Summer PR Tour

Recently, Andy Scherz, Product Manager for Epson America approached us with a request. Andy asked:

“Do you any customers who might like a little PR?  We are focusing on the boutique product labeling market.  Cheese, juice, lotion…  The idea is that we would like to get some quantity of actual product with labels.  We will show these labels and highlight how they were printed by Epson solutions.  If you have any willing customers, please let us know.”

It seems Epson America was planning for the annual Epson Summer Press Tour. 

ColorWorks Label Press Tour

The Epson Summer Press Tour is an annual event that Epson PR conducts for press and analysts to showcase new solutions and corporate initiatives.  This event is not open to the public and is by invitation only to industry analysts and members of the press. And this year, over 100 press and analysts attended in New York City. 

Originally, this event was created and remains primarily for media to see Epson’s latest consumer products for Holiday Gift Guide inclusion.  In the last several years, Epson has shifted its company focus toward business solutions and leverages the event to generate larger brand awareness for Epson solutions that may not be as well known.  For this reason, Epson incorporated displays from more industrial business lines at the event such as robotics, point-of-sale printing and commercial label solutions.

How could we say no to Andy?  Based on this request, we suggested to Darek Connole, Public Relations for Epson a handful of customers who produce their product labels using Epson printers.  Based on this list, the Public Relations firm for Epson, Walt & Company, www.walt.com,  purchased on-line a selection of products from these companies. 

ColorWorks Booth-Summer Press Tour

One the products/labels of company featured was Hummingbird Nectar.  Douglas Everett produces beautiful labels for his product; using his great graphic artist skills.

Hummingbird Nectar Products

Many years ago, I wrote about Hummingbird Nectar, http://www.hummingbirdmarket.com/, on one of my first posts:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2013/03/customizing-my-nectar.html

Since day one, Hummingbird Nectar has invested resources and energy into producing innovative hummingbird nectar and offering quality hummingbird products.  Over the past years their nectar has evolved; and will continue to change as this company introduce best-in-class products for your hummingbirds.

As Douglas says, ““The team a Color Label Solutions and Epson keeps us humming along”.

In addition to Hummingbird Nectar, Epson showed a product from Burn Hotsauce, https://www.burnhotsauce.com/,  in their display:

Burn Hot Sauce

Burn Hot Sauce is an original, small batch, farmer and chef owned business in Santa Cruz California.  All of their produce is grown on sustainable organic farms in California; and all of the fermented hot sauces highlight the farm on the label.  Burn Hot Sauce is raw, alive and full of probiotics. 

​And I featured this company with some great products in a post earlier this year:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2017/01/hot-labels.html

Next, we got one of our long-time customers, Tongue River Winery, http://www.tongueriverwinery.com/, involved.

Tongue River Winery

 Their slogan, “Quality Made Wines with fruit exclusively from the Northern Plains!” sums up not only their wines, but also the quality of the owner of Tongue River Winery:  Bob Thaden and family.  You’ll find the letter Bob included with the box of wine to Epson of interest: 

Letter from Tongue River Winery

As Bob didn’t have to include this letter, it shows what a wonderful and kind man he is.

Also, Epson had products from Rejunvenation Therapeutics, https://rejuvenation-therapeutics.com/,   in their display.

Rejuvenation Therapeutics Label

Rejuvenation Therapeutics is a health-centered, science-driven company that strives to extend lifespan and improve overall wellbeing. Within a burgeoning field of dietary supplements and nutritional ingredients, Rejuvenation Therapeutics stands out with their dedication to scientific evidence and regulatory compliance to ensure that their products are safe, effective, and beneficial.

Rejuvenation Therapeutics is using a C7500G to produce their gloss poly labels.  I think they look great!

Lastly, Epson showed products from Miracle Botanicals, https://miraclebotanicals.com/, one of our customers from Hawaii.

Miracle Botanicals Labels

Essential oil is the passion of Miracle Botanicals! Ever since Hope Johnson was introduced to essential oil after the birth of her third child, these precious plant spirits have become part of their family’s daily life and over time every aspect of their lives has been transformed.

Rev. Hope Johnson is an Essential Oil Alchemist and Reiki Master.  I love that she signs all of her emails to us, “With Fragrant Blessings”.

We’re fortunate to have such great customers like the one featured above.  Please visit their website and try some of their products.  Or if you have requirements for other food and beverage companies, contact us and we’ll connect you to some of our other customers.

I’d like to thank Epson and the Walt Company for the pictures from the event; and for including us and a few or our customers.  Contact us if you want to produce beautiful and functional labels yourself.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com

Doob Tube Labels & More

Peter Howell from Great Engineering in Australia came to Color Label Solutions this week to provide additional training on their line of label applicators; especially covering small container labeling.

Color Label Solutions Team

If you don’t know this company, Great Engineering (https://greatengineering.com/) makes world class label application equipment.  Ideal for cylindrical containers for many industries: food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. And don’t forget the boutique beverage and cannabis markets.  Here is my previous post on the BenchMax applicator:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2017/04/benchmax.html

During our session, a few key points came out that I decided to share with you.  First, the economical BenchMate (https://greatengineering.com/benchmates/) offers the capability to integrate with a C3500 label printer.

BenchMate Integrated with the C3500

Although using a hand crank, this manual applicator can apply a lot of labels, quickly and affordably.  In addition, this manual applicator has the capability to apply 2 labels on one container, with very precise positioning. With the addition of the interface unit and foot press, you can print directly into the BenchMate, eliminating any requirement for rewinding.  I find this capability very intriguing; especially given the price of the unit.

The BenchMate plus the Interface, Cable, Footpress and Freight to the US from Australia as seen in the above picture costs $1990.  No other applicator at this price enables the printing of color labels directly into the applicator.

In you have containers less than 55 mm in diameter, the BenchMate+ offers the ability to apply labels to containers down to 17 mm (11/16”) in diameter. Be sure to watch this video of applying labels to very small bottles from the BenchMate’s webpage.  

The BenchMate+ with the small container adapter and overhead roller costs $510 more than the BenchMate; totaling $2,500 with the components to apply labels directly printing from the C3500.

Second, Peter worked with us to apply labels to tapered bottles.  Tapered containers, such as joint or “Doob” tubes, make label application very difficult; given the difference in diameter/speed of the container as it turns on the applicator.  For example, we are currently working on a label that is .6875” on the tapered end; and 1.125” on the larger end.  This .4375” difference is what makes label application tough.

Watch us apply a 2” x 1” label on a tapered joint tube with lip/lid.

As you can see in the video, the blue rollers of the small container adapter are moved to allow for the lip connecting the lid on top of the container.  These type of design considerations make the BenchMax a very flexible machine.

And here is another video of the same application providing more detail on how the system works for applying labels to tapered containers.

And in this video, we applied several labels on the same tube; to show how the BenchMax applies labels in the same position each time.

In this last video, you can see how we cut the rollers to better apply the labels.  Based on your containers, the BenchMax makes it easy to adapt the applicator for the type of container you have.  No other label applicator makes adapting to the container easier.  In this video, Peter from Great Engineering shows how to remove and cut the rollers to better fit your containers.

Third, the BenchMax offers an orientation capability.  With this feature, you can apply labels on a round container in precisely the same position on every bottle.  In our training, we used a Mason jar, and applied labels relative to the position of the embossed letters on the jar.  Wish I had pictures; bummer.

Based on our meeting, I’ve found the BenchMax a very interesting choice for applying labels to a variety of round containers; especially small container vials.  With the ability to integrate with the Epson printers, the ease of adapting to a variety of containers sizes and shapes, and the minimum sizes down to 8 mm in diameter make the BenchMax and BenchMate label applicators good choices for many companies.  Contact us to learn more how these devices will fit your operation.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com

Complete Print Shop

Postmark (http://postmark-usa.com/) showed their new CMYK printer at the Franchise Services Expo July 27 and 28 in Long Beach.  Combined with their fixed feeder, Postmark calls their solution the Complete Print Shop.

CMYK Printer With Fixed Thickness Feeder

With the fixed thickness feeder, you can print a wide variety of items that are difficult to impossible to print with normal printers.

Watch the new CYMK printer and Fixed Thickness Platform run here:

And print Coasters:

On-Demand Color Coasters

Coffee Sleeves:

On-Demand Color Coffee Sleeves

Paper Bags:

On-Demand Color Bags

Thick Menu Cards or Shelf Talkers:

On-Demand Color Cards/Shelf Talkers

And other items such as envelopes, bubble envelopes, napkins, small boxes, etc.  Pretty much anything paper you can now print with the fixed thickness feeder and the CYMK printhead.

You may remember we showed an earlier version of this device at WestPack 2017:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2017/02/westpack-2017.html

and a slightly different version at WestPack 2016:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/02/cls-at-westpack-2016.html

From my perspective, the biggest difference with the latest iteration is the software.  Now, Postmark has integrated the Navigator RIP from Xitron:

http://www.xitron.com/products/navigator-harlequin-rip/

With this software, now you can print PDF’s easily; and get better print quality.  Plus the workflow seems much easier to use.  The Navigator RIP is a big step forward in ease of use of the CMYK print engine.

In addition to the new RIP, Postmark has reconfigured the printer; eliminating the need for hoses, wires and connectors.  This new configuration makes it much easier to set up and run.

The 4” CYMK printer, Fixed Thickness Feeder and RIP costs approximately $20,000.  The 8” version costs approximately $25,000.

If you need to print a wide variety of “thick” items; or you want to add a new source of income for your printing business, contact us to discuss how the CYMK print engine and Fixed Thickness Platform would work for you.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com  

1" Solution

This week something happened that makes me want to “blow our own horn”.  Maybe we’re boasting, but I’m very happy by how we supported a client this week.  Let me tell you more.

1" Labels-Print & Apply

We’ve been selling to several customers 1” wide labels for printing with the C7500 and C7500G.  What makes this fact interesting is the minimum print width on the C7500G is 2”.  Please see this post for more information:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/06/cryogenic-narrow-labels.html

For this customer, we created a 1” label centered on a 2” liner.  And it worked perfectly.

1" Wide Label-2" Total Construction

In addition, this customer uses basically all black artwork.  And black is the most difficult color by far.  Here is what we’re recommending for all black labels:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/11/ink-pigments.html

After several months, the customer purchased an automatic label applicator from Label-On; The Label-On Mini 500 Tabletop applicator:

http://www.label-on.com/tabletop-round-bottle-labeling-machine/

This applicator, however, would not allow us to account for the .5” liner on the “bottom” side of the label.  Normally, exposed liners are approximately only 3 mm or less.  Attempting to apply the 1” labels centered, we would have place them above the start of the taper on the bottle.  Therefore we had to move the label from the center.

To make this change, we changed the die to make the labels, placing it on one side; and making the exposed liner basically on 1 side.

1" Wide Label-One Side Justified

It was very difficult to come to agreement, however, on which side to place the label.  We had to account not only for the applicator placement of the label, but also the fact the labels would be rewound to place on the applicator.  It may not sound complex, but this requirement led to a great deal of discussion.  And some worry on my part.

Once the labels were manufactured, our customer tested them; and found the labels did not print at all correct.  They were still centered on the 2” label.  Frankly, I had forgotten to tell the customer of the need to redo the artwork.  Tim, our Support Manager, figured this out quickly. But was still “nerve-wracking” for me.

To support our customer, we quickly recreated labels the labels adding the extra liner and bleed.

1" Wide Label PDF- 2" Total Construction

Once we had the new artwork, the label printed close to perfect; we had to move horizontally the label to print full-bleed.  A slim line of white was exposed on one side.  Using the horizontal alignment feature in the C7500G driver and changing slightly the media size, the label printed perfectly.  And the rewinder worked as expected.  Watch us print and rewind here:

More important to me, the label worked on the applicator:

C7500G Printed 1" Wide Label Applied By Applicator

Watch the Mini 500 Tabletop apply these 1” labels onto the bottle perfectly.

Reading this post, it may not sound like much.  But getting this label design to work correctly was a lot of effort.  And I appreciate the patience the customer showed during this process.

If you want to print 1” wide labels or any other difficult or special color labels on-demand, contact us.  We’ll help you create the solution that meets your requirements.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com 

No Risk Label Printing

This post is from guest blogger, Tim Semic, Support Manager from Color Label Solutions.

Would you like to provide a way for your employees or vendors to print labels that meet your exact specifications without the risk of accidentally making changes? 

How about printing labels from multiple computers? 

Printing labels from a web browser?  Even across the internet?

BarTender Print Portal

 If so then please read on…

Seagull Scientific offers two Bartender companion applications that enable you to print labels from a simple read-only interface.  Those applications are Bartender Print Shop, and Bartender Print Portal.

The user interface is basically the same between the two products, while the configuration is more complex for Print Portal.

Bartender Print Station is bundled with every edition of Bartender, while Bartender Print Portal is only bundled with the Enterprise-Automation edition.

Print Station provides a mechanism for printing labels within an easy to use read-only interface.  This configuration prevents employees accidentally changing or deleting labels.  Consequently, some companies may wish to have a “design" computer using Bartender Designer, and then another computer or two set up for print-only label printing.

BarTender Print Station

Print Station can be configured for full-screen and secured; effectively turning a computer into a print kiosk.  This type of kiosk would be great for printing badges, shipping labels, or static labels in a secured computer interface.

To learn how to configure Print Station, watch this video:

Configuring BarTender Print Station 

Print Portal offers different options for risk free label printing.  Elizabeth Sinclair of Seagull Scientific says, “Print Portal includes many features that make locating and printing documents quick and easy. Running on a web server, BarTender documents are available from any computer connected to the internet. With built-in security measures, administrators of Print Portal can require users to login to the site, and assign user permissions granting access to specific documents on the server. Print Portal's intuitive interface lets users quickly locate the document they need to print and send it to the printer with a simple "click" operation.”

BarTender Print Portal

If interested in learning how to configure Print Portal, see this YouTube video. 

Configuring BarTender Print Portal

As Print Portal is more difficult to configure, the video is long; but goes through every step in the process to get your users, either internal employees or outside vendors, printing the labels you need.

To operate Print Portal, you’ll need an Enterprise Automation edition of Bartender; which is licensed based on the number of label printers you require.

Which edition is right for me?

The number of computers required to print labels will dictate which companion application to use.  If you wish to provide label printing in a read-only interface from more than three computers, purchase the Enterprise Automation edition of Bartender.  You will get security, ease of label printing, and some pretty heavy bragging rights too!

And contact us to help you configure Print Portal to work for you and your company.  Happy Printing!

Tim Semic

855-962-7670

support@colorlabelsolutions.com

"GE"--NOT "G"

As of August 1^st 2017, Epson will no longer sell the C7500G printer.  They announced end-of-life for this part number earlier this July.

C7500G

I first wrote about the C7500G in July of 2015:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2015/07/c7500g.html

And wrote about one of our first customers, NIC Industries, using the C7500G:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/06/c7500g-whiz.html

Instead of the C7500G, Epson will sell the C7500GE.  The “GE” is a printer bundle: including the C7500G printer, a single user license of Wasatch SoftRIP, one year of on-site service for the printer, and 6 months of free support for Wasatch SoftRIP.  Learn more about the GE printer bundle, including the Wasatch RIP here:

http://colorlabelsondemand.blogspot.com/2016/11/c7500ge.html

With the SoftRIP, you get better color control; especially important when trying to color match.  For example, you may use it to match specified Pantone numbers, to match more closely the color printed on a label to the original artwork.  However, you don’t have to use the SoftRIP to print to the C7500G.  You can print to the C7500G from most if not all Windows based applications.

Wasatch SoftRip Label Edition

Here is information from Wasatch on their Label Edition: 

https://www.wasatch.com/labels.html 

For an incremental $955 for the C7500GE versus the C7500G, you get 1 year of on-site service valued at $1,029 and the Wasatch SoftRIP valued at $1,200.   Even with just the on-site service, the GE bundle is a great deal.

Personally, I believe the SoftRIP is best suited for professional printers; those individuals experience with using other RASTER IMAGE PROCESSORS (RIP) from other printing applications.  Although not difficult, using the RIP is different than printing directly from a PDF and other Window-based software programs.

So beginning August 1^st, you’ll be able to purchase only the “GE” version.  But some of you may not want or need the on-site service or the RIP software.  If so, please contact us know to order your C7500G before the price goes up.  Or purchase from our store here:

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500g-inkjet-label-printer/

Don’t forget to add 2 years of Extended Warranty with the “G”:

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500-c7500g-return-to-depot-extended-warranty-one-year/

And a spare set of ink:

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500g-multi-pack-ink-cartridge-cmyk/

And a spare maintenance kit:

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500g-maintenance-box-c33s020596/

If you prefer to get the C7500GE with the one year on-site service and Wasatch SoftRip, purchase in our store here: 

https://colorlabelsolutions.com/product/c7500ge-graphics-editon-inkjet-color-label-printer/

Or contact us if you have any questions around printing color labels on-demand.

Guy Mikel

info@colorlabelsolutions.com