A product's label design represents your company to consumers. That's why product label designs are so important. A good label showcases your company while adding visual appeal to products and is also distinctive. Good label design can even help improve sales.

Designing product labels is more than just selecting an image and font. A product label designer must also select the right type of paper, ink and adhesive to make sure your labels will survive shipping, handling and storage without fading, peeling or tearing.

1. Government regulations require certain nutritional facts and ingredients to be shown on product labels. Always follow national guidelines when designing food labels.

2. Some packages may require multiple labels for front and back panels. Be sure you know exactly what information must fit on each.

3. Make sure your label design fits with the feel you want your product and company to have. Casual economic brands may want to focus on bright fun colors and images, while more expensive or formal brands may want a simple image with more muted tones.

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

Use paper that fits the needs of your label design

There are hundreds of different papers available to make your label design. When choosing a paper consider visual aspects, like whether you want your label to be matte or glossy. Also consider functional aspects, for instance whether your label needs to be waterproof. Generally, paper-types are somewhat limited by the packaging materials you'll use. The kind of paper you choose can also limit which adhesives you pick.

I recommend: Pick from the papers available at International Plastics, or check out Low Low Cost Label's eco-friendly paper.

Choose the right type of printing for your label design

Label designs with an embossed, holographic or foil highlighting require a hotstamp printing process, while tamper evident labels and coupons use flexographic and combination printing methods. Which printing method you pick depends on what type of paper you're using and what effects you'd like to achieve. Large labels are often printed with flexographic printers, while food labels are usually hotstamped.

I recommend: Check out the printing processes available from Apogee Industries, or choose one of the printing methods used by YORK Label.

Get help designing your label from a label design service

Label design companies have the experience needed to help you select the perfect combination of ink, paper and graphic to create your label. If you're finding the design process tricky, or you just want the expertise and efficiency of a design company behind you, custom label design services can create excellent labels quickly for a small fee.

I recommend: Commission a design from a label design company like The Boxmaker, or get a label design prototype from Willington Nameplate.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you want your labels right away, try pre-selected label designs that allow you to add label design basics like your company's name and logo with standard paper, font, color and size options. These are available from many label design services and can ship in as little as 24 hours.

Label design products benefit you and your company in several different ways. In your business, you may label folders, envelopes, your product, equipment, machinery or storage bins and containers. You may choose to save money and create your own label designs, or you can also work with a label design service for designing product labels.

Whether you need a product label design, service label design or mailing label design, you'll find everything you need online. As you work towards making a decision on label designs, keep the following in mind:

1. Incorporate your company logo into every product label design you create.

2. Use your shipping label design for mailing labels, too, for added consistency and professional appearance.

3. Ask for free trials and samples first before you install label design programs and software.

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Buy, download software or create your own label design

Even if you don't know how to design a label, you'll find it's much easier to accomplish on your own than you might expect. For simple projects like CD, shipping or mailing labels, you'll save money doing the work yourself. You can also create product labels if you have a creative streak, time to play with possibilities and at least some experience in creating professional-looking labels.

I recommend: Avery's DesignPro Limited at Avery Dennison, will help you create your own labels and perform other administrative functions like picture editing, mail merges and card and sign creation. Download the label maker at Acoustica to label your important CDs or DVDs, or use OfficePrinter at Moss Bay Software for your label designs and to create business cards. You can even make bar code labels with BarTender at Seagull Scientific.

Utilize label design services to create top-notch labels

You may relish the idea of designing product labels by yourself, or it may strike fear in you if you're not the creative type. Consider label design companies that possess the experience, creativity and resources to design the perfect label to identify your product.

I recommend: See what Eben Design can do for your business by letting them create professional labels to identify your product or service. To ensure your labels last as long as your products, let Ace Label Systems create the durable labels you're looking for. Use the label design services of Atomic Design for labels that will make your product stand out from the rest. If you've designed a label you want professionally printed in bulk, contact Frontier Label for a price quote.

Order a pre-designed custom product label to save time

You don't have to create your label design by yourself when you can just add your personalized information to a pre-designed label.

I recommend: Check out the pre-designed service labels at Uline, if you need a label that allows you to track certain information. Contact a label design company like Lancer Label or Elite Design for pre-designed, professional-looking shipping and mailing labels.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider spending your marketing dollars on professional product label designers who can capture your company/product identity and transfer it to a custom product label that will make you proud and that your customers will notice right away.

Customizing your label design allows you to add the features you need to make your product label design appealing and functional. Your label says a lot about your company's priorities and taste. A well-designed label gives the consumer the impression you want while providing practical things, such as nutritional information, varieties and the product's name.

Designing product labels requires the proper balance of economic, visual and practical priorities. An eye-catching label that fails to leave room for product information, for example, can cost you sales. Ideally, your labels should fit the product's packaging and design without breaking your budget.

1. Labels generally come in sheets, fans or rolls. How they're produced depends on the type of label design and the printing process. Be sure to specify a type you'd prefer.

2. Make sure the product label design you want is compatible with your product packaging, materials and manufacturing process. Label designs that are weather-proof and window decal labels, for instance, must often be screen printed.

3. Label designs that use multiple colors, embossed or shiny surfaces and other embellishments often cost more. Generally, the more complicated your product label designs are, the more they will cost.

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

Use rolls for simple product label design

If you want a simple, economic label design then consider roll labels. Roll labels come on long rolls of paper similar to stickers. They usually feature a minimal design with text in one color on a white or colored background. Roll labels can be easily serialized and bar coded, and are easy to mass produce. In addition, roll labels often cost less than more ornate label designs.

I recommend: Get roll labels from Hallmark Namplate or Amherst Label.

Choose a custom die-cut label design for added interest

Many label design companies offer a variety of interesting die-cut shapes and sizes. Some even allow you to submit your own custom shape, so you can achieve a distinctive look. An unusual or thematic-shaped label can help draw interest to your product and differentiate it from others. Attention-getting shapes can aid you in making the most of label design.

I recommend: Pick one of the die-cut shapes available from a label design company like Universal Tag. Get a custom shape designed from a label design service, like Tape & Label Graphic Systems.

Increase security with your label design

Designing labels with security features or to be tamper resistant reduces the chance of imitations or theft. Secure labels are important on food, where they show if the food has been opened before purchase. They're also important for parking decal labels, which break apart when moved. Adding these kinds of features to your label design can give consumers added confidence when using your products.

I recommend: Get label design services from SecureMark Decal or get a custom product label with security features from Rustic Label.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you want a particular image to be used in your label design, you can work with an artist or graphic design service to get the exact image you want before sending it to a label design company.

A product label is the first aspect of a product that people look at. Through a product label, a customer should be able to get a feel of the brand and see what a product has to offer. The label design should give customers the information they need while also attracting them to the product. And label design does not stop with the printed information. The makeup of the label, what it is printed on and how it adheres to the product are also important aspects of label design.

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

Label template

A label template is a blank label that can be altered to create different label designs within a set label size and shape. Many computer programs provide preset templates for label design.

I recommend: Desktop Labels provides information on how to create templates for labels in Microsoft Word and also provides a template reference list for different label products.

Logo

The logo is a picture or design of the product name. The logo is made to be appealing and recognizable to customers.

I recommend: Company Logo Designer provides step-by-step instructions on how to design a logo for a company or specific product.

Adhesive

Adhesive is a substance that bonds labels to the product or product container. There are many types of adhesive for labels depending on the constant temperature of the product and the materials the label and container are made from.

I recommend: Chemsultants International provides definitions of the different types of adhesives available.

Barcode, numbering

Barcodes or numbering is the process of putting individual numbers on each label. This helps to count the labels on a sheet or roll and distinguish one from another.

I recommend: Jim Trade provides an explanation of how bar codes are used for every part of production, from raw materials inventory to final product packaging.

Thermal printing

Thermal transfer is a type of printing where heat is applied to the thermal ribbon to mark a label. The image is made directly on the label as apposed to other methods where ink is printed on top of the label.

I recommend: Zebra provides answers to frequently asked questions about direct thermal and thermal transfer printing.

Hazardous Labels

Some products are required to have hazardous labels. The American National Standards Institute is a regulatory organization that provides standards on a variety of commercial and industrial practices.

I recommend: Medical Design Technology provides information on label design for hazardous products.