Tag & Label Awards: Tricks of the Trade
- Published: November 01, 2008, By By Claudia Hine, Managing Editor
Gathering in Palm Beach, FL, for an annual meeting that commemorated the legacy of the 75-year-old Tag & Label Mfrs. Assn., TLMI members also celebrated their own accomplishments as converters of functional, fabulous labels. At a black-tie reception held October 21 at The Breakers Resort, a total of 53 companies were honored with 77 first- and second-place winning entries plus a best of show award in the association's annual competition.
Here is a look at some of the winning labels. Visit www.tlmi.com for more information.
Say Cheese!
Label World, Rochester, NY, earns best of show honors for the Parkside Smoked Cheddar Sesame Crisps 1 oz label. Created for the product's launch, the label was entered in the Digital Printing-Food & Beverage Products category.
Printed on silver metallized pressure-sensitive paper to simulate gold, the image is backed with three spots of white ink to provide opacity on the balance of the label. It is finished with a full overprint of scuff-resistant ultraviolet (UV) varnish.
The label is printed on substrate from Green Bay Packaging using Hewlett-Packard inks on HP's ws4050 digital press, then die-cut and varnished on a Rotoflex Intl. Vericut. Kocher & Beck supplies the tooling, and Wikoff Color Corp. supplies the varnish.
Discover Success
Label Technology Inc., Merced, CA, nabs three first-place awards, including its Columbus Salame Specialty Series prime label for gourmet salami. This winner was entered in the Flexography (line-prime) category.
Challenging ink lay down and layering required careful selection of inks and stickybacks. Label Technology uses water-based inks from INX and Water Ink Technologies on a Mark Andy flexo press. Additional suppliers include DuPont Cyrel (plates), Harper (anilox rollers), and RotoMetrics (dies).
Kind to Skin(tones)
Multi-Color Corp., Sharonville, OH, boasts five first-place awards in this year's competition. One winning entry is the Kind Laundry Detergent in-mold label (IML) manufactured for Surefill. This label was entered in the Offset (color process-prime) category.
A special challenge Multi-Color meets in producing this label is reproducing high quality fleshtones with four-color process printing plus two spot colors. Hot foil stamping and embossing also are used. The IML film substrate is proprietary.
Chocolate Lovers
McDowell Label & Screen Printing, Plano, TX, gathers four first-place awards, including the Valentine Classics from Elmer's label for a box of chocolates. This entry was submitted in the Multi-Process (color process-non-prime) category.
This eight-color job must match specific artwork on foil with an added tactile feel to the front of the label. Printing is accomplished with high definition UV flexography and rotary screen. Fasson is the substrate supplier, and Flint Group makes the ink.
Additional First-Place Winners
A & M Supply Co. Inc.: Huggies Bath and Body Wash Coupon
A & M Supply Co. Inc.: Listerine Smart Rinse
Amherst Label Inc.: Christmas Holiday Assortment
Belmark Inc.: Edamame Soybeans
Collotype Labels Pty. Ltd.: Cape Jaffa La Lune
Collotype Labels USA Inc.: Blackstone Sonoma Reserve
Consolidated Label Co.: Jeff Triplett
Copac Inc.: GNC Echinacea & Goldenseal
Corporate Express: MC Metal Clad Cable
G-3 Enterprises: Groth Oakville Cabernet Reserve
G-3 Enterprises: Blackstone California Cabernet
Germark S.A.: Esencial Mediterraneo
Germark S.A.: Lactovit Hidrata
Germark S.A.: Prada Iris - Tester
Kimbells Pack Inc.: Globe Promo Booklet Label
Kimbells Pack Inc.: Pervil 35% Bigger Violator
Kopco Graphics Inc.: SoBe Life Water Hang Tag
Label Technology Inc.: Clif Shot Strawberry
Label Technology Inc.: Jergens Natural Glow Express
Labelgraphics (Glasgow) Ltd: Passport Korean
Labelgraphics (Glasgow) Ltd: The Arran Malt 10 YO 70cl
LogoTech Inc.: Andiamo Pasta Sauce-Wine & Mushroom
McDowell Label & Screen Printing: Flameout Dietary Supplement
McDowell Label & Screen Printing: Grapes Skin Moisturizer
McDowell Label & Screen Printing: Light My Fire Tanning Lotion
Metro Label California Ltd.: Burly
Metro Label California Ltd.: 3 Old Coins
Mid Atlantic Label Inc.: Crepes Assortment
Multi-Color Corp.: Method Touchwood
Multi-Color Corp.: Cascade All in One Complete
Multi-Color Corp.: Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss
Multi-Color Corp.: 28 lb HyVee Complete Cat
National Label Co.: Dove Therapy Frizz Control 4 oz
Novelprint Sistemas De Etiquetagem Ltda.: XUXINHA XAMPU
Pilot Italia SPA: Carne al Fuoco
Pilot Italia SPA: Sapone Liquido
Spear: Bud Light
Spear: O'Doul's
TAPP Technologies Inc: AutoMoto 2006 California Chardonnay 750 ml
TAPP Technologies Inc: Echo Valley Vineyards 2006 Necks
Taylor Made Labels Inc.: Lumos Wine Co. 2007 Gewurztraminer
The Label Makers Ltd.: Audrey Baxter Gourmet Soup
York Label: Caress Exotic Oil Infusions
Crowning Glory
Germark S.A., Cornellà, Spain, takes four first-place awards, including one for the Barbie Diamond Castle label, which is used on the front of a glass perfume bottle for kids. This label was entered in the Flexography (color process-prime) category.
Using seven colors and cold holographic stamping, Germark is able to emphasize the crowns on the Barbie images in an easy and effective way. Avery Dennison supplies the substrate material, and inks come from Siegwerk.
Achieving Enlightenment
TAPP Technologies Inc., Langley, BC, Canada, wins three first-place awards, including the Pacific Rim Winemakers 2007 Gewürztraminer wine label. This winner, which features a meditating Indian elephant, was entered in the Wine & Spirits-Flexography/Letterpress (color process-nonprime) category.
TAPP printed 49,000 labels on a Gallus RCS 330 press at an average press speed of 35 mpm. Flint Group Narrow Web provided the ink, and ACPO supplied the gloss laminate. Keeping the label in register was especially challenging. The company reports this was almost a blind print, and it was necessary to come up with a device to monitor the underside of the label during the run. Additional suppliers include Fasson (substrate), RotoMetrics (dies), and DuPont Cyrel (plates).
Hints of Oak
Collotype Labels USA Inc., Napa, CA, wins two first-place awards, both in the Wine & Spirits-Offset category. For its Wooden Valley wine label, a color process-prime entry, the converter uses a Gallus press to print four-color process and one spot color on uncoated stock at approximately 40 fpm.
A Fine Blend
Additional processes include a sculptured flatbed emboss, gold silkscreen, hot foil stamping, and die-cutting. Suppliers also include Fuji, Siegwerk, and Kocher & Beck.
Labelgraphics (Glasgow) Ltd., Scotland, snags three first-place awards, all in the Wine & Spirits category. The Ballantine's 12 YO 50cl whisky label, a Flexography/Letterpress (line and screen/tone-prime) entry, is a recent makeover, encapsulating the modern design of the traditionalist whisky industry.
Using 350-400 line anilox rollers, the label is flexo printed eight colors on a Gallus press with hot foil and matte spot varnish on top-coated, clear polypropylene using 150 lpi screen ruling and rotary cutting. Suppliers include DuPont Cyrel (plates), UPM Raflatac (film), Gerhardt (rotary flexible dies), and RotoMetrics (UniFlex hot foiling plate).
Holding the Gavel
Here is the roster of judges for the 2008 Awards Competition.
- Steve Lee, RotoMetrics
- John Coleman, Nilpeter USA
- Patrick Hague, Water Ink Technologies
- Peter F. Mulheran, Sani-Blast LLC
- Mike Buystedt, Flint Group Narrow Web
- Dr. J. Page Crouch, Clemson Univ.
- Ray Mackura, Avery Dennison, Fasson Roll North America
- Robert J. Smithson, Trinity Graphic USA Inc.
- Paul Teachout, Harper Corp. of America
- Roy Webb, Mark Andy Inc.
- Terry Trexler, Gallus Inc.
