Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy blank bulk packing labels for cost effective, in house printing

Choosing shipping label suppliers that offer a wide range of colors, designs and digital printing compatible labels. Labels made from recycled papers and organic inks may offer an extra selling point for your product. Look for companies that offer free or low cost shipping on large orders or discounts for repeat or big orders.

I recommend: Paper Mart has a wide range of packaging labels for sale in a variety of color, shapes and mediums. Online Labels offers both a range of regular labels and several recycled labels.

Choose wholesale shipping labels custom printed to save on equipment costs

If you run a very small business, it may be a good idea to consider having your packaging label supplies printed for you by a bulk printer. This will save money on equipment that you may only use once or twice a year. Uploading your design to a printer and letting them take care of the rest can save the small business a lot of headaches. Choose wholesale companies that offer breaks for small business such as short run prints and discounts for regular customers.

I recommend: Etiquette Systems offers a large range of custom printed labels ideal for everything from shipping to products. They have several types of packaging labels and offer free samples and personalized quotes. UPrinting has a great selection of short run label printing applications and offers both free proofs and online instant quotes for your product and shipping labels.

Purchase your own labeling supplies and equipment to keep overheads low

If you own a larger business, it may be worth the one time expense of buying label making machines and digital printers and making your own labels. There is a variety of supplies on the market so be sure of your needs before reaching for your credit card.

I recommend: Graphic Products has a wide range of labeling machines and supplies for industrial and shipping labels. QuickLabel Systems offers label makers for in house digital designs from single to multi color with an assortment of additional supplies to produce your labels yourself.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Supplies for packaging labels change constantly so it's a good idea to revisit your labeling design needs and suppliers on an annual basis to stay competitive.

Guide to Packaging Labels

How to create product labels that spark sales and reinforce your brand

By Frances Sharpe, freelance writer/editor

1. Trigger sales.
2. Communicate the features and benefits of your product.
3. Communicate instructions or other helpful information.
4. Establish your brand identity.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find label suppliers

An important step in creating packaging labels that spur sales is finding the right packaging label supplier. To find the perfect fit for your business, compare products, services, prices and turnaround times.

I recommend: Search under "Labels" in Package Design Magazine's online directory to find packaging label suppliers. MFG.com offers a matching service to help you find a label supplier.

Choose a shape

Your packaging label doesn't have to be a traditional square or rectangle; it can take on a unique shape with curved corners and eye-catching angles. Note that custom shapes cost more than standardized shapes.

I recommend: Keep your budget low by choosing from standard-sized shapes at AptechGraphics.com or splurge on a custom-shaped label from ConsolidatedLabel.com.

Choose your label material

Labels can be made from a variety of materials, including paper, film, vinyl, mylar, foil, polypropylene and recyclables. To determine which material is best for your product and to avoid labels that peel or wrinkle, consider if your label will be exposed to sunlight or if it will get damp or wet. Insist on a UV coating for labels that will be exposed to sunlight. Vinyl labels are a good option for products used outdoors.

I recommend: ConsolidatedLabel.com keeps an inventory of a wide variety of label materials.

Choose your label type

Pressure-sensitive labels, also called peel-and-stick or self-adhesive labels, are the most common. Expandable labels fold out so you can provide more information to shoppers.

I recommend: BlueRibbonLabels.com is one of the few label providers that offers accordion-fold expandable labels in addition to traditional labels.

Design your label

Your label's design must be compelling enough to entice buyers to pick it up and purchase it. When designing your label, consider your target market, the benefits of your product and your brand. If you're going to farm out the design task, provide direction to the designer with either a simple stick-figure rendering or emphasize keywords — for instance, 'natural, healthy and fresh' — that express what you'd like your label to convey.

I recommend: Major label manufacturers, such as ConsolidatedLabel.com and BlueRibbonLabel.com, typically offer graphic design services to assist you with label design. Another option is hiring a design firm that specializes in product packaging and labels, such as Strata.com.

Label application

Once your packaging labels have been created, they need to be placed on your products with extreme precision.

I recommend: WSPackaging.com boasts equipment that can handle your label application needs.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To accurately measure curved products, photocopy a ruler and wrap it around your product.
• •  Cut costs by reducing the number of colors in your label and choosing standard shapes and sizes.
• •  Ask for a press check to review your labels for any spelling or grammatical errors or any other problems before they're printed.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Rely on the design and format of your packaging label to brand the product

Whether your product is a can of vegetables, a jar of pasta or a tin of candies, a packaging label that reflects the products, includes your company colors or logo and makes the inner contents of the package alluring is key. An in-house design team may be beyond your label budget, but many label design companies exist. These companies offer affordable, digitally formatted work you can use repeatedly.

I recommend: LOG Technology Consulting offers high quality personalized design for your label and allows you to browse their portfolio before making any final decisions. Kristof Creative is an advertising agency that offers a line of packaging label designs custom made to suit. Ace Label Systems offers a lot of information on the types of industries that commonly use product labels, the types of labels on the market and a library of label dies to help choose your custom label look.

Provide extra piece of mind for you and the consumer using safety packing labels

It's important to consider the types of labeling you may need for communicating information, warning of hazardous materials or the fragility of your product. Take a few moments to review the safety labels on today's market as well as the types of mediums, finishes and inks that are available and at what price.

I recommend: Sigma-Aldrich is a company specializing in safety labels for packaging. It offers detailed diagrams of the information contained on a safety label as well as a list of the types of products they produce labels for. AsLabeled.com offers basic safety labeling supplies, including package handling labels such as the fragile label. They provide detailed product lists that give one a basic overview of the range of safety labels available today.

Take advantage of a second opportunity to market and brand your product with shipping labels

Every company needs business shipping labels, whether it is to ship product or mail business correspondence. Knowing the types on the market and the size, color and layout that best supplements your product labels is important. Every opportunity for your company name or company product to gain recognition poses the opportunity to boost sales. Shipping labels are cheap advertising.

I recommend: Adazon is a label and bar code company who not only have a full list of shipping and bar code labels, but also offer an industry blog to help you become familiar with trends and innovations in the labeling world. Planet Label is an excellent website with a variety of wholesale shipping labels and information on the sizes, types, materials and finishing of labels.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Take the time to research organic or green packaging label options to provide an additional selling point to your product. It cost nothing more to add 'This label is made from organic materials' and it looks great to the savvy buyer.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Barcode labels

Whether you need labels to keep track of items in your store, or to keep track of items that have been purchased for warranty, or other purposes, barcode labels are the way to go.

I recommend: LabelLab.com has many different barcode labels and descriptions of their intended uses.

Shipping labels

When packing products to be shipped, it is essential to have the proper shipping labels. Labels indicating that the items enclosed need refrigeration or are flammable need to be indicated to keep products, customers and handlers safe.

I recommend: ShippingLabels.com provides an array of different shipping labels to suit many different types of businesses.

Hang tags

Hang tags are a very common, eye-catching way to promote your product and display the price. Hang tags can be as simple as the name of the product and the price, or they can include details about the product and company.

I recommend: Consolidated Label Co. gives tips on how to effectively use hang tags and shows examples of tags created on their site.

Food labels

When packaging food, a solid label is important. It needs to give relevant information about what is in the product, but also needs to catch the consumer's eye.

I recommend: Blue Ribbon Tag & Label describes what a good food label includes, and gives helpful information for companies who need to create food labels.

Safety labels

It is important to use safety labels when shipping items that need specific instructions for the handlers safety or to keep the product from being damaged during the shipping process. Fragile items should be clearly labeled for this reason.

I recommend: AsLabeled.com has pictures of different safety labels.

Green labels

Companies that create and print their own labels can choose labels that are environmentally friendly. This may also be a selling point with some customers who are choosing between your labels and another product.

I recommend: AdaZon offers environmentally friendly labels in different sizes.