Finat Label Competition winners ‘scale new heights’

Royston Labels was honoured for labels on King’s Cross wine bottles, printed using UV flexo in six colors on a metallic substrate, with a deep black background and varnish. This entry also came out as winner in the Marketing/End-uses Group category.

Winner in the Printing Processes Group were Austria’s Marzek Etiketten for Sonnwend Bock beer bottle labels. These were litho printed in four colors plus silver, additionally finished with gold hot foil blocking and embossing, and a high-gloss varnish, coupled with complex die-cutting.

In the Non-adhesive Applications Group, IPE Industria Grafica of Spain took the prize for film shrink sleeve labels for Luna de Murviedro cava, printed in flexo in four colors – white, black, grey and pearl white – cold foil blocked and matte varnished.

The award in the Innovation and Electronic Printing Group went to Schreiner Group, Germany, for their digitally printed UHF RFID vehicle parking permit labels for automatic vehicle identification, which additionally feature durability for the life of the vehicle concerned.

Digital Printing Group winner was Etiketten Carini, also from Austria, for Kress Beerenauslese labels, with hot foil and matte varnish.

The judges also presented two special awards – to Switzerland’s Omnipack for labels printed digitally on a wood veneer substrate, and each unique, for limited edition Glenfahrn whisky bottles; and a second to the UK’s Source Labels for Fortnum & Mason Beluga caviar, which were also digitally printed and contained 14 Svarovski crystals within the design.

The Finat Label Competition awards are organised in five main groups, with relevant sub-categories, covering marketing and end uses, printing processes, non-adhesive applications, innovation and electronic printing, and digital printing. This year, there were more than 280 entries received from around 45 companies, representing 24 countries around the world.

Finat said this year’s winners represent a ‘remarkable spread of labelling activities’, from RFID and product authentication tags, to ‘sparkly’ labels on girls’ cosmetics and whisky labels printed on a wood veneer.

Chair of the Finat Label Competition judging panel, Tony White, commented: ‘I am always excited every year before we begin the judging process wondering what new heights the world label industry will scale. Over the years there have been many technical and design changes within the label industry, and the competition has evolved continually to keep up with – and at times – anticipate the next dynamic landmark.’