Lip Balm products are everywhere – in various flavors, consistencies and containers. But possibly the most common is the ubiquitous stick tubes that almost everyone carries in their pocket or purse. These normally have a replaceable cap to protect the contents and a twist mechanism that pushes the lip balm up inside the tube as it gets consumed (such as the tubes in the image below).
Lip Balms are also very popular promotional products – often sold to professionals (dentists, doctors, etc) and other service-related businesses who use them as a long-lasting and very convenient advertising medium.
What this means in labeling terms is lots of relatively small quantities with a common label shape/size – a challenge ideally suited to digital label printing. By “ganging” together a number of different product label designs into a single production run, even small vendors can achieve extremely affordable, custom lip balm labels with all the high-end look and feel associated with the big guys.
However, it’s critical to understand that the tubes used for Lip Balms are a labeling nightmare waiting to happen if you don’t understand the unusual challenges that the containers themselves present.
A Brief Introduction To Lip Balm Labels’ Application Techniques
Lip Balm sticks fall into what the printing industry calls “tight mandrel” containers – i.e. cylindrical tubes with a very small diameter (usually around a half-inch across). When you wrap a product label around something that small, the material has a natural tendency to “unravel” back to it’s normal (flat) position, which means your beautiful labels will often begin to lift away from the product at each end of the custom label. The only way to realistically minimize this behavior is to use a more-aggressive adhesive on the product label material that resists this unfurling tendency. Our Online Quoter has a choice of material called “White BOPP (Tight Mandrel)” specifically to address this problem.
Also, with Lip Balm tubes, it’s especially important to include some form of tamper-proof seal that extends onto the cap – so the consumer can be confident they’re the first person to have used the product. We have invested in special dies to make your custom lip balm labels with a perforated area that gets separated by twisting the cap – if the seal hasn’t been broken then you know it hasn’t been used or tampered with. We’ve also created a handy design template that may help you lay out your artwork in the best way… just click here.
We have included this ‘safety seal’ area in our label template available here
Note – The ordering process for lip balm labels is also a little unusual. When preparing the online Quote, you’ll need to select “Special” as the Shape, then the only Size available for selection is the one designed specifically for lip balm labels. If you have any difficulty with this process or have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us for assistance.
Incidentally, you’ll also notice an “Overlap Area” on the template above template. The purpose of this area is for the product label to wrap completely around the Lip Balm tube and overlap a short way onto itself – thereby further strengthening the bond and helping prevent the “lifting” described earlier. You can certainly add some identifying information in that area to help you differentiate between products if you wish, but keep in mind that the information will be hidden once the labels are applied.
So, that’s a short introduction into the unique challenges of Lip Balm labels – just buying a standard shape/size on standard label material is NOT the answer if you have any interest in your product’s durability and effectiveness.