Private Labeling - BottleYourBrand Blog

Make Your Own Food Labels – Three Common Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

January 1, 2022 by Cindy Springer Leave a Comment

Example of a "make your own" honey label on a jar.

Whether you’re just getting started selling your food product and your budget is tight or you’re making food labels for your famous homemade hot sauce, our short-run printing is what you need. With an online design studio and small print quantities, many business owners and foodies utilize our services. However, your food expertise may not translate to good label design so here are the three most common mistakes seen on customer created food labels.

#1 – BLURRY LOGO

Before you start designing your label make sure your logo is print-ready. For a logo to print clearly it must be the correct resolution. Many people copy and past their logo from a web page. A web page is only 72 pixels per inch resolution, but printing requirements call for 300 pixels per inch resolution. A low resolution logo will appear pixelated. If you don’t know how to create a logo there are websites that offer that service; Logomaker and Freelogodesign to name a couple.

Look at these two logos, the one on the left is 72 ppi and the one on the right is 300 ppi resolution. The 300 ppi logo is sharp while the 72 ppi logo makes your eyes feel like they aren’t quite focused.

If you’re making homemade food labels you might consider using one of our pre-made food label templates. The templates are set up for you to edit the information to make it your own.

TIP: FILE FORMATS COUNT

When using the online designer to make your own label art, the best file format for uploading logos is PNG. Why? Because a logo in PNG format has a transparent background. This means you can add it to a label without a white box around it. A JPEG or PDF will upload brilliantly, but if you want to add a background color be prepared to see the dreaded white box framing your image if you use those file types.

Above: JPG logo VS PNG logo

#2 – ILLEGIBLE TEXT

Legibility means the reader can recognize and figure out words to understand them. Make sure you choose a font style and a font size that are easy to read. Font is a name for the character style of letters, numbers, and punctuation. Fonts are measured in points. A font size smaller than 5 pts is generally going to be too small for most people to read. It doesn’t matter how good your product is if no one can read the words on the label!

Legibility is a result of the chosen typeface and font, its size, spacing, and the contrast between text and background.”
Jurek Breuninger

TIP: FONT STYLE & FONT SIZE MATTERS

Choose a font style and font size that is easy to read when making your own food label.

A food label with text that is too small to read.

Above: The font on this label is way too small!

TIP: CONTRAST IS KEY

Choose colors with contrast. That means the text and background colors should not be the same color value. Black letters on a red background sound good, but if the two colors are dark the text will disappear when printed. Pick colors for your text that have a high contrast from the background color. What looks good on a bright screen won’t always translate the same to print.

Food labels for hot sauce bottles, how to make your own with text that is readable.

Above: Low contrast colors vs. high contrast colors

Choose colors for your food labels that have good contrast. Use opposite colors on the color wheel.

#3 – CLUTTERED LAYOUT

Layout is the process of arranging graphics and text in a way that they’re visually appealing. Good layout is important and should make it simple to find out what’s inside the package. Too much information can be a bad thing if it means your label is crammed with words and images in a random way. Think grids; grids organize the various elements of the label like text and images in a way that makes it easy for the eyes to process.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Leonardo da Vinci

This is an example of a food label layout that uses a grid. It’s easy on the eyes and simple to read.

Template of an example food label for apple juice create with grids.

Limoncello labels - make your own online

Have Questions?

If you take into consideration these three things when creating your own food label you’ll have a great jump start on design. If you have questions please feel free to ask us either using our live chat weekdays 9 am to 3 pm Pacific time or email us at info at bottle your brand dot com.

Use Your Mobile Device to Shop for Personalized Labels

April 1, 2021 by Jenny Walters Leave a Comment

Life seems busier than ever, so naturally when you need something fast you shop online using your mobile device. It’s a piece of cake, especially when you aren’t at home with access to your tablet or laptop. That’s why you should know that personalized labels are available to order on your smartphone. Our online designer is responsive on mobile devices, incorporating tools to add the exact words you need.

Order personalized wine labels using your smartphone.

Make personalized bottle stickers using your smartphone, for wine, beer, water bottles and food jars.

Here’s What You Can Do

So what are some of the things you can do with your smartphone to create a sharp looking custom label from one of our templates?

Edit the text
Choose your font style from hundreds of fonts
Change the size of the text
Change the text color
Add a photo or logo
See a preview of your design

The size of your screen will necessitate some scrolling just so you know. We also recommend if you want the best experience possible for creating a more complex personalized label to switch to your PC or tablet. That being said, if you’re rushed for time and you need to shop for a personalized label now, the best mobile phone option is to choose a pre-made label template from one of our event categories and use the text fields to create your design.

How to Use Your Mobile to Order Personalized Labels

This video shows how simple it is to make a personalized label using your smart phone.

Want a Photo on Your Label? Here’s How to Do It

When life comes at you fast it’s nice to know that your mobile can be a lifeline for shopping. Forgot your friend’s birthday is next week? Need something for your dad that’s extra special? If you want to personalize your label further by adding a photo then follow these six steps…

Follow these six easy steps to use your mobile to order personalized labels for events like birthdays, weddings, retirement, baptisms, and more.

For assistance, we’re available weekdays 9 am to 3 pm Pacific time on live chat. Email us at info at bottleyourbrand dot com any time.

What Kinds of Products Are Sold in Dropper Bottles? Hint…it’s Not Just CBD

July 1, 2020 by Jenny Walters 2 Comments

What kind of businesses buy custom dropper bottle labels? We think it may surprise you and we’ll show how the labels look on actual entrepreneurs’ products. If you’re like most people you’re cautious about purchasing from a company until you see verified purchases from other customers. For that reason, we’re featuring some of our customers and almost every photo in this post was taken by them and not a professional photographer.

What Are Dropper Bottles?

Dropper bottles are most often glass containers used for storing nutraceuticals, CBD oils, hemp oils, herbal oils, essential oils, cosmetics and much more. They typically range from one-half ounce to two ounces in size. The bottle includes an eye dropper lid and a bulb on the end of the dropper for dispensing liquids in very small amounts. The glass bottle is offered in clear, brown, blue, green, and gradient shades. There are a variety of colors available for the lids as well.

What Products are Sold in Dropper Bottles?

Initially it was CBD businesses designing and ordering labels for their cannabinoid products, but the demand for other unique products sold in dropper bottles has increased. So what kind of products are sold in dropper bottles? Read on…

1. Beard Oils

The entrepreneurial spirit runs strong in those who are passionate about beards. We have many customers who order not only dropper bottle labels, but circle stickers for beard balm and beard growth products which are sold in tins or round jars.

Beard oil in spray mist bottles with custom dropper bottle labels. — Greater Glory Beards

Dropper bottle labels to personalize for beard oil. — Killemall Beard Oil

Make your own dropper bottle labels for barbershops, hair salons, special formulas. — The Stache House Barber Shop

Many small businesses who order from us need smaller print quantities for their dropper bottle labels and that is why they chose us. We print as few as 20 of the 3 inch wide by 1.5 inch high labels, which fit most 1-oz dropper bottles, and as few as ten of the 3 inch wide by 2 inch high labels which fit most 2-ounce dropper bottles.

2. Skin Care Products

When you’re bold enough to create your own skin care line, it’s entirely possible to make your own skin care labels using the online design studio, as evidenced by these customers. One ounce dropper bottles for skin care products utilize the 3 inch by 1.5 inch custom dropper labels.

Skin care sold in dropper bottles with custom labels. — BlkSilk Co.

Give your skin care line a custom look with personalized dropper bottle labels. — Dazzlepumps Skin Care

3. Hair Repair

Hair is a big deal and products to care for hair are in high demand. Organic products made by ambitious small business owners fill a niche market and our short run label quantities are just right for these startups.

Dropper bottle labels for organic hair care — Miracle Organic Hair Products

Hair growth oil in dropper bottles with custom stickers. — 2Step Roots Hair Growth Oil

4. CBD Oil

The number one demand from our customers for short run dropper bottle labels is CBD oil in various formulas. This member of the FDA Schedule 5 drug family has inspired a myriad of people to start their own companies. Small print quantities help these small shop owners launch their own products.

Make a dropper bottle label for CBD oil. — Friendly Xpress

Labels for dropper bottles with special infusions. — Awaken Yourself Ali

CBD oil labels, custom made. — Dr. Redmon

5. Tinctures or Supplements

Dropper bottles are one of the best vehicles to deliver tinctures and supplements. The sturdy small bottle protects these carefully created solutions, and the dropper aids in accurate delivery. Our customers who create these healing concoctions tend to be perfectionists when it comes to their label art.

Stickers for dropper bottles that hold tinctures. — Herb Magic

Dropper bottle label templates — Solganics

6. Essential Oils

The business of selling essentials oils is hitting its stride right now. Essential oils are said to help a variety of ailments from easing stress, boosting your mood, relieving pain. Many types of essential oils are sold in dropper bottles because of the ease of dosage.

Dropper bottles with custom stickers. — NuEssenOils

Dropper bottle labels for essential oils. — Lily Lucy Co.

Dropper Bottle Label Sizes & Specifications

The sizes and specifications of our dropper bottle labels are shown below. This is what you’ll see when you visit our page for dropper bottle labels. You can create a design completely from scratch or we have dropper bottle label templates to personalize. In the online designer you have the ability to add your logo or clip art to any of the designs. Just make sure your files are 300 pixels per inch resolution so they print clearly.

Specifications for dropper bottle sizes and materials.

If you need help placing an order for dropper bottle labels we’re online to chat Monday through Friday 9 am to 3 pm. You can always email us at info at bottleyourbrand dot com.

Branding Your Candles with Custom Stickers

June 1, 2020 by Cindy Springer 4 Comments

What can our candle labels help you do? If you’re starting your own candle-making business, custom labels help you establish your brand. If you’re making candles for gifts or favors, they present a unique, personalized look.

How to Brand a Candle Jar or Tin

The appeal of your candle packaging has a big impact on your sales. From beeswax candles to candles made with essential oils, choosing the right label artwork for your candle container is one of the most important things you can do to enhance the finished product.

To get started measure your candle container and look at our available label sizes. (See ‘How to Pick a Label Size’ below). Once you know what size you need you have three options for making your candle sticker:

Choose pre-made artwork from our available designs and personalize
Upload your own print-ready artwork
Make your artwork from scratch using the online designer

Some Important Things to Include

Whether you choose one of our templates or make your own artwork you’ll want to include some of the following information on the label:

Business name or event name
Logo or photo
The type of wax
The scent(s) of the candle
The weight of the candle
Any caution or warning messages

When you’re done you’ll have a professional presentation for your candles, whether you sell them, make favors, or give them as gifts.

TIP: Any logo or image file you add to your design must be 300 pixels per inch resolution to print clearly. If you don’t have a logo or a graphic of any kind then consider using an interesting font to highlight your business name. We have hundreds of fonts to choose from so take some time to choose a font that speaks to you and your business concept.

Short Run Printing Solutions

We offer small quantities for printing your candle stickers. Start with as few as ten stickers in qualified sizes. No need to order hundreds of stickers for a special candle formula. You’ll find our turnaround time for your short run stickers is fast as well. And keep in mind every sticker is self-adhesive and heat tolerant. So if your candle holder gets overly warm you don’t need to worry about the sticker integrity.

Candle Stickers Come in All Shapes and Sizes

Whether you pour your candle wax into glass jars, candle tins, or candle molds, the right label enhances your candle-making expertise. You might like a circle label for the lid of a candle tin or a large, vertical rectangle label for a pillar candle. Small candles call for a thin rectangle sticker like our 3 inch wide by 1.5 inch high size. To wrap a label around your candle you may need one of the longer “water bottle” label sizes.

Circle stickers for favor tins. Personalize one for your spa party, bridal shower, or candle-making business.

Rectangle labels come individually cut and circle stickers come on a sheet like the beeswax candle labels you see in the photo below. Each candle label is self-adhesive and waterproof.

Circle stickers for beeswax candles and candles made from essential oils. Fully self-adhesive and waterproof. Customize online.

Custom Stickers for Candle Favors

Maybe you’re hosting a bridal shower and need a spectacular look for the lid of your candle favors. Or perhaps you’re making thank you gifts for baby shower guests and you need labels with a baby shower theme for your candles. Regardless, it’s fun to personalize one of our pre-designed stickers to make the perfect party favor.

Personalized circle sticker for lids of round favor or candle tins.

Brand Candle Boxes Too

In case you need to ship your candles you may want to extend your branding by adding a custom label to the inner box. Choose from rectangles, squares, circles, ovals, and even hang tags. If you need help simply chat online with one of our representatives and our designers will do their best to assist you in achieving your branding goals.

Rectangle or square candle stickers for branding your ecommerce candle business.

How to Pick a Label Size

For any size candle container be it glass or tin, the first thing you need to do is measure the area where the label fits. Use a flexible measuring tape to determine the maximum height and width of the label area, then you can determine which label size will look best on your container. If in doubt simply cut out a piece of paper in that size and hold it up against your container.

Let’s take a look at some of the sticker sizes we offer:

3 inches wide by 1.5 inches high
3 inches by 2 inches in portrait or landscape orientation
3 inches square
3 inches by 4 inches in portrait or landscape orientation
4 inches by 6 inches in portrait or landscape orientation
8 inches wide by 1.75 inches high to wrap around large pillar candles
2 or 2 1/2 inch circle
2.25 inches x 3.5 inches oval in portrait or landscape orientation

******

If you need help please chat with us online Monday through Friday from 9 am to 3 pm Pacific time. We answer email inquiries as fast as possible at info at bottleyourbrand dot com.

Responsible & Sustainable Bottled Water

April 1, 2020 by bottleyourbrand Leave a Comment

In celebration of Earth Day 2020 we want to share information on the water bottles and production practices we use. We hope this will illustrate how serious we take the issue of caring for our planet and recycling. With our recycled plastic bottles and energy saving production procedures, we’re doing our best to provide responsible and sustainable custom bottled water. Here’s what you should know about the bottles we ship to our customers.

Recycled plastic bottles made and sourced responsibly for private labeling.

The Material in our Plastic Bottles

Our water bottles are made on site at our production plant from 100% recycled #1 PET plastic pellets. These pellets come from recy cled plastic bottles that have been ground into flakes, then cleaned to get rid of any contaminants. The plastic flakes are converted into pellets which are used to make pre-forms. Next, the pre-forms are melted down and injected into blow molds in the shape of the bottles. A light blue tint is added to the rPET in its raw form because it initially has a gray look, which isn’t too appealing.

Recycled plastic pellets for use in making water bottles. Keeping the recycling loop closed and helping the environment.

By using recycled plastic, it reduces landfill waste and reduces the amount of energy compared to the production of new virgin resin from oil. Our plant has developed a closed loop system that uses less energy whereby each bottle can be recycled or remade repeatedly. This system uses 45% less energy and emits 65% less CO2 than making new plastic bottles.

Closed Loop Recycling

The closed loop model for recycling plastic single use water bottles.

We strive for closed loop recycling, or what is known as bottle to bottle recycling. This type of recycling keeps the plastic pellets from being shipped abroad to countries like China where the pellets are made into any number of products that are likely to end up in a landfill or worse yet, the ocean. In closed loop recycling the bottles are recycled into bottles and this closes the loop.

Reduced Energy for Production

There were 1,890,000 tons of plastic beverage containers American recycled in the US in 2017. When plastic bottles turn back into plastic bottles less new material is being sourced. When that happens less resources are used lowering greenhouse gases, production of toxic material, and all of the energy resources that are used to get virgin material out of the ground in the first place.

… if a food and drink packaging manufacturer ditches virgin plastic in favor of “solid-stated” RPET pellet, it would cut GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions by about half…” Quantifying Benefits of Recycled Plastic

Doing Our Part to Reduce Plastic Waste

We encourage our customers to recycle the bottles they purchase from us. A recycle symbol is included on every label. We could sell virgin plastic bottles like many companies but we choose to use recycled plastic bottles. We’re exploring the option to provide biodegradable plastic bottles and hope to add that to our line up in the future.

Private label bottled water for branding made from recycled bottles.

Plastic Waste is a Global Issue

The outcry in the U.S. against plastic water bottles leaves out the fact that 60% of the plastic in the ocean comes from Asian countries, and the percentage from countries in Africa is also very high. It’s not the U.S. dumping large amounts of water bottles into the environment. Take a look at this map and see that the U.S. is one of the most diligent countries in the world when it comes to handling plastic waste.

Private label bottled water made from recycled #1 rPET plastic using reduced energy practices.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Plastic Bottles

There’s everything right about wanting to reduce waste and cut down on the number of plastic bottles in the environment, but let’s use a reasonable approach and forgo singling out bottled water above all other plastic bottles. Unlike water, which is necessary to life, soft drinks, energy drinks, and juice drinks are left out of the single-use plastic bottle debate. The demonization of plastic water bottles over other plastic bottles needs to be looked at with a level head. Unless you ban all plastic single serve bottles let’s not point fingers at water bottles only.

If you have questions about our products please feel free to leave a comment below or email us info at bottleyourbrand dot com.