Labeling Innovations from Weber

During this time of unprecedented uncertainty, our hearts are with everyone impacted by this worldwide crisis. As we continue to understand the impact of the COVID-19 virus, Weber remains committed to the well-being of our employees, business partners and local communities.

We wish to assure you that Weber Packaging Solutions remains 100% operational and at the ready to support your business needs during this critical time in our lives. While we take the necessary measures to protect our employees and their families, we remain fully operational and ready to fulfill your orders with on-time shipping. 

Our goal is to work together proactively to support you and your business needs during this challenging and rapidly changing time. 

Weber is considered an Essential Business towards serving the Critical Infrastructure needs of the U.S. economy. Additionally, it is important to note our supply chain remains stable, and there has been no disruption to our ability to produce and ship product.

We know that Weber's products are an essential part of a vital supply chain supporting our medical, pharmaceutical, agriculture, and food & beverage industries, and we are aware of the critical need to continue operating these important sectors. 

Our teams continue to actively monitor and track operations on a global, regional and site basis in an effort to ensure production stability, and our Sales and Customer Service Teams are available for any questions that you may have for us.

We are closely and diligently monitoring the situation and will keep you posted if further news develops. In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact your usual Weber staff in case you need more information.

Be assured that Weber will not take any advantage of this situation. We will remain purely long term driven serving you with our strong values.

Working together, practicing smart social behaviors and communicating regularly will enable all of us to succeed in this difficult environment.

Beyond this, we wish you, your employees, families and loved ones the very best as you implement your own measures to mitigate the health risk to your organization.

Thank you for your continued business, partnership and trust in us. #HereForYou.

You see them everywhere. Small labels attached to your products at the grocery store, Walmart or big box store that allow you to peel them off and save money at check out.

Weber prints many of these type of labels and in this blog we will feature two examples of "Point of Purchase Coupon" labels.

These labels are perfect for adding to packages like boxes, clamshells, bottles, and bags to give your customer a discount or rebate buying incentive. It's a good way to get your product noticed or to entice a potential buyer into trying your brand for the first time.

Two of the most common types of coupon labels are the  extended-content, multi-panel construction label that works best for mail in rebates that requires more space for text and the  simple peel off coupon with deadened adhesive on the back. The peel-off coupons are usually collected at check out and the savings are immediate. 

How to Apply Coupon Labels

There are two basic ways to apply your new coupon labels. The method you use is dependent on whether your products are on the manufacturing line or already offline or in-store. 

• Towa Hand-Held Labeler

When your products are already at the store or at the warehouse, you can apply the labels by hand (labor-intensive!) using an affordable hand-held labeling tool. We would recommend something like the Towa hand-held labeler. Available in six different sizes, the Towa is perfect for small labeling jobs and on-demand labeling.

If you plan to use a hand-held labeler to apply your coupon labels, remember that your labels need to be wound on a 1" core and the roll has to be no more than about 5" in diameter.

This method is labor intensive because you have to swipe the labeler on each product, one at a time. If you have a lot of items to label, this could take a while!

•  Automated Label Applicators

If you plan ahead and can label your products while still being manufactured on a conveyor line, you can use one of the many labeling systems on the market.

We would recommend either a PackLeader labeling system or a Weber Alpha Compact label applicator. Automated labeling methods like this are meant for high-volume labeling that also requires close accuracy (like your coupon label).

Depending on the shape of your product and the speed of the line, you can choose from a range of systems including the PackLeader 501 for round containers like beverages or the Weber Alpha Compact which is perfect for applying labels to the top or sides of a product.

Both systems are economical yet full of advanced features like rugged die-cast aluminum construction, single-key calibration, automatic recognition of missing labels, in-production speed adjustment, and more.

An example of a tricky application is this coupon label applied to a clamshell plastic container filled with trail mix. The clamshell lid is recessed so the label needs to be blow onto the top of the clamshell using a Alpha Tamp-Blow labeling system. The label is brought to within a 1/4" of the product (clearing the lip) and is then blown onto the lid. 

When we need information about a product we want to purchase, most of us instinctively reach for Google and do a quick search on our computer, or more often, our smart phone or tablet. Google serves up more results than any other search engine and companies need to be found in searches to be successful.

Recently Google put a lot of websites in a bit of a panic when they announced that they were changing their search algorithms, that mathematical formula they use to decide which sites are more relevant to your search and are then served up in your results. Google uses these to decide whether your company shows up on page 1 or page 100.

The new algorithms measure a web site's mobile responsiveness or how it is viewed on a mobile device.  If it meets the new guidelines, it will be ranked higher and be found sooner. If not, you probably move down.  Basically, if your site didn't adjust for mobile it could be harder for customers to find your business online.

The trend towards mobile browsing and shopping has been on the rise for years now and recently has reached a point where you can't ignore it. Today more people use search engines on their mobile devies than they do on PCs. We wanted to share this information with you because a lot of our label customers are small businesses with eCommerce websites and it's something we're experiencing first hand. 

Almost exactly five years ago we started our eCommerce site, Go-Label.com, to sell our stock blank labels, printers and other labeling accessories. This gave our customers a way to order labels right when they needed them, and with a credit card which sped up the transaction. At the time Weber was just excited to give people the option to purchase labels online, but now we're finding more and more of our visitors are using mobile devices to browse the Go-Label site. People are making better use of their time by doing their product research while on public transportation or getting quick answers while in a meeting by jumping online.

And now we're responding to the way they want to shop and the way they now browse by launching a more responsive, mobile-friendly Go-Label.com. 

Be sure to take a look at our newly redesigned site! It changes it's design depending on the device or type of computer you are using.

And to celebrate our fifth birthday and the launch of this new site, we're have a special offer. Use the code newsite10 to get 10% off your next labeling supplies order. Go-Label has great products, it's easy to use, and it has the best prices for hundreds of items. Use the promo code to buy labels, printers or accessories now through May 31st 2015.

If you enjoy fresh juice like I do, then you've probably noticed a lot more options lately. From the crowded shelves at Whole Foods to the new juice bars popping up around town there seem to be new companies with new flavors every day.

The local juice bars are starting to venture into bottling and distribution while established brands are growing beyond their regional Whole Foods locations and becoming available nationally. As the competition grows between juice brands, the question asked is how do you make your product stand above the others? We thought you'd be interested in a few ways to make your juice label stick out in the crowd.

Here are 6 tips for juice labels and packaging.

It's time to order a batch of labels for my new product. I need to get this label order right the first time so production goes smoothly. What information does my label printer need from me?

There are a lot of specs you need to give to your printing company when it's time to order new pressure-sensitive labels. These usually include:

• Label material
• Label adhesive
• Final label size
• Number of colors
• Special label features (like booklet, coupon, extended text, etc.)
• And the Unwind direction

What is the unwind direction?

The unwind direction is the orientation of the label as it will feed out of a label printer or label applicator. There are eight different directions you could choose from for your unwind direction. Depending on whether you are applying them by hand or using automated machinery, this can be a critical factor.

If you are using a label applicator, make sure that you pick the correct orientation for your label to feed out onto your product. You don't want the label to be applied upside down! And some label applicators feed differently so be sure to check with your packaging team to make sure you order the labels with the right feed direction.

Why it matters

If your labels are to be fed out of a label printer or label applicator, then it is very likely that the label orientation is critical to the application. If you don't pick the correct unwind direction, you risk printing your barcode or other variable data in the wrong spot or even over your artwork. Selecting the correct direction also means you won't need to adjust your applicator because the labels are applying upside down!

Check out this handy guide to the various rewind directions.

Next time you are near your labeling operation, see if you can use this chart to figure out your current label orientation. Maybe you need to adjust it on your next order to improve labeling efficiency? If you are unsure or need help figuring it out, give us a call or email for more information.