There’s just something about that extra shine a metallic element can lend to a product label. That glimmer serves to catch the eye, draw attention to the most important elements of the label, and accentuate an already crisp or beautiful design. Best of all, it makes your custom product label stand out among many others on the shelf.
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While it’s true that metallic foil can bring just about any label to the next level, it’s important to use this design element wisely. Here are a few do’s and don’ts of incorporating foil into your product labels:
Do: Use foil predominantly for background or decorative elements. Foil is meant to grab the attention and highlight important elements of your label. Avoid foiling large swaths of label space – use foil judiciously and highlight areas you’d like to draw the reader’s eye.
Don’t: Risk losing the integrity of your logo. Of course, your logo is your most important branding element, and you want plenty of customer attention directed towards it. However, more intricate logos can be more difficult to recognize when foiled over. Unless your logo is primarily gold or silver to begin with, avoid making your logo unintelligible with too much foil.
Do: Consider the finish of your foil. After your label is printed, you can apply an additional laminate layer to help deliver the look you want. Depending on whether you want eye-catching shine or a more sophisticated brushed metal look, choose a high-gloss or matte laminate.
Don’t: Muddle small text with foil. Your smallest text is already a challenge to keep legible, and you risk compounding this issue by making your text metallic. Shimmery text is difficult to differentiate from the background – especially if the background is light in color. If this is the case for your label, save foil for highlights or larger label elements.
Do: Keep your color palette simple. While cold foil labels and a Flexographic press give us the ability to choose any ink color in the rainbow and make it metallic, too much of a good thing is still too much. When you’re incorporating metallic foils into your label, keep your color palette to two or three colors. Keeping it simple will ensure your label is legible and allow the elegant foil to truly shine.
Don’t: Mix up your foil label options. While hot stamp labeling requires the use of a metal die (custom cast to your specifications), it can be used on embossed or textured paper, thick labels, or product tags. Meanwhile, cold foil labeling is only suitable for smooth substrates but can be used in longer runs on a Flexographic press.
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If you’d like more information about both hot stamp and cold foil labeling and how to incorporate foil into your next label design, call on the pros at Century Label. Call 800.537.9420 or contact us online today.
