Sun-Kissed Premium Product Labeling

By Tom Kerchiss, RK Print Coat Instruments

Consumer product brand design is often undertaken on the premise that shoppers make rational and informed decision. The reality is much more complex. Eye tracking studies show that in many cases consumers are attracted to brand logos, colour, shape and often to the known location or aisle where the category of product can usually be found. Factors such as the limited time that a busy shopper has means that first impressions often count, decisions whether to buy or put back on the shelf takes place in a matter of seconds. This type of purchasing, often of staple food and beverage items is termed in marketing speak as instinctive purchasing. Consumers spend little time handling the pack and again, according to various motivational consumer studies consumers read little of what is printed on the pack or on a product label. Colour, a recognisable brand logo and some form of graphical product identifier serve to indicate the relevance to the consumer

Some products are not bought routinely or instinctively; often they are sought out. In this instance purchasing is a more relaxed affair. The labelling or packaging should invite closer inspection, generating a conscious or sub-conscious emotional response, providing the consumer with the reason to buy, which may be for example: ‘because it fits in with who they are or who they aspire to be’. Cost may be important, but sometimes the heart rules the head. They may be looking at an item as a gift or simply as a treat either for themselves or to be enjoyed by family members, but equally it might be that it triggers a memory of a pleasurable time, that Mediterranean holiday or it might be for a myriad number of other reasons unique to that individual. Produce from sun kissed regions does evoke special memories for many; an additional benefit is that a Mediterranean diet is healthy.

Label and packaging design teams as well as the converter and other supply chain providers need to be on top form if they are to stop consumers in their tracks and make them in that short period of face time, notice, pick up and take on cue the relevancy of a product to their lifestyle or needs in general. A good label or sticker design, well executed, puts a face to the product; it provides an item with personality of sorts. If the idea or theme of a design clicks with the consumer it can leave a lasting impression. Many brands tell a story or are able via design and appropriate use of colour can emotionalise and personalise a product very effectively. A good example is the PS-labels affixed on melons, avocados, etc., and the labelling that adorns premium priced olive oil and olives. Not only are these food products healthy, they can bring back good memories of a holiday and both products and labelling can be a mood lifter on a grey northern day.

The fresh produce that comes from southern Europe and sub-tropical regions look vibrant and wholesome. Colours are varied and natural – the reds of tomatoes, vivid purple of aubergine, the yellow and orange textured netting of Gallia melon, the numerous shades of green for salad greens, herbs and produce such as watermelon and the green or amber of olive oil. As with the countryside, the sea and sky, the colours could overwhelm but nature holds it all in balance and it seems to work.

Designers, labelling and packaging technologist and converters need to broadly design and print with colours that are balanced and in some way are associated with the core values of the produce, the region, the sun, the sea and cultural/historical significance. The successful use of colour derives not so much from a particular hue, but from tonal relationships. No matter how eye catching a specific colour is, if the tone of it relates badly with the colour that sits next to it, or if it is out of context with other visual cues or marketing message, then chances are that the viewer, the consumer will react negatively and erroneous perceptions about the product may arise and the item may not sell at all.

By careful pigment selection the ink formulator is in a position to produce inks that can deliver the desired colour. But of course, there is much more to it than that. The physical and chemical nature of a pigment, the size and structure has an effect on the reflective nature of the colorant and its hue. The hue or shade is generally the term used when talking about colour but in reality, many variables affect colour appearance. The density or amount of the pigment used affects colour strength; the type of vehicle used affects both the hue and value of the ink colour. The colour of the vehicle itself, its ability to wet the pigment and even the chemical interaction between the vehicle and pigment can affect the way in which the shade of a colour appears. The absorption properties of the substrate and the colour of the stock itself and even the way in which a printed product is then dried all affect printed colour results. It doesn’t stop there, indeed the inconsistencies that can arise and interfere with the ability to print an agreed colour on a consistent basis and then replicate it at a later date seem almost limitless, no wonder that proofing systems and colour communication tools for different print and manufacturing processes are looked upon as being essential.

Colour communication devices such as the FlexiProof 100 and variants, FlexiProof UV and FlexiProof LED UV are utilised by many ink producers, additive, resin and pigment manufacturers to highlight and resolve issues surrounding colour matching and printability and for the trialling of unfamiliar substrates and consumables. The same colour communication device is employed in flexo pre-press print/converting processes and by manufacturers in attendant industries, for instance: paper, film, foil, adhesive and coating providers in order to ensure continuity of quality at every stage of production.

From the brand owner and designers’ perspective the old adage of keep it simple often doesn’t apply. Globular shaped fruits such as watermelons from Israel and from Italy have stickers that certify quality standards, brand names and source of origin.

As with bottles of olive oil, generally those in shaped glass bottles – ‘Glass is Class.’  Glass is non-porous and impermeable, so there is no chance of spoilage, no risk of gases, no risk of nasty after tastes. The glass bottles are also of darkened glass to counter the affect of UV light. The labels themselves are elegant, incorporate gold embossing and make elaborate use of scrolls and antique motifs printed to high standards, sometimes these labels are printed by processes such as flexography, often, especially with regard to premium virgin pressings, virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, walnut oils, etc., gravure is the process of choice.

Inconsistency of colour, poor rub and chemical resistance will mar print/product presentation. The GP100 enables gravure users to ensure continuity of gravure print quality. This device is for the production of high-quality proofs using gravure inks to press viscosity. Any flexible substrate can be printed; it incorporates a microprocessor-controlled servo drive and offers s high degree of controllability with variable print speeds of between 1 to 100 metres per minute. RK Print Coat Instruments GP100 can be used for research and development, for computer colour matching and for presentation samples. 

But what about multi-print process converting shops and ink and other consumable producers whose facilities are not confined to one print process. These organisations still need accurate proofing or colour communication systems. The K Printing Proofer is a solution for many. This device allows for high quality proofs to be produced using not just gravure inks but also gravure-offset and flexo. Both wet and dry laminated samples can also be produced on the K Printing Proofer using the gravure head with RK Print Coat Instruments K-Lam laminating accessories.

RK Print Coat Instruments Ltd
Litlington, Royston, Hertfordshire SG8 0QZ 
www.rkprint.com sales@rkprint.com

Source: RK Print Coat Instruments Ltd