Labelling Solutions Swing ticket labelling
Tom Kerchiss, chairman of RK Print Coat Instruments, says swing ticket labelling, hang tags, neck wraps and those colourful plant labels favoured by garden centres used to be discrete, compact and disposable, but that’s no longer the case
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owadays they tend to be anything but discrete. For the vast majority of premium priced branded fashion goods and for specialist items the swing ticket is no longer a simple piece of card with punched eyelet holes through which string or cord is looped.
Leather, various fabrics and braided papers can be used in place of simple string. Paperboard constructs are one option, however the bulk of the tag or swing ticket could just as likely be made of cork, various plastics and even bamboo and metal. Swing ticket labels, tags, stickers, neck wraps and other P.O.S constructs create and establish brand awareness. They provide protection and provide the consumer with information, such as price, size and care content. RFID, track and trace and shop lifting deterrents can be embedded within laminate and other material layers. With items of clothing, especially top brand fashion goods the swing ticket is securely fitted to the product/size label or buttonholes or other parts of a garment where it will be noticed. There is much that can be done to achieve stand out and make for a lasting impression. Swing tickets for example can, depending upon material be die cut into different shapes. Tickets, tags and labels can be embossed or de-embossed and can be spot UV coated. Some products may be laser engraved, heat-sealed, screen-printed or digital printed with a conventional PS-label on top of the base layer. They are of course frequently flexographically or gravure printed/coated. Swing tickets, neck labels and POS items can leave a lasting impression with consumers. As a prime conveyer of information, they must be designed, printed and converted with care. The reason being that these relatively small items are subject to more in the way of face time than almost any other form of presentation. Consumers cannot avoid looking at them and handling them if they want to know more about the product and whether it’s right for them. Printing and converting with care is also necessary for another reason – swing tickets or hangtags are for some regarded as collectibles, particularly by the fashion aficionados and many others.
in the way colour appears on different papers. Other elements that affect colour representation include lighting conditions, differences in pigments between different ink makers, even different presses and different processes. At the end of the day what printers want is to be able to print at
speed while maintaining good colour saturation throughout the tonal range. They want to achieve this and meet the various other production requirements with minimal waste and in as timely manner as possible.
Colour communication devices, proofing systems and pilot coating systems enables printers, converters and consumable providers to monitor performance and bring process variables such as those associated with the manufacture and use of inks, adhesives and other coatings under control.
Colour counts, especially if it’s a company or brand associated colour. Poor design creates confusion and possibly will slow production down. Making adjustments at prepress or on -press can be costly, especially if a design was initially for a print process such as offset and needs to be adapted for flexo and UV flexo. Products begin with the design. Without the designer and without brand manager approval the job is going to go nowhere. But that’s not all, its imperative that designers and marketers take seriously input provided by pre-press and production experts.
Many factors influence the way colour appears when applied to different materials. The type of paperboard or combination of materials on which colour is printed has a huge affect on the way colour appears. The same colour may appear to be quite different when printed on coated and uncoated paperboard. The ink absorption rate, along with the brightness and the colour of different papers can result in significant changes
They are suitable for R&D purposes and often can be used to trial unfamiliar materials. Given the complexities of industrial and package printing and labeling a wide range of colour communications systems are available. RK Print Coat Instruments provide bespoke systems such as the VCM pilot/production coater but also a flexo portable trouble shooting proofing tool that a pressroom manager might easily take from machine to machine for colour matching. RK has modified and bought out the K303S Multicoater with the base unit that has a fully integrated servo-drive and touch screen control. The K303S is a bench top unit that is supplied with interchangeable gravure and flexographic print heads. The device also offers meter bar coating capability.
Regardless of the many issues that arise in the development and production of high impact quality focussed products such as swing, tag and wrap materials, the K303S may be the solution. Other alternatives, suitable for multiple print process users include the K Printing Proofer.
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April 2023
www.convertermag.com
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