Dimensions and Color Options

Choose Your Label Size and Shape

You can choose any size for your food packaging label, though you have to take into consideration the amount of required information that needs to be printed on it. Remember, the FDA and/or USDA require information such as brand name, product name, net weight and other details to be placed on the principal display panel, or front part of the label. The more information you need to include, the less freedom you have with the size and shape of your label.

Each printing press offers some popular label sizes for certain products that you can choose from, but they can also make custom labels according to your needs. Since you usually have several options to choose from for the size of your food product packaging, you’ll also have a variety of options for your food label size. For example, for food in jars you can choose between 2 x 3, 3 x 2, 3 x 4, 3 x 5, 4 x 3, 5 x 3 inch labels, depending on the size of the jar. For coffee you can choose among more than ten standard coffee label sizes. The same stands for most food products. Having that in mind, you should focus on preparing all the information you are required to include on your label, and choose visual elements that you want included as well. These details will determine your food label size.

The shape will depend on the shape of your food packaging. Make sure to listen to your printing specialists’ recommendation, because some label shapes can cause your labels to wrinkle or peel off from the food product.

Colors on Food Labels – Are There Any Rules?

The same thing applies to your choice of colors for the food label. Some printing presses can print labels in as many colors as you want, and some have certain limitations.

When choosing colors for a food packaging label, it is important to remember that the letters need to be clearly typed, readable, and the barcode has to be scannable. Nutrition labels need to have a clear contrast between the lettering and background. That is why dark colors or a mix of colors that diffuse information is not an option.

When a designer sends you food labels for your review, have in mind that colors appear differently on the computer and in print. They will be more vivid or even aggressive on the screen, and much softer / blander when printed. Also, some presses don’t have all the possible color options that you can imagine. Some are limited with the use of special colors, such as gold, copper and silver. Those colors are used in the finishing process, to accentuate certain letters or visual symbols. They are usually not used as basic colors on a food label.

Remember that a food packaging label is the first thing a buyer sees on your product. It needs to be eye-catching and more appealing than all the others on the shelf.