you.

We work with many startups here with very limited budgets and some of these companies are using 99designs for their product label design. If you are also on a limited budget, or want to see a huge number of ideas, then give 99designs a try.

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Senate Bill Calls for Commercial Cleaning Products to Fully Disclose Ingredients

 

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has introduced a bill requiring household cleaning products such as furniture polish and laundry detergent to fully disclose all ingredients on their product labels, including chemicals that might be hazardous to the long-term health of both humans and the environment. Cleaning product labels are currently required by law to contain warnings designed to prevent short-term harm due to swallowing, contact with eyes, and other unintended uses.

“Moms and dads have a right to know whether harmful chemicals are present in their kitchen cupboards,” Franken stated in a press release about Bill S. 1697. “When my wife Franni and I were raising our own kids, we were constantly concerned with what we used to wash their cribs, their pacifiers, the floors, and surfaces they played on. This is just a common-sense measure to help parents keep their kids safe and healthy.”

The "Household Product Labelling Act of 2009"  would also help consumers make more informed decisions about purchasing household products containing ingredients that are safe for most people, but can be major irritants for adults and children with health conditions such as asthma. The proposed legislation would make such information readily available to consumers.

According to the packaging news website Packworld.com, the bill is popular among environmental groups and children's health organizations; and is viewed as "unneccessary and potentially confusing" by the cleaning products industry. The Soap and Detergent Association, for one, is concerned that there is not enough room to put additional information on their members' product labels. The association is promoting a voluntary initiative as an alternative to the bill that would encourage manufacturers to point consumers towards websites and 800 numbers for further information if they did not have room to list all ingredients on their product labels.

You can track the progress of the Household Product Labeling Act of 2009 at OpenCongress.

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The Shape of Your Container

 

The September issue of Brand Packaging magazine had an interesting article titled Designing for Retail Realities. The main idea of the article is that we don't just need outstanding packaging that will break through the clutter but we need packaging that stands out in real life conditions - how it actually appears on the retail store shelf.

Yesterday as I was browsing my local grocery store I thought about this article. Many aisles had immaculate shelves with the product labels all pointing in the same direction on the shelf so the consumer could easily see the labels. Then there was the shelf with the product in the photo above. I snapped this photo with my iPhone and you can see that someone had picked up this product and put it back carelessly. It made this product less visually appealing on the shelf.

Now look at the products in this photo above. Again it was taken with my iPhone so it is a little fuzzy but it illustrates my point well. This is a product that shows well, and because of its unusual shape if someone picks it up they will likely put it back on the shelf exactly as they found it.

Most of the products on the supermarket shelf have round bottles with one wraparound product label. So it is easy for a grocery store clerk or a shopper to put the bottles on the shelf in a haphazard way. With a bottle that has an obvious front and back, like the Annie's Naturals brand, there is less likelihood of this happening.

Of course, I am not suggesting everyone switch from round bottles. Almost all wine bottles are round and wine is one of the most label-conscious products there are. But notice that most wine bottles have an obvious front and back label so it is easier to display them correctly on the shelf. Whatever container you use it is important to be aware of the impact that the shape of your container has on your product's visibility on the supermarket shelf.

Italian Fashion Designers Team Up with Coca-Cola to Raise Money for Earthquake Victims

Limited edition bottle designs for Coca-Cola were recently spotlighted at Milan Fashion Week. Famous Italian fashion designers such as Donatella Versace and Alberta Ferretti each stamped their signature style on the designs, which can be seen in the video created for Milan Fashion Week above or on the packaging design blog TheDieline.com.

Coca-Cola commissioned the limited edition designs for its "Tribute to Fashion" fundraiser. Profits from the sell of the limited edition bottles of Coca-Cola Light will fund scholarships for young women affected by the April earthquake that killed 229 people and left thousands homeless in Abruzzio, Italy.

Interested in getting your own designer bottle of Coca-Cola Light? Then you better hurry up and book your airline ticket for Milan now! The limited edition bottles are currently only being sold in the fashion epicenter.

Act Now for Chance to Win Copy of Boxed and Labelled : New Approaches to Packaging Design

Packaging design blog Lovely Package and visual publishing house and design consulting firm Gestalten are giving away three copies of Boxed and Labelled : New Approaches to Packaging Design.

To throw your hat in the ring, email Lovely Package  with your name and shipping address by October 31, 2009. Winners will selected in a drawing.

Gestalten released the 220-page hardcover book by editors R. Klanten and S. Ehmann this week. According to Lovely Packaging, Boxed and Labelled "is a must have for any designer or lover of beautiful package design." Amazon.com is currently selling copies of Boxed and Labelled for $43.87 with free shipping.

The World's Biggest Label Printing Show

LabelExpo is the largest trade show for the label printing industry. Every September it alternates between Chicago and Brussels, this year was the European edition (which is far bigger than the US version) that ended a couple of days ago. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it over to the show but I followed updates from Label & Narrow Web magazine, Converting Magazine and live on Twitter.

Fellow label industry blogger, Adrian Steele of Mercian Labels in the UK, has an excellent roundup of the show posted on his blog today. It sounds like it was a good show with several new developments in digital label printing but nothing that looks like it would threaten the dominance of the HP-Indigo technology. Although to be fair, as Adrian points out on his blog, the Xeikon 3300 that was released last year is an excellent competitor to the HP. None of the new would be competitors that launched at LabelExpo can match the quality of either machine.

Vitaminwater Launches Label Design Contest on Facebook Oct. 15

Vitaminwater is asking Facebook users to submit label designs and packaging copy for its newest flavor starting October 15 through the company's flavorcreator app.

According to the Big Fat Marketing Blog!, Vitaminwater spokespeople country pop star Carrie Underwood and rapper 50 Cent will select the winning label design in December. The new product is expected to go to market by March 2010. The contest winner will not only get to see their design featured on Vitaminwater bottles around the world, but will be awarded a $5,000 prize as well.

Vitaminwater is currently inviting Facebook users to use the flavorcreator app to vote for a new flavor and vitamin formula for the new product release. The label design contest will be the final step in the creation of Vitaminwater's user-designed product.

According to Fast Company, the list of flavors currently up for vote on flavorcreator was compiled from online conversations Vitaminwater listened in on at sites such as Twitter, Flickr, and Google News. The more a particular flavor was discussed in these online communities, the more likely it was to make the list.