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Allow Us to Reintroduce Ourselves

At Blue Label, we’re subscribers to the idea of continuous improvement. This means we constantly strive to do a little bit better. Whether it’s updating a method to clean a printing press that prevents a breakdown, finding a new adhesive that is more reliable, or improving artwork software to catch more potential errors, we are always striving to improve.

That same principle applies to our name itself. Over the past few years, we have continued to work on what we do best: high quality labels and packaging with fast turnarounds. While doing this, we added new product lines. A few years ago, we started offering hang tags and keg collars. In 2019, we began producing shrink sleeves with the same high quality and quick turns our customers expect from us. All this to say, we are constantly evolving to better meet the demands of the people we serve.

With the evolution of our processes and product offerings, we felt our name needed to evolve too. From here on out, we are changing our name to Blue Label Packaging Company. We specialize in printing high quality packaging and labels with industry best turnarounds times, and that’s what we’ll always do. Blue Label will continue to focus on the customer service and the constant improvement that is the heart of our company.

A breakdown of the main aspects of Blue Label's new branding.

If you are taking the time to read this, I’d like to thank you for supporting Blue Label. This company has seen a lot of success over the past few years, and that success has made a lot of people’s (and quite a few dogs’ and cats’) lives better. We are very thankful for the opportunity to serve our customers and hopefully working with us has made your life a little easier.

So, allow us to introduce our new name: Blue Label Packaging Company. Just like the Blue Label you’ve always known, but slightly better.

Thanks for everything,
Andrew

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4 Science-Backed Ways to Create Eye-Catching Labels

Many brands struggle to find new and creative ways for their products to stand out on the shelf. Tapping into the subconscious mind of the customer, there are several psychological elements that can influence the decision to buy a product, or even notice it for that matter. It all starts with having the right product label design. Here’s how you can use design science to help your product stand out.

Font Type

Different font types can evoke different emotions. Decorative fonts (so long as they are legible) are great for brand and product names, while sans-serif fonts are best for the body copy of your label.

The type of font you choose for your label will depend on your product and brand personality. If you want to portray a simple elegance, maybe for a wine label or perfume label, use fonts that are orderly and classic with narrower lines. On the flip side, quirky and high-spirited fonts with lots of curves and maybe some embellishment comes across as playful and personable and could be used for beer labels or cannabis labels. For earthy and artisanal products, handwritten fonts can be effective in grabbing a customer’s attention. These warmer, more personal fonts would work well on candle labels and organic food labels.

Layout is important in product label design.

Layout Design Science

Spacing between letters and words can impact the way consumers feel about a product. One study, by researchers at Microsoft and MIT, found that participants who read content with a good layout felt more focused and had a stronger sense of clarity, as opposed to those who read the same content with a poorly designed layout.

Good layout design works because our eyes follow a natural pattern that breaks up phrases into scans and pauses when we read. Your eyes typically scan across a label between 7 to 9 words before needing to pause to process what you’re reading.

For your product label design, consider the layout. Rather than long lines of text, it’s scientifically better to break up the text into a series of shorter lines to create the natural pauses needed for visual processing. When customers are scanning shelves for a product, they’ll be significantly more likely to choose a label they can grasp.

Product label designs using the color red can grab a customer’s attention.

Color Psychology

The color of your label design can influence a customer’s purchasing decision, as it can evoke certain moods and feelings. For example, red has been known to increase metabolisms and stimulate appetites, so a food product might want to incorporate red into the label design. Red is also known for its ability to quickly grab people’s attention, so using red on any label is an easy way to make your product stand out.

Keeping in mind that your label likely won’t be one single color, especially when you factor in other elements like text and images, you’ll also want to think about mixing and matching colors. Using complementary colors will help make elements pop. For a more relaxed look that flows together, use analogous colors (any three colors next to each other on the color spectrum) in your product label design.

Applying color psychology to your label is an effective way to make your product stand out in the marketplace.

Visual Processing

You’ve likely heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that couldn’t be more true when it comes to product label design. Research below has found that customers are more likely to process and remember text on your product label if it’s paired with images.

People process visuals quicker than words, so adding imagery to your product label design can help it get noticed. In fact, 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Keep in mind that, according to the Social Science Research Network, 65 percent of the population are visual learners. Needless to say, an image on our label can go a long way.

Make Your Product Labels Stand Out

Blue Label is a full-service digital printing company that will work with you to create labels to help your product stand out. Our state-of-the-art HP Indigo digital printing presses and variety of finishing techniques allows us to find the best solution to provide you with labels that not only attract eyes, but also best suit the needs of your product.

If you need help designing your label, check out our Designer Directory to find the right partner for your product. Once you’re ready to start your next label project, contact us to talk to one of our experts about how we can bring your labels to life.

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Minimalist Design Trends for Product Labels

The minimalist movement is making its way into label design as more brands are forgoing flashy and opting for simple. You’ve surely heard the phrase, “less is more,” which can be especially true when it comes to the design of your product and bottle labels.

A minimalist’s mantra is to remove the unnecessary. In an era of information overload, brands are realizing that customers appreciate minimal labeling. It’s an effective trend that works because of its simplicity. (more…)

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Digital Printing and Label Inventory Management

Inventory management is tough. There are plenty of business service firms out there that would have you believe they can solve your inventory problems, from ERP software, to consultants, to RFID tracking, but the reality is that inventory problems can’t be ‘solved.’ There will always be a tradeoff between keeping too much on hand so you never run out, which increases the chance of spoilage or obsolescence, or you’ll keep too little on hand, increasing the chance of stock outs and unmet demand. This is inventory management’s inherent tradeoff, and every business owner has to make the tough choice of what risk he or she prefers. As printers, we can’t solve your inventory problems for you, but we can make the decision easier. Digital print production allows printers to tailor a label and packaging solution to meet your unique inventory needs. Here is a broad overview of how digital printing makes inventory management easier.

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Five Common Label Mistakes

Label design isn’t easy. There’s no question about it, some projects are more complex than others, but every project is complex and requires attention to detail. A reliable and experienced printer will definitely reduce the likelihood of making a mistake, but even the best printer can’t spot every mistake. We’ve compiled a list of five common label mistakes, what causes them, and how they can be prevented. Hopefully this makes your life a little easier.

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8 Steps to Great Label Design: Part 1

Blue Label is lucky enough to work with great clients, as well as talented designers during the process of collaboratively producing great labels. One of those designers, Madison McMullen has agreed to provide her insight into label design. Here are her 8 Steps to Great Label Design:

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Selecting a Substrate

Selecting a substrate (or face stock) for your product label may not be as simple as you think. There are thousands of combinations of face stocks and adhesives out there and choosing the right one could be critical to your label’s performance. Here are a few things you need to consider before ordering your labels: application, performance, aesthetic and cost. Listed below are some questions that should help you decide what substrate you need to get the most out of your label. (more…)

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Label Consistency

Designing a good label is hard. It takes a good concept, an understanding of the technical applications, a good designer, and a printer that can get it all right. But here’s the scary thing, even if you do everything right to create a great label, you could still end up with boxes full of useless packaging. Why? Consistency. Just because a label was right one time doesn’t mean it will be the next. Really, you might be thinking, in the age of the iPhone and Netflix, printers still haven’t figured out how to make labels look the same every time? Well, the answer to that is that some have and some haven’t, and you need to be able to tell the difference. The difference is the process they are using to create the label. Flexographic is an analog process that requires a lot of judgment and ‘eyeballing’ whereas digital printing is, well, digital. Here are the main areas digital printing can help maintain label consistency:

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Adding Value to Your Label with a QR Code

Guest Post by: Gretchen Ardizzone at Shout Out Studio

Having a well designed, well-executed label is the first step in attracting attention to your product, but there’s an opportunity for your label to do more. If you want to communicate the added value of your product, you might consider a QR code. QR (quick response) codes aren’t the newest technology to hit the market. In fact, the two dimensional barcodes have been around for almost twenty years. But we’ve seen them more (both good and bad) in the last few years in attempts to stand out in a highly competitive marketplace. When applied thoughtfully, they can provide their benefits.

Some people think the primary use of a QR code is a good way to direct consumers to your website. Not entirely. The reality is that your web address can just as easily be printed on your label, and if a consumer wants to visit your website before or after purchase, they’ll likely do it anyhow. The first question to ask is how engaging is your website? If you’re driving traffic there, it’s crucial that there’s something there to engage them. If it’s just basic company information and where to find your product (which they just did), you might want to reconsider.

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