By Brittany Willes, editor, PostPress
With its extensive manufacturing and production knowledge, Texas Bindery Service, Cedar Creek, Texas, is no stranger to creating unique projects for its clients. “We specialize in implementing unique finishes and print embellishments into our hard- and softcover projects and for any project where quality, memorability and brand awareness is significant,” stated Vice President Sonja Nagy.
When Organic Distribution LLC needed a distinctive label for its line of kratom (an evergreen tree used in some natural medicines) products, Texas Bindery was ready to help. Working closely with the printer/broker who reached out on behalf of Organic Distribution, Texas Bindery set out to create something truly special.
“After reviewing the information presented, we had a clear vision of some options we wanted to offer to provide the highest value and impact for the client and the brand,” said Nagy. To create the label, Texas Bindery first had to determine which stock would be the best. “We tested multiple label stocks to find the perfect fit,” explained Nagy. After testing different label materials, it was determined the best stock for production was Wassau 12 x 18 DP19005 3.4 Mil White Flex Vinyl with permanent adhesive 80# scored back liner.
With the label design and stock selected, it was time to put the project into production. “Our first step to creating this unique label design was to add the application of toner for the digital foil process,” Nagy noted. “Then we placed the label in our Duplo laminator and foiling machine to apply the digital foil to the toner areas.” The foil for the label was provided by two different vendors – a silver foil was provided by Nobelus, along with additional red and silver foils from Infinity Foils.
Once the foiling was complete, CMYK printing was applied to the foiled label using a Ricoh 7210SX Digital Press. “At this stage, we printed CMYK colors to create the black, graphite gray, red and green colors on the Wasauu label stock,” said Nagy.
Because three different labels were produced – each a different color – the next stage for the gray and red label was adding a soft-touch lamination to the label sheet. “We chose to use Nobelus Karess Lamination,” said Nagy, “applying the lamination to the label sheet after the final CMYK layer was completed using our Duplo laminator and foiling system.”
The green kratom label required an extra step in the production process. “We wanted to achieve a more vibrant green color,” said Nagy. “After performing multiple tests, we determined the best way to get the result we were looking for was to run an additional press pass on the green color only.”
Currently, the digital foil is limited in the color selections available. Texas Bindery found that by laying down a silver foil and overprinting CMYK on top of the silver, it could create additional custom colors to achieve a wider color variety. “Combining the extra pass on the green layer only, along with opacity and density adjustments on the printer, provided us with added flexibility to create slight hue changes to generate the best final piece possible,” Nagy said.
The final stage of print and embellishment design for all three labels consisted of applying a raised spot UV coating. “We used our Duplo DDC-810 UV equipment to apply UV coating to precise areas in the label design,” said Nagy.
Along with achieving a more vibrant color for the green kratom label, Texas Bindery also faced an additional challenge when it came to registration. “We knew registration line-ups through multiple passes would be our biggest challenge with label creation,” Nagy stated. “Once we established the precise settings needed on our Ricoh printer, we were able to fine tune everything to create the registration needed throughout all the printing, foiling and spot UV processes.”
Despite the challenges, the end results are stunning, as noted by nearly all who have seen the label. “Our client was thrilled with the final piece,” said Nagy. “We have shown the labels to other clients and vendors, and people have been very impressed with the results we were able to achieve. They haven’t seen anything like it before.
