At the 2024 TLMI Printing Excellence Awards, Amherst Label won the Best-in-Class award in the alcoholic beverage category for Baxter Brewing Co.’s “13 Below” Cold IPA label.

Printed on an MPS-Domino hybrid press, the label was recognized by judges for its look and feel, which emphasized the sharp contrast of the high-opacity white print against the metallized film, as well as the tactile, 3D feel provided by the label’s rough textured matte UV varnish. 

Creating an award-winning label like “13 Below” requires a combination of partnership, design creativity, technical expertise, and print technology know-how, as Shane Beaton, account executive at Amherst Label, and Devin Smith, sales marketing manager at Baxter Brewing Co., explain.

Amherst Label and Baxter Brewing Co. have been collaborating since 2022, when the craft brewery was seeking a new printer for its short-run labels. The partnership has evolved since the companies’ initial engagement, with Amherst now printing nearly all the labels for Baxter’s limited-release beers, including Window Seat, Lady Sasquatch, Yeti Sasquatch, and Coastal Storm.

“Between the 12 and 16 oz labels we manage for Baxter, we’re looking at more than half a million labels annually,” says Beaton.

In addition, Amherst Label supports the Maine Brewers’ Guild, an organization that oversees all the breweries in the state of Maine. “This helps us to connect with lots of different breweries; we probably work with 80% of the breweries in the state of Maine,” adds Beaton. “The craft brewers, like Baxter, are all great people and fun to work with. We work together and develop ideas – like we did with the label that won the award.”

From Design Concept to Reality

Baxter’s Smith explains, “We try to stay true to our brand and our brand style. Every label features the Mount Katahdin ridgeline to honor our namesake from Baxter State Park. Baxter written in large text up the left side is our way for the consumer to recognize our product and be able to explore more within our portfolio.” 

“For our 13th anniversary ’13 Below’ Cold IPA, I was thinking of the sky on a cold winter night. Someone suggested including the Northern Lights, which was a perfect idea. Adding the Northern Lights above the ridgeline and tree silhouettes into the foreground, it all came together,” adds Smith.

For Baxter, it was key for the Northern Lights to stand out, leading to a collaborative brainstorming session where the two teams examined substrates Amherst had previously used on the Domino hybrid press before agreeing on the reflective metallized film.

“This label turned out better than I could have imagined,” says Devin. “The reflective film, the printed gradient, and the tactile coating that we add to all labels – it all worked well together.”

Beaton adds, “The matte UV textured varnish definitely enhances the way the label feels. It also helps when applying the labels to the cans on their high-speed canning line. It runs a lot smoother than other finishes, ensuring the labels are applied securely.”

As the “13 Below” label was a limited print run, choosing the right printing technology was an important consideration – both in terms of ensuring the desired label effect and making sure it remained cost-effective for the craft brewery.

“In the grand scheme of things, it was a small run, a little smaller than some of the other runs we’ve done for Baxter,” says Beaton. “It was 7,000 labels, and they paired it up with 3,000 labels for another SKU, making the total run 10,000 labels. It’s a 5×8” label, and we ran it two across, which came out to about 4,500 feet, running roughly around 97 fpm.”

In terms of printer selection, Amherst has three Domino N610i presses, two hybrids, and one roll-to-roll press, which means the label converter can offer a range of different printing services depending on its customers’ needs.

“Although much of our growth in recent years has been driven by our digital capabilities, it’s important for us and for our customers to have access to both digital and flexo technologies. Every scenario is different, and flexo has its place,” Beaton emphasizes. “For the label in question, it would have been possible to produce the design on one of our flexo presses, but as we were producing a small run of labels, this would have worked out more expensive, considering the setup and cost of creating plates for every color.”

Ink Expertise

One thing that Domino is recognized for among the print technology community is its color capabilities, from the opacity of its white inks to its extended color range, including orange and violet.

“We were able to make those whites appear on the metallized film with a similar look and contrast to knocking out the text on a white substrate – and we incorporated different gradients and screens of white – like the ice and water reflection – into the label design. Domino’s high opacity white ink helped make those gradients more defined,” notes Smith.

“Having the additional color capabilities definitely helps with projects like this. Having the luxury of running that extended gamut over standard CMYK enabled us to hit the neon green of the Northern Lights much more accurately. Greens can be hard to get right,” adds Beaton.

Enhanced consumer engagement

In today’s competitive environment, building long-term customer loyalty means brands ideally need to take consumer engagement beyond the packaging and label alone.

“We’re putting QR codes on a decent number of labels,” states Smith. “We just did one for an upcoming boxing event, which has a QR code that goes right to their website. We try to use them to our advantage. We’ve teamed up with local skate parks in the past, trying to get as creative with them as possible. QR codes are honestly a lifesaver.” 

“We have also experimented with other interactive features,” adds Smith. “For example, we teamed up with a local ski resort for a reggae festival and used a peel-off sticker that was always a huge hit. The label design had a reggae lion on the ridgeline, and people could peel it off and stick it onto their ski gear. Whenever I go skiing in Maine, I always see one. They’re on skis, ski helmets, water bottles – it’s a great marketing tool.” 

Again, the role of the printer and the print technology comes into play. Talking of the peel-off sticker, Beaton comments. “That one was produced on a Domino N610i, printed on a dual-level material. The reggae lion in the label design was on a secondary sticker. The UV inks help maintain that durability. All our Domino presses run UV inks, and they do really well out in the weather and the sun. It’s the kind of marketing that lives on.”