by admin | May 9, 2018 | Beer Wine Spirits, Company News, Customers/Examples
Rose City Label Customers Win Big!
We are proud to be partners with some of the best brewers in Oregon and beyond. Making great beer is the most fundamental thing that will help these people grow their business, and they really are making great beer. From all different styles and different sized breweries, the Oregon brewers took home many, many awards this year.
World Beer Cup – National Competition
This event isn’t for shy people – the competition is fierce and nobody likes to lose. But winners like these don’t back down – they want to know how good they really are, so they enter competition to find out.
Seventeen Oregon Breweries won awards this year – click here to see the Oregon List
More than half of these are current and former Rose City Label customers – way to go!
The full list of all award winners can be found on the World Beer cup website by clicking here.
Great Beer Needs Great Packaging
Having great beer is the foundation, but in order to really build your brand, you need great packaging. Labels matter too! Click here to learn more about Beer Label Design. We are proud to help these great brewers tell their authentic brand story. Great beer is the key, but to win over the long term, you need the total package – great beer, fun on-premise experience, and excellent packaging in the bottle shop. We can help make sure the beer in the bottle or can looks as good as it tastes.
Thank You
Customers have choices – we are very thankful for all the brewers that choose us for their label needs. Beer remains a very solid part of our business, but we would love to talk to new breweries too. Call us today if you want to kick up the quality on your beer labels. Cheers!
by admin | Apr 6, 2018 | Business Tips, Customers/Examples
Always Do Your Best for Customers
Serving customers is a privilege that must be earned daily. This privilege is granted on the condition that you, the service provider, will always do your best. Always. In most cases, there are no guarantees or long term commitments in business – you have to earn your business every day by doing your best.
Take Adversity With Grace – See the Silver Lining
We recently had a very significant customer come to us looking for massive cost reductions. The organization we serve is part of a larger national company and there was huge pressure from above to cut costs. The entire organization put all their label and packaging business out to open bid – everything was on the line. Relationships, service, history, special arrangements – none of this had a cell in the spreadsheet. It is all about the bottom line dollar. We were initially concerned and even a bit offended, but as we went through the process, we realized that we had to play ball or be left behind. Digging in our heels and relying on charisma wasn’t going to retain this business. We had to do our best for the customer – again.
Rise to the Occasion
After some hand wringing, we realized that this is an opportunity to become a better, more competitive supplier – for this customer and for all our customers. The work we do and the efficiency we realize by this exercise will benefit all of our current and future customers. We will force ourselves to get better – fast! A small crisis motivates people.
Spread the Work
We will run the press faster, with less waste, and fewer errors. We will hold each other accountable to be on our ‘A’ game every time we print for this customer. But we also pushed some of the pain down to our suppliers – they have to help us find these cost savings. Guess what – they have risen to the occasion too. With creative problem solving, more aggressive price, and reviewing options we hadn’t considered before, our suppliers provided most of the savings we were looking for. Together, we worked hard to always do our best for the customer.
Always Move Forward
The final bid award isn’t out yet. We don’t actually know if our bids will allow us to retain the business, but we do know that our business will survive and thrive regardless of the outcome. Each day we work hard to serve the customer. We always want to win, but sometimes you learn and grow the most from the ones you don’t win. Time will tell – we will be ready and we will move forward.
by admin | Mar 11, 2018 | Customers/Examples
Graphic Design Wizards
The people that come up with the eye catching label designs we print truly are wizards – graphic design wizards. They make magic happen by combining color, shape and texture to tell your authentic brand story. Creativity isn’t easy to quantify, but we all generally know it when we see it. Education and training will improve skill, but a certain amount is just baked into the DNA of the talented designers we work with daily.
Creativity is Everywhere
Small details matter! Being a graphic design wizard is a mind set and a calling – it isn’t a part time thing for the truly talented people we work with. Creative thought is infused into their label design, their work spaces, their fashion, and every aspect of their lives. When they are in, they really are ‘All In’.
Talk, Walk, Stalk
The image above is a screenshot from the email signature of one of our talented designers. Yes, the traditional email signature has all the required elements – like this one – but it is presented in a fun, creative way.
- If you want to TALK – there is the phone number
- If you want to WALK (into the office) – here is the physical address
- If you want to STALK (online – in a non-creepy way) – here is the web address
Nothing is really revolutionary about an email signature or providing contact information – but HOW you provide it is an opportunity to show your creativity. Every email I get from this group makes me smile because of this creative email signature.
Work with Talented Partners
Our job as printers is much easier when we have talented designer partners. Designing to push the boundaries of equipment capability is fine, but respecting the process and maximizing impact within the physical limitations of the media are also important. For most of our business customers, they need to build a team beyond a graphic designer.
Build Your Team
Growing product companies that we work with need a very talented team. Getting your team in place before crunch time is critical – surround yourself with stars! Top talent is expensive, but if you are creative you will be able to have a solid team in place to help your business grow. Graphic design and branding, legal, financial, insurance, accounting, IT – successful business is built by building a talented team. These vendor partners are the platform to launch your business to the next level.
Thank You!
We are blessed to have excellent partners. Our team is solid and most vendor partners have been with us for years. If you need advice or introductions to take your business to the next level, please contact us. Ultimately, our job is to help your business grow and prosper. Mostly, we do that through delivering top quality printing at a fair price. Beyond label printing, we are happy to share our resources and experiences to help you. Call us today!
by admin | Dec 26, 2017 | Beer Wine Spirits, Customers/Examples, Food Beverage
Cascade Brewing has engaged with Murmur Creative to update their brand in 2017. A full label redesign was part of that process and now the branding quality matches the amazing beers. This is a case study on how to elevate your brand.
History
Rose City Label has a very long history with Art Larrance – one of the true Oregon craft beer pioneers. Portland Brewing was founded in 1986
by Art and his high school friend and fellow craft beer legend, Fred Bowman. Read the full story here. Way back in the days of Portland Brewing, we were lucky enough to supply sheetfed, glue applied labels for many of their early beers. We still have a bottle of this Thunderhead Cream Stout in our office; these were truly the beginnings of craft beer in Oregon.
Rebirth as Cascade Brewing
By 1998, Art and his trusted friend Ron Gansberg were pioneering again, starting a small brewery in the basement of the Racoon Lodge on SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. Their reputation grew for top quality barrel aged sour beers, and again Rose City Label was lucky enough to print labels for the beers they bottled.
Engaging with Murmur Creative
Art’s son Tim Larrance returned to the family business after a successful career with national and international beverage brands. As VP of Sales and Marketing, part of his job was to bring the packaging and branding up the level of the beers. They needed to elevate their brand to keep up with the growing Cascade reputation. This was not an easy process – it is always a balancing act to keep the link to the heritage while moving forward to attract new customers. Luckily, Cascade engaged with Andrew Bolton and the talented team at Murmur Creative. The Murmur team listened and helped Cascade articulate their message and bring the updated brand to life. Thankfully, they were also very good to work with on the printing side. They knew the process and its limitations and maximized every aspect of the label design.
Three Tiers – separate but aligned
Among the many good things Murmur did with the new designs, they built an integrated system to include different beer styles and price points into one cohesive family. The labels are distinct (see below) but with the Cascade branding front and center, it is easy to see that they are all part of one product group.
Maximizing the Medium – Size, Paper, Foil Stamping
The team at Murmur did the research to really understand our printing process and capabilities. This allowed Cascade to get the most impactful label at the most affordable price. The label size was optimized to run most efficiently on our printing press while still providing the desired look on the bottle. The three tiers were separated to ensure the top level products have the special embellishments to set them apart:
- Tier 1 – High Quality Paper, Full Color Printing
- Tier 2 – Premium Paper, Full Color Printing
- Tier 3 – Premium Paper, Full Color Printing, Foil Stamping
By considering the available features early in the design process, Murmur was able to execute Cascade’s vision with no surprises on press. This preparation is what makes Murmur (and Cascade) such a good partner for Rose City Label.
Thank You Cascade and Murmur!
We are privileged to work with many great brands, but few have the total package – great products, great design, and wonderful people making it happen every day. If your product could benefit from a branding facelift in 2018, please call us today. Together with partners like Murmur, we can help you elevate your brand and get your product to pop off the shelf.
Cheers!
by admin | Dec 7, 2017 | Company News, Customers/Examples
Thanks to all our amazing customers that have helped us grow and prosper all these years. This retrospective will give some history, some context in our current environment, and some wonderful hopes for the future. None of this would have been possible without you – thank you so very much.
Past
We have the experience to navigate the changing world of label production. Self adhesive roll labels, 
which are 90% of our work now, weren’t even invented for the first 30 years of our business. Technology has changed over time, but the timeless values of hard work and fairness don’t ever change. You can be rest easy knowing your work is being handled by the most experienced label printing crew.
Present
High quality food, wine, and beer labels dominate our production now.
We work very hard to keep our top customers happy and growing. As their production grows, they can’t be limited by a label supplier that can’t keep up.
Because of the trust you continue to put in our 
team, we continue to grow and prosper. 2017 has been a great year!
- Sales up 12.5% over last year
- 676 customers have trusted RCL this year
- Over 3,500 label jobs printed in 2017
- New water wash plate system
Future
The future is bright at Rose City Label. With continued investment and training, we are constantly upping our game to serve you better. This year we are upgrading again:
- Precision Video Plate Mounter – more accurate, faster job setup
- Second servo driven rewind/inspection station – reliable and fast
- Workflow Automation – faster delivery of Digital Print Jobs
Workflow Automation – this is the biggest change for 2018. This integrated system ties our office business system directly into production. As more and more digital jobs demand faster lead times, this automation will make every job faster and more accurate. Visibility for the office staff will help plan production and make accurate delivery time estimates. This is big! Stay tuned for more information as we fully implement this cutting edge technology.
Label Designs for 2018 – Nobody is facing LESS competition in the new year. Your labels have to stand out in a crowded market. Shelf space is limited and you need to grab and keep the consumers’ attention. This post based on a Forbes magazine article gives great insight. Here are the main takeaways –
- Less is more – clean, classic designs are winning
- Texture matters – color is important, but a nice ‘touch’ helps
- Be true to Your Brand – tell a consistent, authentic story
Summary
Thanks to you, we are well positioned to continue our growth into 2018. Our investment and our very strong team have us poised for the future.
- Right equipment for best results
- Excellent, well trained crew
- Committed to Eco-green business practices
- Backed by local, family business values
With your trust, we look forward to 2018 with great anticipation. If there is anything we can do for you – related to label printing or not – please call us today. We are happy to give back to the community that has been so good to us.
Cheers!
by admin | Oct 22, 2017 | Business Tips, Customers/Examples
Rose City Label is proud to support Family Business education. As we mentioned in this post, we recently presented to the senior class at the OSU Family Business education 
program. We are proud to be a family business – there are many good reasons for this, as outlined here in this post.
As a result of this presentation, we were contacted by a student in the Family Business education program. He asked about pricing for labels for his startup Kombucha business.
Because of the students’ drive and dedication, we were happy to offer this first run of labels for free! We believe in supporting family business education.
We believe in growing the next generation of business leaders.
We Support Family Business Education
The story of INTEA is quite fascinating, as noted here below:
INTEA Kombucha is a Corvallis based company dedicated to the production of high quality, artistically crafted fermented kombucha tea. INTEA was born out of a shared passion for the art of fermentation by four friends from opposite sides of the equator. Despite our busy lives as graduate students and brewing professionals, we make time for what we are truly passionate about, and that is Kombucha. As the saying goes in Chile, we are crazy as goats! Along with a shared passion for fermentation science, the founders believe in embracing life with a sense of playfulness, curious engagement, and joy. The name INTEA came to fruition on the shores of a Cascade mountain lake; a play on the words “Inti” for the Incan sun god and “tea”, for the nutrient medium necessary for kombucha fermentation. The sun featured in our logo represents the light, brightness, and positivity that illuminates our everyday endeavors.
These young entrepreneurs are SERIOUS about making a good product.
At INTEA, we specialize in the production of small batch, artisanal fermented Kombucha. Our proprietary fermentation process begins with a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria and a blend of green and black teas. We create intense flavors by using only 100% real fruits, herbs, and spices grown under the sun, and capture natural effervescence from the fermentation process.
This process ultimately achieves a low or no alcohol, low calorie, gluten free beverage with a mouthwatering tart, pleasantly fruity, carbonated taste making it an excellent alternative to beer, cider, or wine. You can find INTEA Kombucha at the Corvallis Farmer’s Market, delivered right to your front door in Corvallis, and at select locations in the local Corvallis area.
Thank you, team INTEA for helping us have hope for the future. This is why we support Family Business Education – people like you that are carrying the ball forward into the future.
