Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/732978
October 2016 WINES&VINES 53 BOTTLES &LABELS said there are four main options to protect a pressure-sensitive label from water exposure. Wet-strength labels are impregnated with a liquid solution at the paper mill and resist saturation longer than untreated paper. A "water barrier" label has a layer of plastic between the paper and adhesive. "For paper labels, this is the optimum solution for labels placed in ice buckets," he said. The two other options are labels produced with clear or white synthetic materials that can be used as label stock and applying a clear gloss or matte lamination on the out- side of paper labels. He said both of these aren't as popular in the wine industry be- cause of "the aesthetic preference of papers rather than plastics." The adhesive side of the equation Avery Dennison is one of the largest label manufacturers in the world and offers a variety of wet-strength labels. Jeff Greenlief, product manager for wine, spirits and craft beer prod- ucts, said the often-overlooked element of these types of products is the adhesive. "It really starts with our adhesive system. We initially started it with wine and beer because both are filled under cold and wet conditions," he said. Common problems such as edge lift or total failure can usually be traced back to the adhe- sive. The company offers four adhesives with its line of wet-strength labels, and Greenlief said many of the firm's winery clients even use such labels on red wines to ensure the labels can withstand any exposure to moisture during storage or shipping. "Brand owners want to perpetuate an experience with a customer, and a big part of that is not just the shelf appeal but the appeal of the label while they're con- suming the wine," he said. Jean Wilson, the wine, spirits and craft bev- erage market development manager for UPM Raflatac Americas, also stressed that effective wet strength comes from the adhesive. She said UPM Raflatac's "wine-grade" adhesive is an acrylic compound that after one to three days will completely "wet out" on the bottle and adhere during wet or freezing conditions. Wilson added that "welded" labels are also commonly used in the wine industry. "That is a wine face with a thin polyolefin attached to the back of the wine face," she said. "This makes a super strong wine label that will stand up to difficult conditions." Such labels can also be useful when placed over the bottle seam, which can allow water to get behind the back of a label. "If that hap- pens, the weld prevents the water from seeping through the back of the label and saturating the label, making it weak, discolored and likely to come off of the bottle." UPM Raflatac worked with a material sup- plier to develop its Silverac WSA material, which is a wet-strength metalized paper. "Previously this type of material was only available as a cut-and-stack, glue-applied label," Wilson said. "We worked with the sup- plier to test different base sheets that were strong enough to stand up to die-cutting and have high-end print characteristics and de- velop this product jointly and delivered to the market a couple of years ago." Wines & Vines checked with label stock manufacturers about new and existing wet- strength label materials for the wine industry. A few printers or label 'convertors' also have worked with paper companies to produce their own brands of wet-strength labels. TECHNICOTE Technicote's newest wet-strength label is 70-pound Solar White Felt, which is a thicker facestock with a felt finish. The company also offers several coated and one uncoated 60-pound "de- signer" papers that range from the classic Estate to brighter white stocks and others with special features to enhance die cutting. technicote.com MONADNOCK Monadnock's Envi Enhanced Barrier label with EarthCoating is "the next generation" of mois- ture-resistant label protection according to the manufacturer. The labels are available in 100% post-consumer-waste fiber, bright white smooth stock and a virgin fiber, bright white vellum stock. Monadnock entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with a materials supplier for a special coating to produce high- performance labels that contain less plastic and adhesive "yet offer improved opacity, bright- ness and wet-strength." mpm.com GREEN BAY PACKAGING Green Bay Packaging produces pressure-sensitive label stock and recently introduced its wet- strength stock called Polar White. The smooth, white paper has a barrier coating on the back that the supplier says eliminates the need for polylaminate on the back, reducing the amount of plastic used in the label material. gbpcoated.com LABELTRONIX Labeltronix offers a wet-strength material it calls Artic Shield. The self-adhesive label is available in five different styles on uncoated white or black paper. The mate- rial can be finished with hot foil stamping, embossing or other features. labeltronix.com The Wines & Vines Product Focus feature is not intended to provide a definitive listing of all available products in a particular segment or provide any comparative analysis, but rather serve as an overview of what's new or available and also of potential interest to readers as determined by the magazine's editorial staff. Neenah Paper (top) and Trysk Print Solutions (bot- tom) offer wet-strength characteristics.