Sticking to the plot

11 September 2005



Labelling suppliers are finding it to their advantage to apply a bit of imagination to their customers' marketing requirements reports Des King


In what is largely regarded as a volume business – although, with two out of every three labelling run-lengths now estimated to fall below 2500 linear metres, that has to be an increasingly questionable perception – lack of orders is not necessarily the overriding issue confronting the UK's 700 or so label suppliers.

What is far more likely to be commanding their attention as the sector's biennial event hoves into view this month (LabelExpo, Brussels: 21-24 September – see p41) is finding better ways to differentiate their offer and, at the same time, ensure cost-effective time to market productivity at an acceptable level of profit.

Order book rich but margin poor label converters might disagree but there are worse commercial predicaments to have to confront. Within a sector where around 90% of the work is being collared by 15% of the overall number of suppliers, size obviously matters.

Bottom line improvements, however, can still be generated, not least by mid-size to smaller companies who may be less inhibited to inject a dose of marketing flair, and for whom the scope for shrewd investment is less conditioned by a commitment to an over-burdened overhead.

In a highly competitive retail environment, labels nowadays have to deliver a darn sight more than name, rank and number. The twin considerations of legislation and consumer inquisitiveness can place an awful lot of pressure upon the space permitted within a rectangular space, hence the accelerating level of interest in the all-over wrap shrink-sleeve option amongst brand managers looking to experiment with non-conventional container formats.

While this is still very much the preserve of a relatively few number of suppliers, label converters with narrow-web capacity could easily extend their offer through the nominal cost addition of welding equipment at the finishing end.

"We're very conscious of this trend,' says Skanem's multinational sales director David Harrisson. "The labelling sector has a responsibility to go up-market and take product decoration forward.

Clearly, when you're attacking there's always something that's ready to stab you in the back and shrink sleeves has the potential to do just that. The biggest advantage is that you can decorate 360º. The disadvantage is the cost and, of course, you can't put sleeves onto a product at anything like the same rate as labels."

Ever-increasing amount of information

Sleeving aside, the need to disseminate an ever-increasing amount of small print information can play havoc with design creativity. One obvious solution is the leaflet-label - effectively a mini-booklet concealed behind an arresting front-cover.

Sessions of York has recently extended its multi-label expertise through the introduction of "multi-layer plus". This is a combination of tri-layer film, adhesive and easy peel coating to create attractive and eye-catching labels for a range of vitamins, minerals, herbs and other supplements manufactured by the newly formed not for profit organisation Save Our Supplements.

Save Our Supplements has developed its range in order to generate funds for the impending European Court of Justice review on the EU Supplements Directive which will become effective in the UK later this year. As each product carries a meaningful message about the new laws, which could result in up to 5,000 products being discontinued, the company needed a label that could include a body of text as well as provide high visibility on the shelf.

A bright silver metallised paper on both layers as a cost-effective alternative to foil or paper laminate or foil blocking provides an effective and eye-catching contrast between the blue and white design of the main panel. In addition, the ingredients panels are colour coded according to the product and the labels include a simple "lift here" tab to reveal the text underneath.

A long-standing leading exponent of leaflet-labels, Suffolk-based Denny Bros has recently adapted its Fix-a-Form solution to help launch a new range of Japanese personal care and styling products throughout Europe.

Incorporating acrylics, gels, adornments, general tools and nail products, the design concept specified by Essential Nails was to provide full multi-lingual information about the entire range on each individual product pack.

According to Essential Nails md David Simmons, the extended label approach represented the optimum solution. "We have featured each product category within the mini-booklet to form an on-pack brochure which is helping us to sell substantial quantities off-pack. We're delighted with the way the range is shaping up and with the overall presentation and quality of the product packaging. This is the beauty business where image is everything."

The packaging theme used for Essential Nails incorporates a range of three Japanese images used for the Fix-a-Form leaflet-label front cover, featured across 15gm to 100m containers and including extended clear labels for an all-over wrap.

On the premise that labels should also be capable of providing entertainment as well as information, Denny's Fix-a-Form solution is currently helping to boost sales of Libby's range of Um Bongo 9 fruits children's drinks. As part of a three-month promotional campaign, twin-form leaflet-labels incorporating collectible stickers within a "peel and reveal" section have been applied to over 100,000 of the product's Tetra Pak 1-litre PET bottles.

Information doesn't always come as typeset text. There are an estimated 300,000 people within the UK registered as blind or partially sighted, well over 50% of whom are additionally disabled in some other way. Not surprisingly, the major proportion of this group is aged 50 +.

Albeit serving a minority target market sector, there is evidence that leading brands are taking a more responsible attitude towards meeting its needs – driven not least by the impending EU Directive 2004/27/EC that places obligations on the brand owner of medicinal products for human use to incorporate Braille into the packaging of medicines by the end of this October.

Skanem and BP Labels are just two UK label converters now geared up to provide Braille solutions extending into the more mainstream food and drinks categories. "Expertise gained over several years in printing tactile labels for our toiletries and cosmetics customers has put us at the forefront of this technology," says BP Labels marketing director Jackie Evans.

"Braille characters consist of one to six dots, which can have 64 different configurations. Through the use of specifically designed rotary silk screens and a specially formulated clear 'varnish', the Braille dots are printed over an existing label design in one pass through the press. This means that the brand identity is not compromised and we can keep the add on costs as low as possible."

Converting expertise for Braille

Skanem Cardiff also found its way into Braille applications through expertise in producing tactile labels for the health and beauty sector, says sales and technical manager Paul Jones.

"Having realised that we could extend our know-how into producing dots, it was simply a matter of working quite closely with the Blind Institute locally to verify dot size and height and, of course, durability.

"Now we can do any shape or size and any colour. We can put glitter in them. We can do anything to make these labels look aesthetically pleasing to the sighted person and also work for the blind. So it appears as normal text but can also be read by a blind person when they run a finger over it. It's designed not to be there – but to be there.

"They're produced in the same way as a normal over-varnished label to which we add a further process enabling us to silk-screen print the tactile Braille dots." Skanem Cardiff now supplies Braille-enhanced labels extensively into the Co-op Group, with other multiples taking an increased interest in the application.

"Adding value" has been largely acquisitioned as an industry clarion call by digital press manufacturers such as HP Indigo and Xeikon as part of their drive towards making inroads into the packaging print market via the label sector.

"While progress to date has been relatively slow – a characteristic in common with the running speeds of their equipment some conventional flexo and offset adherents might caustically observe – adoption is starting to gather momentum, with Indigo presses thickest on the ground. Paragon and Tinsley Robor are the two most recent dedicated UK label manufacturers to have added a digital solution.

"With label manufacturing, the larger volumes tend to have small margins. We made the decision to concentrate on those customers who were looking for smaller batch sizes, and who are content to pay a slightly higher cost for a more advanced level of service," says Tinsley Robor general manager Lee Taylor.

"Digital is the ideal medium as it has no tooling as such, so customers don't need to absorb the cost of plates and we can respond to very tight lead times using the HP Indigo ws4000 press. Anything over 3000 metres would tend to be directed towards our conventional flexo presses, at least one-third of our overall business is for volumes below that level."

  


Sessions of York has extended its multi-label expertise through the ... Sessions of York has extended its multi-label expertise through the ...
Tinsley Robor says it can respond to very tight lead ... Tinsley Robor says it can respond to very tight lead ...
BP Labels says expertise gained in printing tactile labels for ... BP Labels says expertise gained in printing tactile labels for ...
Essential Nails says Denny’s Fix-a-Form is helping to sell substantial ... Essential Nails says Denny’s Fix-a-Form is helping to sell substantial ...


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