by Scott Pillsbury | Apr 19, 2024 | Customers/Examples
Background
Division Winemakers Co., co-owned by Kate Norris and Tom Monroe, prides itself on producing quality wines that reflect the uniqueness of the Pacific Northwest. However, the presentation of their wine is just as crucial as the quality for standing out in a crowded marketplace.
Their biggest hurdle was ensuring that their new wine series’ labels matched the wine’s quality inside.
The co-owners were under a tight deadline for bottling and needed vibrant labels aligned with their vision. They were looking for a local, reliable partner who could meet their specific needs with care and precision.
Rose City Label: A Trusted and Local Partner
Referred by a friend, Rose City Label, became a trusted partner to Division Winemakers Co., not just a vendor. The Rose City Label team is known for its high-quality service, meticulous attention to detail, and dedication to local businesses. Rose City Label consistently demonstrates exceptional integrity and a client-first approach, always striving to surpass expectations.
Rose City Label worked closely with Kate and Tom, offering a streamlined process managed by a dedicated client manager, Max. This approach allowed for quick turnaround times and efficient communication while experimenting and implementing changes, such as different paper types and colors, to ensure the final wine label was perfect for their brand.
This human touch was exemplified when Division Winemakers quickly needed labels printed for a new wine series. When a UPS delivery was delayed, Rose City Label went the extra mile. Rose City Label’s Production Manager, Erik, reprinted the lost labels starting at 6 AM on the same day, and the owner, Scott Pillsbury, drove them to the bottling facility in McMinnville, Oregon to ensure they arrived on time.
“He drove it the day it was getting bottled,” said Kate. It demonstrated that this was somebody who cares,” added Tom. This commitment ensured that Division Winemakers Co. met its bottling deadline, avoiding additional costs and potential delays in its product launch.
A Lasting Local Partnership
The partnership between Division Winemakers Co. and Rose City Label led to the successful launch of the new wine series, with the labels perfectly embodying the brand’s quality and vision. This collaboration highlighted the importance of having a reliable, local partner who understands and supports the nuances of a small business’s needs.
By choosing Rose City Label, Division Winemakers Co. avoided the pitfalls of working with larger, less personalized label providers. Scott and his team were proactive and responsive, addressing potential issues promptly and ensuring the project’s success.
“Having a local, family-owned business the size of Rose City is really important to a small business like us, especially in a world of consolidation.”
– Kate Norris
This partnership resulted in the successful launch of a new wine series and reinforced Division Winemakers Co.’s commitment to working with local vendors. It demonstrated the value of personal attention, expertise, and the willingness to go the extra mile. The collaboration with Rose City Label has become a testament to how small businesses can support each other, grow together, and strengthen their community.
The owners summed it up perfectly: “They’re a great, small family-owned business. That’s what we are. It’s nice to have a small family-owned business that listens to your needs, and we can grow together. “
by Scott Pillsbury | Jul 13, 2021 | Beer Wine Spirits, Customers/Examples, Label Design, Technical
Consistent Color Over Time – RRWC
In our business, many of or new label print jobs are considered ‘RRWC’ – Re-Run With Change. This is not a NEW item (something we have never printed) and not an exact reprint – it is somewhere in the middle. The most common example in our business is wine labels. If we printed 2018 Chardonnay last year, and then this year you want another run – 2019 Chardonnay – then this item is RRWC. We have printed Chardonnay before, but we are updating (changing) to the new vintage and often a new alcohol percentage.
Revising the Current File – Best Option
When we get an order for Rerun with Change, the BEST option is for Rose City Label to revise our current file and send a proof for approval. This is the best way to ensure a color match with the existing item. This is the best way to have consistent color printing. Providing a new file is not required – and can be detrimental – on RRWC jobs. Letting us make the file changes per your specification is the best option for the most consistent color printing.
Fine Tuning After the File is Submitted
Part of the difficulty with the submission of new files on RRWC jobs is that internally we do several additional processes to your submitted files after the proof is signed. There is considerable calibration, setup for die cutting and potential foil stamping, and several other steps before the file is ready to print. And, then we color correct the output to match the desired end sample. All of this work has to be redone from scratch when you submit a new file. This is a huge additional task that adds no value to your label production and actually slows down delivery of your labels.
Unintentional Changes = Big Time Wasters
Finally, sometimes when a new file is submitted for a RRWC job, there can be very small, unintended changes that throw off the color match to the previous label. One small change in how a logo was built, one small change in a background image… Any of these changes can make a big difference and add hours to the label production. Because we don’t generally know what has been changed, we end up spending extra time playing detective to find the correct formula to match the prior label. This is wasteful in time and material, and adds no value to the final label.
RRWC – Don’t Submit a File, Just Submit your Edits
For best results, trust the experts at Rose City Label to make your edits and send corrected proofs for approval. Don’t waste time and energy sending new files unless you want a different look! If you want consistent color printing, let us use the existing file as the base to work from, and edit from there. Together, this will allow us to get the best results with the fastest turn around time.
Thank you for partnering with us and trusting our 94 years of label experience work for you. Questions? Call us today!
by Scott Pillsbury | Jan 28, 2021 | Beer Wine Spirits, Customers/Examples
Label of The Month
This is the first in our series highlighting beautiful, eye catching labels. We will select labels that showcase excellent design from our designer partners, but also highlight the technical expertise of Rose City Label. Our aim is always to communicate the desired message on your product, and to do it in the most cost effective way possible. By using our expertise and maximizing the capabilities of our equipment, we get the very best outcome for you – our very important customer.
This first label is the Rose’ of Pinot Noir from Blakeslee Vineyard Estate in Sherwood, OR. This premium wine producer has a tasting room with indoor and outdoor seating (very COVID-19 safe) and a breathtaking view. On top of that, the wine is fantastic and Bill and Sheila Blakeslee are wonderful to work with. If you love good wine, this is definitely one to put on your list for tasting.
Design and Execution
This amazing Label of the Month was designed by our friend Chris Noud at Now Design Creative Services. We are happy that Chris trusted us to execute his design for our mutual client. We take this responsibility seriously. Using our Premium Digital Printing and Foil/Embossing presses, we are able to deliver these labels reliably, on time, at a very fair price. Another important part of this label is the premium paper we use that is specifically designed for wines that are stored in cold, wet conditions. This is specifically designed to survive an ice bucket – the killer of lower quality labels.
Key Challenges
- Very tight tolerance embossing and foil stamping
- Fine, closely spaced parallel lines that have to be foil stamped cleanly
- Detailed image of bird logo
- Durability in Ice Bucket environment
Label of the Month
If you have a great product, and a passion to connect with your consumer, please call us today. We are label experts! Challenging labels that allow us to elevate your brand – these are the things we love to work on. Maybe if we work together well, your label could be featured as a Label of the Month in a future post. Call us today at (503) 777-4711.
by Scott Pillsbury | Nov 18, 2020 | Company News, Customers/Examples
Welcome Home!
In the past 6 months, we have had three different former Rose City Label customers come back to us for labels. When people try other vendors and then come back for ‘the Rose City Label difference’, it really makes us proud of the work we do here. Interestingly, these were very different companies – a distilled spirits company, an herbal supplement company, and a coffee roaster. All of them were willing to share their experience, and why they came back to Rose City Label.
We Are All Good
One item to note – nobody came back to us (primarily) for price or print quality. Having competitive pricing and outstanding print quality is almost a given. In today’s market, you can’t stay in business if you don’t meet these minimum requirements. The difference was service. Here is a compilation of what brought them back:
Quick Response to Change Requests
When new items are being designed, things often go through many changes. People don’t know what they will like until they see it on the proof. These returning customers remarked at how fast and responsive our graphics team is on updated proofs. We keep the project moving forward and always try to be responsive to the customer.
Offer Good Ideas about Design and Finish
In one case, we suggested eliminating an embossing feature from the conceptual label design. This feature started out as being very important, but when we weighed the cost and time required to add this in, we suggested a less expensive option. This helped them get the new branding out into the marketplace sooner and saved money over the long haul. The added cost didn’t seem to be worth it given the small impact on the final design.
Press Proofs – See before You Buy
We charge for press proofs, but we always recommend them on new projects. These buyers appreciated being able to see the printed label, on the real label stock, before we print the full order. As good as PDF proofs are, there is no substitute for seeing an actual label. This protects us from having an unhappy customer and it makes sure the product looks great on the shelf. This is an extra step in the process, but it is an important part of the customer service we provide.
We Make Them Feel Important
More than anything, these people all said in one way or another that “The other printer didn’t make me feel like an important customer”. Another said, “It almost seemed like I was a bother to them…”. Not every buyer is a fit for every vendor, but this one was shocking! These are established, mid-sized label buyers that will be sending ongoing, repeat business to us for years to come. It is hard to see how someone would be ‘bothered’ by dealing with a customer.
Want to Join or Re-Join the Rose City Label Family?
We remain very busy and growing, but always have time to add new customers to the family. We have the quality to meet all your needs, and our service is outstanding. Please call us today – we look forward to printing for you soon.
by Scott Pillsbury | Jul 14, 2020 | Beer Wine Spirits, Company News, Customers/Examples
Black Is Beautiful Beer
Rose City Label is proud to be a part of the solution – using BEER as a force for GOOD! With great leadership from a wonderful brewery in Texas, we were able to partner with the Oregon Brewers Guild to support this wonderful program. We offered FREE labels to the first five OBG member brewers that wanted to brew this beer, but we got 10 fantatsic breweries signed up that same day so we decided to print FREE labels for all 10. What an amazing outpouring of support here in our own community – well done Oregon Brewers!
Thank You Weathered Souls!
Big thank you to Weathered Souls Brewing in San Antino, TX for getting this project moving so quickly. Just a short time after the public outcry about police brutality toward people of color, the team at Weathered Souls had a dedicated website built to help all of us use beer as a force for good. Check out Black is Beautiful – the hub for this project that has attracted over 1,000 breweries in all 50 states and 19 countries. Well done!
Their website gave label artwork, recipe, and a description of the cause. All they ask is that you donate the proceeds to any good cause that benefits justice for people of color.
Amazing Oregon Brewers that Stepped Up Big!
These 10 were the first to jump in for free labels, but several others have joined in later. (** For anyone who still wants in on the program, we are offering the labels at a wholesale cost basis from here on out).
Thank You Sasquatch Brewing
This is the first amazing Black is Beautiful label I got to drink personally, and it was wonderful – the flavor, the color, the brewer, and the cause it supported! Thank you Sasquatch.
by Scott Pillsbury | Jul 10, 2019 | Customers/Examples, Technical
Premium Label Foil Stamping and Embossing
Premium labels can be enhanced with foil stamping and embossing. Rose City Label is a premium label foil stamping and embossing expert. We can help with all kinds of premium labels. The image above shows the deep, impact-producing effects of an embossed label. The back of the label and the brown label backing show this deep impression – that is the magic of embossing.
Clear Foil Makes an Impact
Nothing makes an impact quite like clear foil. The two-tone gloss/matte contrast makes a label catch your eye on the store shelf. Some printers use a spot varnish, but clear foil is generally more effective and impactful. Read this previous post about amazing clear foil
Foil Stamping – Make it Shine!
Premium gourmet foods can benefit from foil stamping. Gold shows a very specific message in the minds of our customers.
Silver, copper, bronze – all of these foils look good in their own way. Work with your designer to make sure your branding is consistent. If you are providing a premium product, your packaging has to measure up. Small details can’t be printed with a foil plate, and overdoing the use of foil can ruin the effect. Use it sparingly, and foil stamping will help your label shine (literally!).
Read our previous premium Foil Stamping Post
Foil Stamping in Action – YouTube!
Reading is great, but seeing the press in this 4 minute video will also help you understand the technology. The results of embossing can be seen in this wine label. The main company name and the icon is raised on the label. You can feel the texture and quality when you touch the bottle. Look for it in a wine shop near you!
Check out the press in action Foil Stamp Press Video
Call Us Today
Rose City Label has been foil stamping since the 1980s – we have the experience, expertise, and equipment to upgrade your label. Foil stamping and embossing are great ways to show off your product on the retail shelf. Call 503-777-4711 to schedule a consultation today.
