Best Label Color to Build Your Brand

Best Label Color to Build Your Brand

What is the best label color?

This is a complex question with conflicting research on all sides. Regardless, one thing is clear – the best label color is the one that reinforces your authentic brand.  Your brand voice must be established first before a label color can be selected to bring that voice to the market.  Check out this post about Your Authentic Brand  and Clare Carver’s rules to build your brand here

Once the brand and the brand voice are solid, you can begin to work on the best label color.

Is it important?  Yes!

According to Emerald Insight and others (full study here), people make up their minds about a product or person – including your beer, wine, soap – within 90 seconds.  And, importantly for us, 62-90% of that initial reaction is based on color.  That’s right – color!  Having the best label color is critical.

What does each color say – what makes the best label color?Rose City Label Color Branding Experts

Begin with the end in mind – what emotion are you trying to evoke?  Happy?  Angry? Fired up to Party?  Each of these desired consumer reactions will require a different best label color.  Yes – as always – it depends.  If you know your intended reaction, and your brand voice, then finding the best label color is easy.

Specific examples of Best Label Color

Real Simple magazine has a great breakdown of 10 different colors and the reactions they evoke.  Read the full article by clicking here.  Here are a few examples, but read the full article for more detailed explanations.

  • Black – the signature color of sophistication.  Where do you want your brand positioned in the mind of your target consumer?
  • Blue – everyone likes blue.  It connotes trust and dependability.  A blue logo can increase loyalty and feelings of security.  Is this the reaction you want?  Maybe this is your best label color?
  • Burgundy – rich and refined.  Think of full bodied, bold (expensive) wines.  Luxury.
  • Orange – fair and affordable are typical reactions from this color.
  • Red – This may be your best label color is you want a hot, excited consumer, but red also means ‘stop’ or caution or danger to many people.  Choose carefully.

There are five more great colors, and links to other research, in the full article link above.

Summary and Next Actions

Begin with your well defined brand image and voice.  From there, layer on the reaction you want from your target consumer.  From there, the best label color decision is much easier and logical.  With all this data, you also need to add in a touch of your own flair and gut feeling.  These are guidelines that are very helpful, but ultimately your decision is up to you.  Make sure you are being consistent with your ultimate business goals – read this post for more information about brand alignment.

Still Stuck?  Call us Today

We can help solve the best label color problem.  We do it for many customers each year and we are happy to help you, too.  With our new HP Indigo Press, printing great labels has never been easier.  Cheers!

 

State of the Art Label Printing – HP 6900 Press

State of the Art Label Printing – HP 6900 Press

State of the Art Label Printing – HP 6900 Press

This machine is a massive upgrade to our digital department.  We will be able to help more people with more high-quality digital labels than ever.  This machine provides the most sustainable digital label platform.  Here are a few of the highlights.

Better Image Quality

Because of the improved laser writing head, the image resolution is better than ever.  This means brighter, more vibrant colors, crisp text, and even more precise color matching.  State of the Art Label Printing – HP 6900 Press

Double Print Speed

At nearly 100 feet per minute, this press rivals traditional print speed. No setup and virtually no waste mean faster delivery for customers.

More Efficient Press Layout

Besides the faster speed, the press is more efficient.  This is a web press with labels delivered in rolls, but the images are transferred to the material in pages (called ‘frames’ in HP lingo).  This press has more than double the page size of the previous machine.  Maximum label size is now 12″x 38″.  More importantly, we can fit more labels of any size into this frame size which means less waste, faster printing, and better results for customers.

Better Color Consistency

Rather than just measuring ink density during the run, this press actually sees color and corrects itself on the fly!  With ‘Continuous Color Calibration’ the machine constantly makes micro adjustments during the print run to keep the tightest color in the industry.  This also improves run to run color consistency.  Repeat orders with exact color matching are easier than ever.

Sustainable Platform

The inks on the press are formed by a mixture of pigment (the consistency of toothpaste) and imaging oil to carry the color.  Previously, this imaging oil was flushed from the press and discarded.  Now, the press recycles its own oil!  Rather than doing an ‘oil change’ periodically, only a small amount of oil is added to the system as needed.

Fluorescent and Metallic Silver Ink

For the first time, true specialty inks are available on a digital press.  This adds to our very wide 7C color gamut to add distinctive color to your label.

More Powerful Variable Data

Want a unique number, barcode, or QR code on each label?  We can do that faster and more accurately than ever.  With a huge computing power upgrade, variable data jobs that previously took hours (and cost more) are now instantaneous.

Supportable for the Future

Built on the latest technology, this press will be supported for many years.  With parts, service, and training readily available, you have a reliable, consistent source for all your labels.

TLMI Calvin Frost Environmental Leadership Award

TLMI Calvin Frost Environmental Leadership Award

Rose City Label Recognized with TLMI Environmental Leadership Award for 2018

Rose City Label won the Environmental Leadership Award at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the top label printers in America.  This Environmental Leadership Award is given annually to one printer and one supplier based on judging Environmental Leadership Awardthe association environmental community.  The award recognizes specific programs, demonstrated results, and a cultural commitment to the environment.  We are very honored to join the list of past winners and we will never stop on our eco-friendly journey.  This year, the awards were renamed in honor of Calvin Frost – a true environmental leader in the printing industry.  There is nothing better than a cold frosty beer from our customer in the commemorative ‘Frosty 2018’ mug.

Results Matter

Trying hard and having commitment are important, but for the TLMI Environmental Leadership Award, results matter:

  1. Five Year Water Reduction of 47%
  2. Five Year Natural Gas Reduction of 43%
  3. Small reductions in Garbage and Electricity as well

All measures are indexed to manufacturing output as our business has grown considerably in the past 5 years.  Complete details and annual graphs of these measures can be found in this blog post.

Small Things that Every Business Can Apply

Besides these dramatic results, the committee was impressed with the programs and projects the company has championed.  These include:

  1. Encouraging employee bicycle commuting
  2. Providing excess pallets for employee home garden projects
  3. Recycling pallet wrap at the local supermarket
  4. Giving away excess pallets on Craigslist for local projects
  5. Shipping via direct courier service whenever possible
  6. Reusing items in the press room during production runs

More about these innovative programs can be found at these two blog posts click here for part 1 and click here for part 2.

Make Conscious Choices

The final area called out by the judges in this award was a leadership commitment to the environment. This philosophy is baked into the business so deeply that an employee recently lobbied for an electric car charging station – she knew it would align with our values (and with her new car), but also would provide marketing value and would contribute to this award criteria.  All team members know we are focused on the environment.  Some additional major indicators:

  1. Conversion to 100% wind power – read more here
  2. Water wash printing plates – among the first on the West Coast to adopt this system – read more here
  3. Monthly review of eco-metrics along with financial performance

Honoring the Label Eco-Legend – Calvin Frost

Environmental Leadership AwardThis award was particularly important to us since it was renamed in honor of our longtime friend and vendor, Calvin Frost.  Calvin has been the voice of the sustainability movement for decades and his message is finally being heard far and wide in the industry.  Calvin’s company, Channelled Resources, is basically one big recycling business.   For over 40 years, the company has inspected and salvaged potentially damaged product.  This stock would be destined for the landfill if his company didn’t take the time to sort and save the (large percentage) of this material.

Winning this award any year would be great, but to the first ever ‘Frosty’ award winner is even better!

Thank You – Call Us Today

We are ready to help others become more ‘green’.  Any success we have is a team effort and we want to help you on your journey.  Are you just getting started? Or need some pro-level tips?  Please call us today.  If you buy labels, that is fantastic, but we will help any business with a true desire to learn and grow in their eco-journey.  Cheers!

Sustainability RESULTS!

Sustainability RESULTS!

We are very proud of the good work we do to be an eco-friendly company.  Our people care about the earth we share and they are proud to be a part of a company that considers the environment.  Not all projects we start end up with dramatic results, but our eco-efforts certainly do.  Over time, as we have measured and worked, the gains have piled up in all areas.  Please contact us if you have questions.

Results – The Numbers Don’t Lie!

Once we were committed to the green business, we knew we needed to measure our results.  Each month we measure these four eco-measures.  These are indexed to our production – resources consumed per unit of production.  Over the past five years, our business has grown considerably, so our absolute consumption has increased, but on a per unit of production basis, we have made fantastic gains.  Check out these graphs!

Electricity – Down 3% since 2013

Water – Down 47% since 2013

Garbage – Down 7% since 2013

Natural Gas – Down 43% since 2013

Thank You!  We appreciate all your support

We do this all for you, our amazing customers.  Thank you for pushing us to do better every single day. We aren’t done yet – we will continue to work hard to make our company more and more eco friendly into the future.  Are you on the same journey?  Anything we can do to help?  Please call us today, we would love to share more about our programs and the results we have achieved.

Prop 65 – Do you need a label update?

Prop 65 – Do you need a label update?

Keeping Consumers Safe with a Prop 65 Label

There is a huge new burden on manufacturers that sell products to consumers in California – and it may require a label update:

All manufacturers, producers, packagers, importers, suppliers, and distributors, regardless of whether they are located in California or out of state, must provide a warning if their products cause exposures to any listed chemical to individuals in California.

If you are selling anything with ingredients on the prohibited list, you may need to update the language on your labels. The NFIB has an excellent summary of the newly updated law on their website.   According to NFIB,

More specifically, a warning label is required if the chemical included has either a 1 in 100,000 chance of causing cancer over a 70 year period, or unless it may be said that exposure to 1000 times the amount of the chemical within the product has no observable effect on reproductive health

The update effective in August 2018 is actually just a more strict interpretation of the law passed in 1986 – Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act This law requires disclosures if any of 900 listed chemicals are present in your product.  Read the full NFIB article by clicking here.

California even has a specific website dedicated to the new law.  Check more on that site by clicking www.p65warnings.ca.gov

We are All About Full Disclosure

This law seems onerous, but it is no more so than the mandate 20+ years ago to provide nutrition facts on all food packaging.  Now, this consumer information seems standard, but at one time, it was a big change for all food producers.  This will be the same.  Besides marketing and branding, your labels need to give consumers clear and complete information.

Easy Redesign

We aren’t a graphic design company, but we can help with basic layout changes.  Editing your label to be compliant and still be attractive – we can do that.  We are experts at fitting lots of information onto a small label.  The cost for this redesign is very affordable in most cases.  And, if you need a full rebranding, we can refer you to some excellent design agencies.  Adding a separate Prop 65 label to your packaging is another option – we can help with that too.

Other Label Questions?  We can help

As always, we are here to help with any and all label questions.  We can help with technical, aesthetic and financial questions related to your label project.  Please call us today.  We would be happy to help.

This article is intended to provide Oregon and Washington businesses with general information and is not intended to serve as legal advice regarding any specific matter; information should not be acted upon without legal advice.