At first glance, a label is just graphics. Colors, a logo, maybe a photo of the product. Something meant to attract attention and stand out on the shelf. In practice, though, it is much more. It is the place where marketing, regulations and technology meet. And every mistake – even the smallest – can cost real money.
Why is a label more than design?
Most manufacturers start from the same place: the graphic design. It is supposed to look nice, modern, distinctive. And that matters. But the problem appears when it turns out that the same, often very small area also has to fit:
- mandatory information,
- technical data,
- legal marks.
And then the compromises begin. The informational part is sometimes treated as a “necessary evil”, something to be added somewhere at the end. Yet it is precisely this part that should be the starting point for designing the label.
What really has to be on the label?
It depends on the type of product and the market it is sold on. Different requirements apply to medicines, different to cosmetics, and still different to food. Let us focus on the latter, because this is where most mistakes occur.
A food product label should answer one question unambiguously: what exactly is the consumer buying? That is why it must contain, among other things, the product name, ingredients, allergens, nutritional values, the date of minimum durability or use-by date, storage conditions and the manufacturer’s details. It sounds simple – until you have to fit all of it on a few square centimeters…
The regulations leave no room for guesswork
Many manufacturers assume that if something is “almost right”, it is enough. Unfortunately not in this case. In practice, designing food product labels means strictly adhering to regulations that precisely define both the scope of the information and the way it is presented.
A good example is text size. The minimum character height is not a suggestion – it is a hard requirement. And it is not about “around 1.2 mm”, but exactly a minimum of 1.2 mm (measured in a specific way). The difference? Small. The consequences? Potentially very large. In practice, even a slight non-compliance can result in the product being withdrawn from the market.
The most common mistake: everything is there, but… not as it should be
In practice, most labels contain all the information. The problem is that it is:
- illegible,
- poorly placed,
- set in too small a font,
- or fails to meet formal requirements.
Allergens are a particularly sensitive element. This is not an ordinary piece of text – it must be clearly emphasized. It is a detail that is easy to overlook, but the consequences can be very serious.
The barcode – a small element, a big problem
From a design perspective, the barcode seems the simplest element of the label. Black bars on a light background. What could go wrong? In practice – quite a lot. Poorly chosen contrast, incorrect proportions, printing errors… and suddenly it turns out that the product does not scan at the checkout. And if this error affects an entire batch? Real losses begin.
Imagine thousands of products where handling each one takes a minute longer. That is hundreds of hours of work and concrete costs that someone has to bear.
Even a correctly prepared design does not guarantee success. A lot depends on what happens next:
- how the code is generated,
- how it is printed,
- whether anyone checks its quality.
This is what specialized barcode verifiers are for. And it is they – not a phone app – that decide whether a label meets the standards. Good printers control this process at every stage.
Labels are entering a new era
Classic barcodes are slowly giving way to new solutions. QR codes make it possible to convey much more information, and technologies such as Digimarc hide data directly in the label artwork – invisible to the eye. This means one thing: the label is no longer just a carrier of information. It becomes an interface between the product and the consumer.
Where do problems most often appear?
In our experience, label errors most often appear when:
- the design is created without taking the regulations into account,
- no one verifies the barcodes,
- the label is not adapted to the target market,
- decisions are made “by eye”.
It might seem that these are not big mistakes. But it is precisely they that most often decide whether a product reaches the shelf.
How to do it right – the first time?
The simplest answer is: do not do it on your own. A well-designed label is the result of collaboration between:
- a graphic designer,
- a prepress specialist,
- a printer,
- a person who knows the regulations.
This helps avoid a situation in which a finished product has to be corrected… or withdrawn from sale.
To sum up, a label can be a small work of art, but only if it also meets all technical and legal requirements. Otherwise – instead of selling the product – it starts generating problems.
Want to learn more about preparing labels?
If you are interested in detailed technical requirements, specific examples of mistakes and precise guidelines on label design, see the expert article prepared by our specialist:
https://kodeksperta.pl/etykieta-produktu-male-dzielo-sztuki-czy-miejsce-dla-przepisow/ (in Polish)
Need support with labels?
If you want to be sure that your label:
- meets all requirements,
- will be legible and compliant with the regulations,
- will not cause problems in sales,
it is worth checking the label before printing – because corrections after production are many times more expensive and often mean having to relaunch the product.
At DrukujemyEtykiety.com:
- we audit existing labels,
- we help refine the design,
- we verify barcodes,
- we advise on labelling,
- we print labels.