Have you been reading and learning about product packaging and came across custom labels? Do you like the idea of labels, but are not quite sure where to start? Are you wondering how to create your own labels without any design expertise?
Do not worry, we have everything you need to create stunning custom labels for your business. We will share the three biggest design tips every beginner should know to ensure you will love the outcome.
Before we do that, let us quickly discuss what to look out for when ordering labels. Labels are also often referred to as sticker sheets. That is because they are essentially stickers on a sheet. Traditionally, stickers are individually cut. Once they are printed on sheets, they are referred to as labels.
Labels are perfect for branding products. The extra support allows you to peel and apply your stickers 65% quicker than individually cut stickers. This can be an absolute time saver when you have to apply hundreds at a time.
But now, without further ado, let’s look at how to create custom labels for beginners.
- Less is more
Product labels can make the look of your brand. You want them to represent the core values of your business. It can seem tempting to include all the information you can think of and fill every ounce of space.
However, less truly is more. Do not be afraid of white space and only include the essential pieces of information consumers need to know to understand your product and brand. Often times it is wise to opt for a clear label as the transparent material showcases your product, and forces you to leave some blank spaces.
You also want to ensure that the information you put on your label has enough room to print crisply. A good rule of thumb is the so-called minimum height requirement: each letter should be at least 1.2mm high to be legible when printed.
- Use the right format
Next is the format of your file. Your design really is the foundation of your sticker. The higher the resolution of your artwork is, the better the quality will be. But how can you make sure of that?
If you have a design made up of mostly text and elements, convert it into a vector file. A vector file consists of geometric shapes, which makes it very easy to scale, and means that it will print clearly at any size. Should you be using images, you can submit a bitmap. Here, you want to have a DPI (dots per inch) of 300. Every image is made out of dots, pixels, which are measured per inch. The more dots your image has per inch, the better the quality.
Do not worry, if all of this seems a bit too complicated, there is an easier way. Instead of converting your artwork, you can create your design on already vectorized free online platforms. Many labels printers offer their own design tools which already meet their standards.
- Let your colors shine
Last but not least, we need to speak about colors. This can be a little tricky but bear with us. Before you submit your design, make sure that all your colors are in CMYK. CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black, and is the color gamut printers operate in.
Your screen, on the other hand, works with a different color model called RGB (red, green, and blue). This means screens mix the base colors red, green, and blue to generate over 16,000,0000 colors. With CMYK, we can create around 16,000 different colors.
The reason you should convert your colors into CMYK is that it will give you an accurate representation of what your final labels will look like and ensure that you will love the printed colors of custom labels just as much as you love them on screen.
And that is everything you need to know to get you started. We cannot wait to see how you will elevate the look of your products with custom labels. Please share your experience, results, or questions with us in the comment section below.