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In the label world, BOPP is a very common film material to print labels onto. It is an amazing material that is reasonably priced, and is used for countless reasons. But most people out there are probably wondering… what on earth is BOPP? Well, let’s break the acronym down shall we?

BOPP: Biaxially oriented polypropylene

So, what does this mean?

Polypropylene is a type of plastic, and biaxially oriented has to do with the orientation of the molecular chain. Simply put, it is a stretched and softened type of plastic made into a film that we use in the print industry.

Why do we love this particular material so much?

BOPP is known for being durable, waterproof, resistant to quite a few common acids, and has the option to be made with a clear (or see-through) background, white background, and metallic backgrounds.

All of these benefits can be valuable in many industries, but the food industry in particular comes to mind.

Labels need to obviously be non-toxic to put onto actual food products, so that is a real win here. Quite a few food products are stored in damp spaces, so the label being waterproof is also a strong need. Many clients do not want a giant sticker on their food items, so having a basic logo on a clear background is a common go-to for them. And finally, BOPP’s durability and resistance to acids allow it to be used on foods that would otherwise corrode different materials. It really is a wonderful material option to meet the needs of companies everywhere.

We hope you learned something from this article, and will leave you with a final list of reasons why BOPP is a fantastic printing material.

– Low Cost

– Light and Strong

– Non-Toxic

– Easily printed on

– Resistant to acids

– Resistant to moisture

– Clear background possible (No Label look)

– Popular bath product label material

– Popular food product label material

– Popular bottle label material

– Recyclable

First of all — this article is a research article only! Do not, in any way shape or form, rely on this instead of actual legal council.

So, we recently had a client ask us a simple question, “What needs to be on my CBD label”. This is a very loaded question, considering the laws differ from state to state & not all CBD oil is distributed under medical legislation.   

We did, however, find quite a bit of useful information during our research that can be found below.

1: Medical CBD is packaged different from state to state.

Some states where CBD is legal to distribute, there are actually very specific laws to follow that anyone can find on a legislative website. These regulations tell companies what can and can’t be on the product label. These regulations will be established in Georgia sometime this year.   

2: Some companies avoid the laws all together & sell it as a dietary supplement.

This is the “work-around” that has been used in many states to get products on shelves. Companies just have to follow the regulations for packaging of dietary supplements, but this is a “Grey area” we would advise companies to avoid.

3: Some states do not allow companies to put CBD on the bottles.

4: Measurements of THC percentages are extremely inaccurate.

Due to the lack of licensed testing facilities in the industry, inaccuracy of content is prevalent within these products.

5. Some states use QR codes as a label regulation

In Indiana, CD manufacturers must provide a QR code on their bottles. This code links to lab results for each product & also provides documented informations about the ingredients of the product.

6. There are only 3 states that do not allow any form of CBD as of today, medical or otherwise.

• Idaho
• Nebraska
• South Dakota

7. Georgia CBD Medical packaging laws

In Georgia CBD Oil must be sold “in a pharmaceutical container, and the label must clearly state the percentage of THC,” according to Haleigh’s Hope Act. Patients in the Peach State can have less than 20 fl. oz. of “medical marijuana oil” that can only contain up to 5% THC. Georgia doesn’t dispense oil, so cannabis businesses can market their CBD hemp oil in the state. – https://marijuanapackaginglaws.com/state/georgia-marijuana-packaging-laws/

8. Even though medical CBD has been legal in Georgia since 2015, it seems that the production and sale of the product ‘in state’ was just passed last month. The previous laws only seem to have protected individuals possessing the product.
https://www.ajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/medical-marijuana-dispensaries-bill-passes-georgia-house/TiRIqJOF7ogWvhe8sK0JaO/

9. The Farm bill was mainly for Industrial Hemp

Quite a few people think that the Farm Bill made CBD federally legal. This is a misunderstanding that comes with quite a few strings attached. The farm bill only removes the schedule 1 drug status from CBD products derived from industrial hemp.

Again this article is not meant to be advice or legal council in any way, but just act as an informative article hopefully. This industry is absolutely the current merchandiser equivalent of the wild west, and definately skates a fine-line of what is federally / locally okay to do without repercussions.

As technology improves and advances, so must our industry. 19 crimes is a fantastic example of futuristic branding. They have developed an app you can download on your phone, and, with the help of augmented reality, the wine bottles start talking to you when you point your phone at them, check it out here.

https://www.19crimes.com/en-us/living-wine-label

Pretty cool right? They have made their labels interesting and interactive, so now they have people buying their wines EXCLUSIVELY because of the labels themselves. Forget standing out from the crowd with a label… this is blowing away the competition. It is also genius to have different interactions on all of the different wine styles, because this forces the customer to buy all the different bottles to taste and be entertained by.

What we can take from this:

I absolutely think there are lessons to be learned from this particular brand, but I think the lesson goes beyond the superficial “this is cool” point of view. Personally, I can imagine a wine industry where you hover your phone over a wine bottle & a virtual sommelier starts telling you about the wine. Maybe a universal app that assists you with pairings and explains that particular style of wine.

Maybe there is a future where Google glasses allow for the labels to have people moving and talking (On the products) as a form of advertisement, effectively turning your wine or beer aisle into a strange interactive sales experience. I personally think that technology will make branding and advertising look very different in the near future. Augmented reality and QR codes are already being used by many vendors in commercial stores & that number is only going up.

Final thoughts:

The idea of living labels is selling well and extremely innovative. Not only do we expect living labels to be a standard going forward, but we also expect the future examples to be less of a sales gimmick & have more practical applications. We are genuinely excited to see where technology takes the label industry next.

The greatest of life’s mysteries that has baffled normal people around the world…

How does a sticker stick to things? Where do my socks disappear to when I attempt to dry them? Why does a USB flash drive never go in on the first attempt?!?

Okay, maybe these aren’t the greatest mysteries known to man, and we may not be able to answer exactly who steals your socks, but we can MOST CERTAINLY answer some questions about stickers.

HOW DO STICKERS WORK:

There are two main driving forces in how a sticker… well … sticks. Those forces being adhesion and cohesion. Adhesion should sound familiar because of the word adhesive, which is the part of the sticker that actually attaches itself to other materials (or molecules for our science buffs out there).

Cohesion is the other concept we need to understand, and it is actually used in creating a successful adhesive. COHESION is the process of similar molecules sticking together. So think about it this way… If an adhesive does not stick to itself strongly enough, then it would fall apart like water. (Water being a great real-world example of an adhesive with weak cohesion… weaker than solids anyway).

Then there is the paper/material itself that the design is printed on. The adhesive plays another role here, because it has to attach itself to the part of the label with the art. So, the adhesive must attach itself to the paper with the art, attach itself to itself for the adhesive to not fall apart, and attach to things after this process to be considered a sticker. In essence, there are almost multiple stickers in one simple sticker. This entire process is actually all pretty complicated & any mistake by the product vendors or the print shop could end in a client disaster.

So in layman’s terms   

Adhesion: The process of sticking to other things

Cohesion: The process of sticking to itself

Science Diagram:

Strong Adhesion + Strong Cohesion = Good Sticker
Strong Adhesion + Weak Cohesion =   A sticker that falls apart. Not a good sticker.
No Adhesion + Strong Cohesion = Not a sticker. Probably a brick.
Weak Adhesion + Weak Cohesion = Some type of liquid that is not water… Also not a sticker.