SIMPLY GREAT LABELS
We understand, better than most, the unique packaging needs of wineries, because we have been helping New Zealand’s leading winemakers produce great wine labels for more than 20 years.
THE SILENT SALESPERSON
In today’s highly competitive wine market, the difference between success and failure often rests with the quality and presentation of your wine label. Research indicates that more than 90% of consumers choose a wine brand based on the label. Effective labels sell more wine.
QUALITY & SERVICE GUARANTEED
Our proprietary quality assurance process, LABEL SURE, has been developed specifically to meet the needs of the wine industry.
With LABEL SURE, you can rest assured that your labels will consistently look better and perform better, be it on the bottling line or the retail shelf in a far-away land.
INDEPENDENT SPECIALISTS
We are not printers, we are independent brokers and print management specialists who focus on producing world class wine labels. Because we are independent and use the best print suppliers for each job, we can buy more efficiently and pass the savings on to you.
High Performance Labels
Woodbine Group is an innovative and successful company, specialising in the supply of ‘high performance’ labels to the wine industry.
By ‘high performance’ we mean that every label we supply must meet a stringent set of predetermined performance criteria, that we have developed over more than 100 years of collective experience in the industry. We call this process LABEL SURE and the criteria includes:
- Giving appropriate consideration to the point-of-purchase and end-use environments in which the finished label and package are required to perform
- Understanding the unique aspects of each client’s application process
- Evaluating proposed secondary packaging and the relationship this has with the primary label
- Giving consideration to warehousing, shipping and logistics issues through to the point of consumption
- Ensuring graphic design requirements and artwork have been critically assessed prior to production to optimise print process capability and finished label performance
- Ensuring material specifications are suitable for the intended production process and end-use requirements
THE LABELSURE PROCESS
There are 4 distinct phases to our quality assurance process:
- Developing your label
- Setting the quality control parameters
- Procedure
- Your assurance of quality and value
1. DEVELOPING THE LABEL
Woodbine staff will work with both you and the designer, to give professional and practical advice as to how the label can best be produced, to give the required result. We can even design your label.
We provide options on paper, foil and textures. We may also suggest options that may not have been considered by the designers, i.e. brail ink, sim foil, DNA brand protection, wine find etc.
Once the artwork is signed off, we obtain the best price from three suppliers and decide on the printer.
Having committed to a supplier, we arrange for a blank roll of about 200 die-cut labels to be sent to the bottling hall. This is to ensure that there will be no problems on the line, once in full production.
On large selling wines, we will also request that the printer provides a full colour test run of the front label. This is done at no charge to the client.
Assuming all is OK with both your Marketing and Bottling people, a time will be agreed for you to be at the Press Pass, for the first full print run.
2. SETTING THE QUALITY CONTROL PARAMETERS
On completion of the first print run, Woodbine arrange for a minimum of three ‘Label Spec Sheet’ documents to be completed. As well as containing a sample label, this document provides all the details about the label, i.e. paper, ink, sealer, foil etc., together with the supplier of each material. This is to ensure that no part of the specification can be changed without Woodbine and you being advised.
Sample labels from every print run are then scuff-tested under our LABEL SURE programme. Providing the labels meets our requirements, a copy of this test sheet is attached to the invoice.
An evaluation and compliance report is completed by Woodbine, after every print run. Any areas of potential concern are highlighted and suggestions for improvement are sent back to the printer. We request that this report be included with the job bag, so that operators can focus on areas for improvement the next time the label is printed.
3. PROCEDURE
On receipt of your confirmed order, we retrieve the latest master artwork file and make any requested changes. We then produce a PDF image of the label and email this to you for approval.
At this time, we also produce a ‘First Advice Order’ and forward this to the printer. This advises the printer that an order is imminent, so they can book press time and confirm the required delivery date is achievable.
This process continues until all departments have signed off the label and it is stamped ‘approved ready for production’.
Woodbine then arranges all pre-press material. This is usually done with a company that is independent of the printer. Our reason for this is, that should it be necessary to change a print supplier at any time, Woodbine, on your behalf, has the ultimate control of all the pre-press files.
4. YOUR ASSURANCE OF QUALITY AND VALUE
LABEL SURE is an all-encompassing quality assurance process developed by Woodbine Group and is designed to give clients the best possible labels, every time. The process starts at the winery and ends after the consumer has enjoyed the wine.
Woodbine provides a label service that cannot be matched by a single printing company. Because we are not printers, we are not limited by the capabilities of any one printer.
We are the only true specialists who can manage your total wine label production process.