As domestic wineries compete with the flood of foreign brands, identity becomes increasingly important. "Think of several thousand wineries competing for shelf space in a grocery store versus a dozen toothpaste manufacturers," said Bill Knopka, general manager at Tapp Technologies, Inc. of Napa. "The longevity for traditional food packaging is five to seven years, but in the wine industry it is 24 months or less." In no other industry do labels have to change so fast while still promoting an art form. As a result, artists must constantly push the design envelope.

Improved print technology, however, has served to expand label design possibilities. Art might drive production, but technology enables the art.

Offset sheet printing, for example, is constantly allowing for more detailed label embossing, exotic new foil applications and higher resolutions for photographic duplication. Flexography has also made major strides in print quality while keeping the cost-conscious winery in mind. And digital printing allows designers to create a sequential series so that every wine bottle in a case can have a different label.

While advances in label design abound, the number of printers that produce wine labels is a pretty select group. Due to intricate processes and strict compliance issues, wine labels have become a specialty business that the vast majority of printing houses avoid. "Printing a wine label is such a complex process that you don't print shampoo labels in the morning and wine labels in the afternoon," said Matt Schwanebeck, general manager of Metropolis Label in Napa.

Printing Methods

When it comes to label printing, people are most familiar with glue-applied "sheet" offset printing. In sheet printing a single sheet of paper is printed with multiple labels of the same design, then cut and stacked. Sheet printing has been around for a very long time, and has an almost unlimited amount of paper stock in many colors and textures.

Today's pressure-sensitive labels, however, are printed on rolls of sandwiched paper containing a backing, a center film of adhesive and a top layer of printable paper. The emergence of the pressure-sensitive label is perhaps the best demonstration of the versatility of today's print houses. However, because it is still an emerging technology, paper quantities and varieties are a bit harder to come by. To duplicate pressure-sensitive sheet stock, some printers have had to get very creative by literally making their own paper.

Pressure-sensitive printing is known as "multi-station," meaning several applications are incorporated into a single pass of the paper. The designer may specify complex foil applications, such as embossing (raised areas), debossing (indentations), fancy die cuts and "deckel edge" (a torn look), all of which use a different plate, literally "building" the label.

Traditionally, an image is "etched" into a revolving aluminum cylinder with a silicon surface using a photographic process. Recently, Ben Franklin Press began using a digital process to simplify the etching. "This state-of-the-art technique is called 'Staccato dot printing,'" said Dennis Patterson, president of Ben Franklin Press in Napa. Sometimes called CTP, the designer's files stay in digital form from the computer to the plate. Staccato dot printing results in higher resolution and a more photographic image.

Another form of print technology is flexography, a process similar to sheet printing but typically associated with the printing of boxes and cartons. Advancements in line screen-the number of dots of color per one inch (dpi)-has allowed flexography to almost rival offset. Offset typically hovers around 250 or more dpi; flexography was originally printing 150 dpi and with new technology is now approaching 200 dpi.

Driving this evolution is Paragon Label of Petaluma, California. "Like offset, there is a raised image on the print cylinder. The plates, however, are made of a photo polymer that is easier and less expensive to produce," said Gary Cane, general manager. "Combining better technology with less expensive equipment that can actually run faster, flexo printing costs less and can really help the winery with a limited budget."

New Equipment

The race for cutting-edge printing begins with the development of new equipment. The industry is evolving toward multiple technology or combination machines. Metropolis Label currently has three such machines at their Napa facility, incorporating three different printing processes in one. The largest machine is 103 feet long. Beginning with foil applications, the following operations include four-color stations, additional foiling, four more color stations, two embossing stations, a silk-screen, three flexography stations (for metallic colors), followed by multiple cutting dies. All of this is incorporated with a single pass of the roll of paper.

"The wine label printing business maintains the highest specifications of any label business," said Schwanebeck. "Absolute control over detail is critical. The new presses, with better register, tighter color control and more capability, are driving an incredibly competitive business."

For better registration, these printers operate via electronic speed controls, photocells and servomotors, and are automatically timed. With the inclusion of "loop boxes" the paper roll passes through accumulation areas. If one stage of the print process moves along more quickly, such as with flexography, it does not interfere with other slower applications, such as foil, embossing or offset.

"The standards for wine labels have become so high that we are constantly testing, even after the label is produced," Schwanebeck said. "We have shaker tables, for example, that test (printed) abrasion coatings for when the bottle is inside the box. When the case good reaches New York, the label must still be perfect." UBC scanners and label adhesion-release tests are other methods used to ensure high-quality labels.

"Color balance is an area of major concern," Schwanebeck said. "Ambient lighting during inspection affects color. Also, women see color differently than men, and depending on the time of day, from morning to night, people actually see color differently." A spectrophotometer, an instrument used to measure spectral fingerprints, helps designers with color balance. The spectrophotometer reading reveals a true description of an object's color and can measure how a label's surface will reflect, transmit and emit light.

As expected, computers have had a major impact on print technology, but we now see how they can have a direct effect on wine marketing. Digital printing is based on the Hewlett-Packard HP-WS 4000 printer. Thus far, the high expense of this form of printing has targeted the winery with limited runs, large-format bottling (three, six and nine liters) and wine clubs.

"All information is stored digitally, including the image on the print cylinder," said Knopka. "The data is 'relation-based,' meaning you can manipulate graphic files." The ink has a negative charge while the print cylinder is positive. Ink is attracted, then transferred onto the paper. After a series of labels are printed, they are "erased," and the process restarts.

St. Francis Winery & Vineyards in Santa Rosa, California used this technology to create their "Splotch" series of labels featured on their red blend.

"It was a unique experiment, considering the size of the run," said Nan Fontaine, St. Francis Winery's marketing manager. "Approximately 20,000 cases of wine were bottled, and each of the 12 bottles in each case had a different label. Targeting the wine club and the 25-35-year-old market has contributed to the project's huge success." The implications are vast, from similar marketing strategies to individual numbering of bottles.

Another noteworthy marketing concept comes from Collotype Labels of Napa. They provide a wide array of print services and are now developing a new program that will coordinate label design with capsule design. With in-house design and production, they will print color, logo and script onto stock then form it into finished capsules. "Innovation is helping all parties achieve the best outcome: great shelf presence without breaking the bank. With the combination of the capsule and label, we have become a single contact for the winery and the designer," David Buse, president of Collotype, said.

Improved Papers

John Heckman of Avery Dennison, a major supplier of paper in many industries, says that developing paper for the wine industry is gaining momentum, especially as it is now a supply and demand issue.

"New papers, such as linens, are on the way as are improved wet-strength labels with the ability to maintain their integrity while immersed in an ice bucket," said Heckman. "Some of the latest developments from Avery-Dennison are organic, utilizing renewable resource materials, such as bamboo, ditch reeds, cotton linters, along with soy inks."

John Fidalgo of Paris-based company Arjowiggins, reported that they have recently formed a joint venture with Technicote (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) to begin producing a line of textured and colored papers in the U.S. Within the last year, Arjo started testing the U.S. market by importing products from Argentina.

David Schuemann, owner of the design firm CF Napa, said their designers are now starting to look at paper from Italy and Spain. With the long-awaited influx of new papers, printers will be able to, once again, raise the creative bar for designers.

"The United States is driving the architecture of label art," said Schuemann. "We are looking for new, thicker paper and textures, and striving for the 'toothy' look and tactile feel."

Offset printers, such as Ben Franklin Press in Napa, had embossing plates made that take plain stock and actually impress a texture or "tooth" into the paper. If the designer wants a linen look, they simply emboss the entire area that will eventually evolve into a label.

As print technology evolves, so does the wine label and its design possibilities. Pressure-sensitive labels, flexography, new equipment and developing new paper are all factors in which label designers can push the creative envelope with fewer limitations.

Wine Label Printers

Company   Location   Phone   Website

Ben Franklin Press  Napa, CA 707-253-8250 www.benfranklinpress.com  
Collotype Labels  Napa, CA 707-603-2500 www.collotype.com  
EliteLabel  San Jose, CA 408-944-3851 www.elitelabel.com  
G-3 Enterprises  Modesto, CA 209-341-7770 www.g-3enterprises.com  
Gordon Graphics  Novato, CA 415-883-0455 www.gordongraphics.com  
Hemlock Printers  Walnut Creek, CA 925-979-0300 www.hemlock.com  
Herdell Printing and Lithographers  St. Helena, CA 707-963-3634 www.herdellprinting.com  
Landmark Label Manufacturing  Milpitas, CA 408-262-6111 www.landmarklabel.com  
Mariner Printing & Graphics  Healdsburg, CA 707-433-7672 www.marinergraphics.com  
Metropolis Label  Napa, CA 707-226-2806 www.metrolabelgroup.com  
PackagingARTS  Mare Island, CA 707-562-2787 www.packagingarts.com  
Paragon Label  Petaluma, CA 707-773-4363 www.paragonlabel.com  
Pyramid Label Co.  Napa, CA 707-256-1800 www.pyramidlabel.com  
Renaissance Mark  Napa, CA 800-341-5225 www.renaissancemark.com  
Tapp Technologies  Napa, CA 707-252-8300 www.tapptech.com  
Vintage 99 Label  Livermore, CA 925-294-5270 www.vintage99.com  
WS Packaging Group  Algoma, WI 800-236-3424 www.wspackaging.com  
Wright of Thomasville  Thomasville, NC 800-678-9019 www.wrightlabels.com

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