Wine Label Printing · Farmingdale, NY
Wine label printing is decided on a shelf where nothing has been chosen in advance. A recent Nielsen study found more than two thirds of Americans do not walk into the liquor store with a bottle in mind, which makes the label the whole argument.
Wine is the one category where the buyer will pick the bottle up before deciding. That changes what the label has to be good at, because it now has to work in the hand and not only across an aisle.
Substrate
Paper substrates in a wide range of tones and textures are the most popular choice for wine, and the reason is tactile rather than visual. A textured stock reads as considered before anyone has read a word of it. We carry dozens of color options from stark white through natural tones to deep black, and we can print a background color in any hue if none of the stocks is right. There are textured wine stocks, holographic films and grape waste paper in the range as well.
Finishing
A foil stamp or a tactile finish gives a label an additional level of depth, color contrast or texture, which is what separates a bottle that looks printed from one that looks made. This is the part of the job we invested in hardest. K. Sidrane is one of the only commercial printers on the east coast running the DigiJet digital finishing module, which takes special finishing requests to a level of precision and detail that plate based finishing cannot reach.
Everything below runs at 24 Baiting Place Road. Send a bottle if the shape is unusual and we will work to it.
| Spec | What we run |
|---|---|
| Formats | Die cut pressure sensitive labels for body and back, and shrink sleeves that conform to the size and shape of any wine bottle. |
| Substrates | An expanding variety of substrates and films. Textured wine stocks, paper in dozens of tones, white, clear and metallized film, holographic film. |
| Eco option | Paper made from grape waste sourced from wine production, for a label that comes back to the thing it came from. |
| Adhesives | Specialty water resistant adhesives so a chilled bottle in an ice bucket keeps its label. |
| Color | Four color process with extended gamut and specialty spot colors, plus metallic ink, fluorescent ink and premium white on our HP presses. |
| Background | A printed background color in any hue when no stock in the range matches the direction. |
| Finishing | Foil stamping in hundreds of colors, embossing, debossing, tactile varnish, spot varnish and specialty overlaminates, finished on the DigiJet module. |
| Shrink sleeves | Full body, partial coverage, neck bands or tamper seals, in clear or white substrate with gloss or matte finish, spot UV and spot foil available. |
Most of the cost and nearly all of the character sit in three choices, and they are easier to make in this order than in any other.
Paper carries texture and reads traditional. Film reads modern and handles moisture without help. Most wine goes to paper because the hand feel is part of the story, and because a textured natural stock signals small production more convincingly than any graphic can. Film earns its place on a bottle that lives in a cooler, or on a line where a clear label lets the glass and the wine show through. We hold dozens of paper tones and textures alongside white, clear and metallized film, so the decision gets made from stock already in the building. We hold dozens of paper tones and textures alongside white, clear and metallized film, so the decision gets made from stock already in the building.
Foil is the most expensive thing on most wine labels and the most wasted. Stamping the whole crest is rarely as strong as stamping one element and letting the rest of the label stay quiet. A tactile varnish under or alongside a foil gives the eye two different reflections to read, which is what makes a label look deep rather than shiny. Ask for a foil book before deciding, because the range runs to hundreds of colors including patterned, glitter and matte. We are one of the only commercial printers on the east coast running the DigiJet finishing module, which is what lets us place foil and tactile varnish at that level of precision. We are one of the only commercial printers on the east coast running the DigiJet finishing module, which is what lets us place foil and tactile varnish at that level of precision.
Digital printing means a seasonal release or a single vineyard bottling does not have to carry the setup cost of a full run, and the price does not move because the artwork has twelve colors instead of four. Winery labels across a range can print together at the same size. A limited release can print on its own without penalty. That is the practical reason wineries consolidate their label buying here, because the flagship and the single vineyard bottling can run the same week without a plate change between them. That is the practical reason wineries consolidate their label buying here, because the flagship and the single vineyard bottling can run the same week without a plate change between them.
Prepress, printing, finishing and converting all happen in one facility in Farmingdale. The operator running the foil is down the hall from the person who proofed the file.
Digital printing holds color consistency run after run, so next year matches this year without a plate change or a press chase.
We are one of the only commercial printers on the east coast with the DigiJet digital finishing module, which is why we take on finishing requests other shops decline.
Body labels, back labels and shrink sleeves for the same bottle come off the same floor, which is the only way to hold color across two different processes.
Yes, with the right adhesive. We run specialty water resistant adhesives for exactly this, so a chilled bottle sitting in melting ice keeps its label instead of shedding it. Tell us the bottle is going to be served cold and we will spec for it.
Textured paper. Paper substrates in a wide range of tones and textures are the most popular choice for wine bottle labeling, because the hand feel does work the graphics cannot. We hold dozens of color options from stark white through natural tones to deep black.
There is, and it is specific to the category. We print labels on paper made from grape waste sourced from wine production. There are also stocks designed to be recycled with the container and laminations made from PEFC certified wood pulp with reprocessed cellulose.
Yes. We can print a background color in any hue, and on press we run four color process with extended gamut and specialty spot colors for an exact match, plus metallic and premium white where the design needs them.
Yes. Our shrink sleeves conform to the size and shape of any wine bottle and are extremely durable, whether they go on the entire line or a special seasonal release. Coverage runs from full body down to a partial, a neck band or a tamper seal.
The DigiJet digital finishing module. K. Sidrane is one of the only commercial printers on the east coast running it, and it allows special finishing requests at a level of precision and detail that is difficult to reach any other way.
Wine labels printed, finished and converted on our own presses at 24 Baiting Place Road in Farmingdale, New York.
Bottle format, how many labels in the range, and whether the wine is served chilled.
