Label & Narrow Web’s parent company, Rodman Media, recently moved its offices from Ramsey, NJ to Montvale, NJ. While the distance is negligible, the transition allowed L&NW and its sister magazines to look back while transporting the publications from one location to the other.

The very first issue of Label & Narrow Web was published in March/April 1996. Vol. 1, No. 1 featured a profile of top companies, a look at inspection equipment, UV flexo inks, and of course, label quality.

While a lot has changed in the labels and packaging space, much remains in the same. Jack Kenny, current columnist and former editor of the magazine, wrote the following:

“In our early planning days, we discussed writing about the top companies in the industry. But it became apparent that “top” did not mean big. Top means quality, and a $3 million company has the ability to deliver top quality label work in the same way that a $300 million company does.

“Quality in this business abounds.”

Those sentiments are just as true today as they were in March of 1996. Not only is the business experiencing growth in multiple facets, countless seminars, conferences, meetings and exhibitions are scheduled throughout the year to ensure that suppliers, converters and end users have access to the latest and greatest resources the industry has to offer.

Bud Gray, executive director of TLMI in 1996, said, “I can’t imagine a better time to be in the tag and label business.” He even discussed how digital technologies had the potential to change the industry, adding, “We can be as creative as we want to be, on demand.”

For “Label Quality”, Kenny compiled detailed accounts of some of the leading converters at the time, and how they maintained quality control in a competitive business that spanned diverse applications. In many ways, the story set the stages for L&NW’s modern-day Narrow Web Profile, as well as our Companies to Watch feature.

The companies profiled included Wisconsin Label, MPI Label Systems, CCL Label, and more. In fact, L&NW editor Steve Katz recently profiled MPI Label Systems, located in Wadsworth, OH. The same principles from 1967, the year that Don McDaniel founded the company, still applied in 1996, as they do today. MPI celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017.

In 1996, McDaniel said, “It’s still the old service/quality/price story. We will go as far as our customers ask us to go. We tailor to fit what the customer wants.”

Today, that is a prevailing theme among many of the converters we talk to. Competition is as stiff as ever, meaning customer service and label quality are at the forefront of the industry. Digital printing has also enabled the establishment of many smaller converters, as they can perform short-run work for local businesses like craft breweries.

In our recent feature on Wine Labels, Avery Dennison explained how a label’s art resonates with consumers. “In wine, the label is the highest form of advertising,” said Stephanie D’Cruz, associate product manager, Select Solutions, at Avery Dennison. “There are no commercials on TV, no billboard, so you want the label to be part of your brand throughout all stages of consumption.”

The label’s quality still goes a long way in selling consumers. There are more methods to producing high-quality labels in this industry than ever before. We expect to see this trend continue well into the future, just as has since 1996.