How much will my labels cost and how quick can I get them?

What to expect when doing business with Columbine Label, and how you can help expedite the process!

In a custom manufacturing business like Columbine Label, part of what makes it custom is the number of variables involved in each transaction. Because of that, we can’t just “ballpark” a price. Following is a discussion of what we need to provide you with an accurate picture of what it takes to make your label, and thus give you an accurate estimate of what they will cost.

• Due Date! When do you need ‘em! We still haven’t mastered delivering labels yesterday, however we try to work with our customers as much as we can to make their delivery dates. A surprising degree of this depends on you, the customer. More about that later.
• Quantity. How many labels do you want or need? Do you expect to order the same labels again? If so how soon? Our understanding of what you hope to or expect to accomplish will help us to make a better recommendation.
• Size of the label. Not the container size. Similar volume containers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Don’t know? If you have a container, we can help you with this.
• Any degree of sizing flexibility? We have thousands of die shapes and sizes and may have one close enough to work if not the exact size. We can adjust the art.
• Artwork and proof approval. This is almost always the point that lead times get extended. We can’t print a label if you can’t decide what it will look like, or what it needs to say. We won’t provide a promised delivery date without a signed proof – we know from experience this is where the wheels will come off! Our normal delivery is two weeks from proof approval. If delivery is critical, it is at this point that the customer can have the biggest impact on making that date. Let us know what you need and help keep the process moving – we can probably make it happen.
• Is Artwork ready to go? We’ll need a couple of days to generate a proof if art is ready.
• What format is the art in? Our website details acceptable formats. Typically Microsoft type formats are not usable.
• We can provide a quote without art, but it will be subjective to our review of the art; i.e. if we quote 3 colors and the art comes in as 2 or 4 colors, it will change the pricing.
• How many colors are in your label? If you can send us the art we can determine number of colors.
• How many copies or “flavors” do you need? For example: Joe’s Jellies. Grape, Strawberry, Peach, Large and Small of each. This would represent six copies. However it may not require all plates to change. This is a good example of allowing us to see the art at the time of quote. We can then correctly account for everything necessary, minimizing future “corrections” and/ or misinformation.
• We normally don’t charge for doing customer art. Most work here can be done in a minimal time. If it becomes extraneous, we will advise you of any necessary charges.
• We allow three proofs issued before incurring charges. See the above point. We’re happy to make changes and corrections – within reason.
• Changes after approval. If you need or want to make changes after signing the proof, it may incur a charge and most certainly will extend the delivery date. Again delivery date is from proof approval. Changes after approval starts the clock over again.
• How are the labels to be applied. Hand or automatically applied. If labels are to be hand applied, this could provide some flexibility with regard to die choice.
• Do you know the “unwind style”? See the chart on our website art page.
• Are you working with a third party to label your containers? If so, is there a labeling date established? Who and where? Unwind style determined? We’re happy to coordinate with your applicator to make sure everything matches up.
• Paperwork – New customer paperwork required. We try to keep this to a minimum. There are a couple of items we need however. These must be completed or we will be required to charge you tax on the order.
• In general, charges to be aware of: Label cost per 1000. Plate and die charges if applicable. Shipping charges and any applicable taxes.
• +/- 10%. Industry standards are to produce quantities of plus or minus 10%. If you require exact quantities, we must know this at the time of the order.
• Payment terms are: Cash, check or credit card (MasterCard or Visa) First time customers are payment in advance. We do offer terms upon approved credit.

That about covers it. One thing we try to do at Columbine Label is manage expectations. Try as we might, “nobody sells everybody”. But if you know what to expect that’s half the battle. Most of the time we find a way to accommodate our customers needs. If you’re in a position to help us get you what you need, everybody wins. Getting labels shouldn’t be difficult, but it shouldn’t be an overlooked aspect of getting your product to market either. Labels get your products noticed and Purchased!

Preparing your new food product for commercial sale or:
This little piggy went to market?

So you think your product is good enough to take to market? Is it a tradition honored family Bar-B-Q Sauce? A zesty salsa that is just as good on scrambled eggs as it is with chips? Perhaps it’s Grandma’s secret spice blend and rub? Whatever it is, yours friends, family, and neighbors all tell you how much they love it, and now expect it from you for the holidays and birthdays. So what is the next step?

As with any new venture, there are numerous items to consider before you take your product to market. Among those todo’s would be do you have the right equipment to adequately prepare/blend/cook/store your product? Will you need to invest in a separate kitchen or additional equipment to scale to your business needs? Most local governments restrict at-home commercial food production, so be certain to research local zoning laws and contact your local Public Health Department. Here’s one place to get started in Colorado: http://healthguideusa.org/Colorado_county_health_departments.htm.

Now that you’ve done your homework and have decided to move forward, you have probably discovered that you will need to manufacture your product in a commercially approved kitchen. One economic and efficient option to consider is renting space in a commercial commissary kitchen. In Colorado alone, there are nearly a dozen fully equipped and licensed kitchens that can meet your production needs. Some go beyond and offer additional services for packaging/bottling, nutritional labeling, and 24/7 accessibility to name a few.

One such commissary is Kitchen Network located at 4986 Morrison Road in Denver, Colorado at the Morrison Road Complex. Owners Dennis and Elaine McFerrin offer a multitude of services for fledgling and established clients alike in their 3,000 square foot kitchen. Kitchen Networks is a unique facility designed specifically for caterers, vendors, personal chefs and food manufactures. Dennis and Elaine also lend their many years experience to help, especially in the licensing and compliance issues, and even some direction in marketing your product. They have professionally trained chefs and staff on board to assist you with nutritionals, expansion of recipes, branding, logo design, and even bottling. Their motto is: “If you succeed, we succeed!”

As with any new endeavor, your available options are as plentiful as they may be confusing. The more involved you become, the more you will find there is to do. The convenience of a “one-stop-shop” such as Kitchen Network can facilitate this process allowing you more time to grow and develop a successful company. For additional information, call 303-922-0222, email ddmcferrin@aol.com, or visit their website at www.kitchennetworkdenver.com.

Standard Disclaimer: Columbine Label has no interest financially or otherwise in Kitchen Networks. We have simply chosen to highlight them as an example of a commercial kitchen, that we and a number of our customers have had good and referable experience.

Of course we do have a vested interest in this process; helping make sure your new venture gets its due attention. Don’t forget about the label and shelf appeal! Make sure your product is properly labeled and will stand out in the crowd. The public consumes food products just as much with their eyes as they do with their mouth – if they don’t like the looks of it enough to pick it off the shelf, they may never get the chance to know what they’re missing. Make Grandma proud of her secret recipe – get noticed AND purchased!

Does it ALWAYS have to be a STICKY situation?

Myths, Urban Legends, and old wives-tales about removing adhesives.

Most manufacturers and product distributors these days seem pretty astute about using label products and adhesives that remove from the products they are supposed to remove from. But every now and then you get one that just doesn’t want to come off cleanly. If you’re like me, you probably reach for the nearest chemical to remove that gooey adhesive buildup left behind. Window Cleaners, Rubbing Alcohol, Hydrogen Peroxide, dish soap, nail polish removers, Skin So Soft (ha! you know your old when…………..) THEN, after the goo is smeared all over you go for the TOUGH stuff like WD-40, or M.E.K (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) only to find out that it has smeared not only the adhesive goo, but may have melted or damaged you new product as well. Do any of these methods really work?

Well – experience says Yes…and No. M.E.K. is one of the best catchall adhesive removers from many surfaces like metal or glass, but watch out. While readily available at any hardware store, M.E.K. is one of the nastiest chemicals out there. Flammable, Irritant, absorbable into the blood thru the skin. Really best left as the choice of last resort. And follow the safety instructions if you decide to go this route. By the way, it will also dissolve certain types of plastics. WD-40 works on some surfaces as well but you have to be careful about the oily stain that can be left behind.

Rubbing alcohol and alcohol based products like Window Cleaners, Nail polish removers etc. all appear to help but really only wet the adhesive and make it appear to go away. Once dry, the sticky adhesive residue usually reappears. For regular label use in printers etc., this gives the appearance of reoccurring adhesive issues throughout the roll of labels, when in fact it is usually just normal build up that is not being completely cleaned away.

Here are some tricks of the trade:

We have found the best product for the purpose of removing adhesive is a citrus based cleaning solution you can get from the local hardware store (like Orange Glow). Smaller, less concentrated products are also available, such as “Goo Gone”!

For hard surfaces you may be able to use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, a mixture of Warm Vinegar and a clean cloth can also do the trick.

Baby oil, cooking oil and lotions are sometimes good remedies for removing adhesive left on your skin from bandages.

Now…………you will NEVER hear us say it is OK to apply a label to Silk, leather or suede, however; if you peel a label off any other fabric but the adhesive doesn’t come up Try this: simply apply a paper towel to the fabric and iron over the adhesive. This should transfer the adhesive from the fabric to the paper towel.

Some stickers are made with “water soluble adhesive”. Try soaking the product in hot tap water (if the product is submersible). If it’s a wash-away, the label will peel right off.

If you get adhesive build up in a printer, running regular bond copy paper thru will help eventually clean this out. If using a laser printer make sure it’s a laser compatible label product. And if you regularly use label products in printers, automatic applicators etc. you can expect some adhesive build up over time – its part of the nature of the product.

Standard Disclaimer: When using something you’re unfamiliar with, always try it out in a less conspicuous area to make sure it is suitable and won’t damage the product you trying to remove the adhesive from. A scratched or melted sunglasses lens is no more useable than one with a label stuck to it!

We hope you’ve found this information usable. If you have other home remedies or solutions you’ve found that work, let us know and we’ll pass them along.

Label Performance & Temperature:

Several months ago, we discussed removable adhesives. This month, we’ll cover a bit about how temperature affects label performance.

Most base material manufacturers use two specifications around temperature performance measures. Those are Minimum Application Temperature (MAT) and Service Temperature Range.

Service Temperature Range is typically easier to define and usually seems to be less of a factor in whether or not a label will perform in its intended use. Typically when a label fails because of temperature issues, it is due to the application temperature factor, not the service range. That said, the service range is just that – the temperature range that the label can or should function properly within, after it is applied and functional. So for example, a standard service range for a permanent adhesive with a paper face stock might be -65º F to +200º F. As you can see, most label uses are likely going to fall into this wide range. Any hotter and the face stock may begin to discolor or even burn, and any colder….well, there doesn’t seem to be that much call for labels that far North.

Minimum Application Temperature is a different animal, but is also what it says it is. The minimum temperature that a particular adhesive can be applied to the intended substrate and properly adhere. However, this aspect of the application introduces a number of other factors that can influence functionality. For example, a food product that is packaged and labeled at room temperature, and then immediately stored in a freezer. As you probably guessed, this application would call for a freezer grade adhesive. Even though the label is applied at room temperature, not enough time has elapsed to allow the adhesive to become permanent. So while you applied this at room temperature, the immediate requirement was freezer conditions, and thus a freezer grade adhesive – also referred to as an all temperature adhesive.

Now lets’ say you have an item that doesn’t require any refrigeration. The product is labeled, warehoused for a day or two and then loaded on a truck in Minneapolis on a non-global warming winter day. Freezer grade adhesive or not? Probably not necessary. The key difference in these two examples is not only in the actual application temperature, but with what happens immediately afterward – for around 24 hours or so. If those 24 hour conditions would necessitate an all temperature type adhesive, then your best bet is to use one. Numerous All-Temp. adhesives available today have minimum application temperatures of -20º F. A standard permanent adhesive MAT might be +40º F.

All of this is due to the way adhesives work. That is by cold flow. In other words, adhesives to an extent are liquid and need to flow to work properly. This liquidity is impacted by temperature. Especially extremely cold temperatures. Increase the cold, decrease the flow = failure. Unless you’re using the proper adhesive.

Cold temperatures can also introduce other factors like frost and condensation. All temp. adhesives are typically “softer” and may work if these type conditions exist. Or, what to use in a blast freezer. Temperature is -80ºF. Outside the service range and MAT. What to do? These applications can be a bit tricky and each of these circumstances will likely require its own solution rather than broad brush.

So why not simply use an “all temperature” adhesive all the time? From a pure temperature perspective, you probably could. However pricing and other performance needs will play on this decision. Pricing on general purpose and all temps can be similar, but depending on the manufacturer and performance requirements, there might be significant differences. Furthermore, specific performance requirements may necessitate something other than an All Temp. adhesive.

As usual, there are too many examples and instances that can’t all be covered here. The key to helping your label supplier make a good recommendation for your application is to simply advise them what you want the label to do, and how you will be doing it.

While labeling may not be rocket surgery, it can have its nuances. You’ve invested your time and energy into your product, do you really want or need to be a label connoisseur as well? Let our experts guide you through the labeling process to help ensure that What we make, helps what you make, get noticed. Purchased!

COOL Man

Well… maybe not so much in this case, as COOL stands for Country Of Origin Labeling. You may have heard about COOL – it was passed in the Farm Bill….in 2002. Finally after numerous delays, amendments and other congressional necessities, it was again amended with the 2008 Farm Bill and seemingly has finally been implemented. Although the Final Rule didn’t take effect until March 16, 2009. So much for expediency, what is this Bill?

In a nut shell (country of origin unknown), the COOL regulation requires certain meats, some fish and shellfish, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, certain nuts and ginseng sold by designated retailers to be labeled with the Country Of Origin. Sounds pretty straight forward and with recent issues around salmonella and so on, perhaps not a bad idea. Of course the devil is in the details and even in generally understanding the requirements. The rules aim was to help consumers understand if the food they were purchasing retail was imported or not. Toys for example, are similarly labeled – i.e. made in China. While the intent seems clear enough, the definitions are very broad and exclude numerous widely eaten foods such as processed foods – even roasted peanuts (processed.) Even certain foods that were mixed together don’t require COO Labeling. An example would be two different kinds of lettuce or mixed vegetables.

The rule was actually to go into effect after Sept. 30, 2008 with retailers getting six months to understand the rules and come into compliance. Then, and you knew this was coming, the government would issue the final set of rules. Of course, the final rules noted above may or may not be the final, final rule.

Some consumers and other groups view this as a “right to know” issue. Some retailers are using the regulations as an additional selling point – foods from exotic locations or locally grown, whichever you prefer. Our point today was to provide some information about COOL, what it means in general, and where you can go to find out more specifics.

A website designed for help with COOL regulations is: http://countryoforiginlabel.org/

The USDA oversees this regulation, so if it applies to your products or labeling requirements, you can find out more at:

www.ams.usda.gov/cool

USDA news release 0045.09 http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/02/0045.xml

Included in this news release is a letter from Secretary Tom Vilsack offering suggestions on voluntary practices to help insure consumers are adequately informed and that assumptively may be added at a later date.

On a more local note, The Colorado Department of Ag. and Colorado Proud is in the process of working up a fact sheet on COOL. Their web address and contact information is at www.coloradoproud.org