Hub Labels wins 1st place for dual-sided label
Hagerstown, MD [February 3, 2021] At the end of November 2020, the Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI) held their 43rd annual members meeting where awards were given to label converters who successfully produce technically challenging and visually stunning labels. Hub Labels, a label converter in Hagerstown MD, won first place for a label produced for Charm City Meadworks in the multi-process pressure sensitive non-prime, excluding wine & spirits color process category. This dual-sided label features artwork on both the front and back side of the label so when placed on a glass or transparent container, an image can be seen within, creating a stunning package.
Jesse Hood, Hub Labels’ Quality and Continuous Improvement Director, explains the complexities of the label, “Producing the Charm City Still Mead labels is a tedious process for our team. You see a label with print on both the front and back of the label, but we cannot actually print on the backside of a label because of the adhesive. To produce this label, we use our hybrid-digital Heidelburg/Gallus labelfire press with expanded gamet, that prints at 1200 dpi and creates the visually stunning imagery. This press is the best of both worlds, combining flexography and digital printing, and is only one of three presses of its kind in North America.”
Hood further elaborates, “To produce the dual-sided effect, we layer the inks so what you are seeing are actually stacked images. First, we print the the back side of the label and have to reverse our print process and wind direction. We mirror the image and layer the inks from the top to the bottom. Once the first image is produced, we reverse everything and run the material through the press for a second pass where we lay down a solid color to create a background for both sides of the label. At that point, it becomes a standard print job where we lay down the inks to produce the front of the label.”
To produce the label, the pressman running the job must understand the complexities of the label run to ensure that the mirrored back image and the top image are in the right direction, the wind direction is reversed between runs, that the two images are in perfect registration, and that the press is setup properly for success.
“A lot of things can go sideways with a job like this”, explains Thomas Dahbura, President of Hub Labels. “I know that the team we have here at Hub has the knowledge and expertise to pull off such a complex and beautiful label. When I found out we had won in the (multi-process pressure sensitive non-prime, excluding wine & spirits color process) category, and that we had also received the Calvin S Frost Elevation Award at the TLMI annual meeting, it validates all the time and effort we spend to get a label job done right the first time. Every single employee cares deeply about the success of our customers and of Hub Labels. I am so proud of the incredible team we have in place here at Hub.”