Can you print a labels the shape of a starburst?
Can my labels have three square corners and one with a rounded corner? 
To save me putting on two labels can a tamper seal be a part of my main label?
At Axicon, we’re asked questions like this on a daily basis and the answer is always ‘Yes!’ Occasionally it may need a bit of imaginative thinking on our part, but we’ve always succeeded in supplying our customer with a workable solution.
In fact, custom or bespoke shapes are far more common than you may initially think. For example, although the weight or volume of jars is fairly standard the height, diameter and shape of the jar often isn’t and on top of that they could be circular, hexagonal or beveled – the result of this is that pretty much every label was at once a bespoke size.
Over the years we have accumulated a library of hundreds of cutters which continues to expand on a weekly basis. Many of these are rectangular, square or circular but we have many bespoke shapes including, triangles, ovals and labels with tabs & cut outs.
To help you decide upon the right label shape for your product, we’ve created a guide to some of the factors you’ll want to consider.
Custom shapes
Custom label shapes create brand awareness.. It’s what we all strive for. Having an instantly recognizable product label is an essential part of this. Typically a business will rely on the design or colour of the label, but the shape also has a part to play.
Possibly the best example of this is Heinz and their trademark ‘keystone’ shaped label recognizable all over the world by its silhouette alone. As with all good design, the shape is far from random. It portrays strength and significance and relates to the origin of Heinz. Pennsylvania (the home of Heinz) was one of the thirteen original founding states of America and is known as the keystone state.
Customizing the shape of your labels may not achieve that level of recognition, but making your products stand out on the shelf and become instantly recognizable for repeat customers will pay dividends.
Tamper seals
We offer a wide range of multi-purpose security seals, void and tamper evident labels. Here we will look specifically at tamper evident food labels. For information on our security labels click here.
Our range of jar seal labels vary from basic rectangular strips through lollypop labels and dumbbell shapes to bespoke shaped seals. Typically these are supplied blank or printed and have a hi-tack adhesive.
All of the above options are available on a wide range of face materials and can be made to tie-in with the rest of your packaging and suitable for use in any environment. For some synthetic materials and laminated labels a perforation may be required to enable the seal to be broken.
For specific food types such as honey, we have printed labels available off the shelf. However our state of the art digital printers allow us to supply custom printed labels for practically the same price.
Perforations
There are a number of reasons why a brand owner or retailer will include perforations as part of their label design.
Items that are used as gifts
A perforation can be used so that consumers are able to remove a section of a label whilst leaving other information on the product. Typically this is to remove the price but leave retailer details, size or other information about the goods. This type of label will typically be printed on a label with removable or deadened adhesive.
Tamper evidence
Food manufacturers incorporate a perforation in their labels as a quick and easy way to indicate whether jars or bottles have been opened. In order for these to work well a hi-tack, permanent adhesive is required.
Typically price and special offer labels will be printed on a label with a removable adhesive. On rare occasions this can be abused and prices labels switched from one product to another. In order to prevent this, some retailers will use labels with a permanent adhesive and also add perforations within the label. Should anyone attempt to switch the labels the perforations will cause the label to separate into several sections, making it clear that they have been interfered with.
Cut-out window
We’ve established how important it is to get the right branding, size and shape of label. Add to this the legal requirements which can lead to a larger than expected label. Not necessarily a problem, but frustrating in cases where clear pouches, trays, jars or bottles have been chosen specifically to show-off the product.
A cut out window is a novel solution to this allowing the quality of your product to stand out by creating an individual, distinctive look to your product and adding shelf appeal. This is a look popular amongst artisan foods and beverages as well as loose leaf tea, coffee grounds and beans.