Western States Envelope & Label already has an 8-year streak of PEAK Award recognition, but this year was particularly special. For the first time in PEAK history, Western States’ entries were judged against all others and determined to be some of the best overall.

Efforts to help Mer-Sea & Co. create product labels earned Western States a 2016 Gold PEAK Award, as well as a 2016 Silver PEAK Award for product labels on “Warheads Brand” Super Sour Spray Candy. The Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA) PEAK Awards program recognizes excellence in the print industry promoting projects that display innovation, notable quality or produce high return on investment.

Mer-Sea & Co. delivers an island retreat in a bottle with their line of sea salt inspired body wash and lotion. They needed a product label that was alluring like the beach itself, yet durable enough to withstand the demands of a bathroom/shower environment. “Since it was critical to keep branding elements, we used a synthetic material and matte overlaminate. This gave the label a stylish and serene look like the product itself, yet protected it from the demands of prolonged use in a bath or shower,” added Greg Retzer, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Western States Envelope & Label.

Despite an extremely tight deadline, Western States convinced the client to allow extra time for testing to deliver a product label that exceeded rather than just met expectations. Exceed it did—the client was very pleased with the ongoing communication and collaboration, and received many compliments.

Western States’ challenge for the “Warheads Brand” Super Sour Candy was to create a label that was an exact match of the current substrate, adhesive and production colors with specific orders for continued color printing consistency. The candy also had to have a twist-off, tamper-resistant seal feature.

The solution involved researching and testing to develop a specialty die to create a CMYK flexo printed label with two enhanced spot colors. An overlaminate gloss varnish on bright silver poly material made this candy stand out on store shelves, while an ultra-thin substrate was developed to save money and withstand the sticky candy contents inside.
 

Western States received positive kudos for the label’s color, wrapping and ease of peeling off the substrate around the plastic product to open it. Subsequent orders broadened to multiple colors with continued orders this year.

The Mer-Sea & Co. product label also won a 2016 Best of Division Graphic Excellence Award from the Great Lakes Graphics Association in the Flexo Narrow Web Labels and Wraps, Rolled Products/Pressure Sensitive Category.

“We’re honored to contribute to these award-winning labels and proud of the teamwork and satisfaction we delivered to our customer for their product label results,” noted Retzer.

About Western States Envelope & Label 

Western States Envelope & Label serves a national market of printers, distributors and mailing service providers. The company is headquartered in Butler, Wisconsin and operates five plants including one label plant. In business since 1908, Western States is known for its expansive offerings, advanced manufacturing techniques and commitment to environmental initiatives. Learn more at www.wsel.com.

About the Print Services & Distribution Association

The Print Services & Distribution Association (PSDA) is the exclusive non-profit professional association dedicated to enhancing the success of the distributor channel for business communications, including print, marketing and related services. PSDA is the oldest and largest nonprofit association in the industry—our members include distributors, trade printers, suppliers and technology partners working together to provide differentiated solutions to end user customers. Learn more at www.psda.org.​

About the GLGA

Since 1886, The Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA) has been dedicated to advancing the success of the printing and graphics industry. Working together with Printing Industries of America, the world’s largest graphic arts trade association, GLGA represents the three state region of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin and provides training, resources, and a voice of advocacy on both a state and national level. You can learn more at www.glga.info.

About the Graphics Excellence Awards

The Graphics Excellence Awards (GEA) competition, owned and managed by The Great Lakes Graphics Association (GLGA), is an annual event that recognizes and rewards printing and finishing companies who combine fine craftsmanship with technology in order to produce outstanding finished products. The award-winning companies are honored each year at the GEA Celebrations, which were held this year on May 20 simultaneously in Milwaukee, WI, and Addison, IL.

For more information, call Renee Berger, Marketing Director at 800-558-0514 or go to www.wsel.com.