When walking down the aisle at a local supermarket, we’re exposed to product labels of all different shapes and sizes. Some products have square labels and some have circular labels. Other products have rectangular labels and some products have both front and back labels. While the majority of product labels on store shelves are common shapes (circles, squares, etc.), there are many product labels that are custom-shaped.
There are two main reasons why custom-shaped labels are chosen. The first is that the product packaging being used might have an unusual shape (like those trigger packs that many cleaning products come in), which consequently requires a special-shaped label. The second reason is purely for design purposes. Creating a uniquely shaped label on a standard product package can help any product stand out from the competition.
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However, when ordering custom-shaped labels, it’s important to remember that we may not currently have a cutting die of the same size and shape as your labels. If this is the case, we may need to have a custom-shaped die created for your labels. While there is usually an extra cost for making the die initially, any future orders for the same custom-shaped label will use the same die. This means that it’s a one-time cost and your die will then be available for future orders at no extra cost. In order to have a new die made for a custom shaped label, it is important that a “dieline” is included in the design artwork that is sent to us. The dieline is what will be used to create the exact size and shape of the die. It is important to embed the dieline in any artwork files that include custom shapes. |
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A final point to consider when designing product labels is whether you will have a single label, or front and back labels. If the front and back labels are different sizes and/or shapes, then we can help you decide the appropriate layout to achieve the best result for your application. For example, it’s possible to have the fronts on one roll and the backs on another (in a single production run) – or the fronts and backs can even alternate on the same roll. This approach is often used in the wine industry, as each bottle rotates through the labeling equipment and receives the front and back labels in a single pass.
Custom shapes are an excellent option when labeling some products – but they need careful consideration during the design process in order to ensure the end result works in practice.