An esteemed judging panel has selected McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Company, as the winner of the prestigious Best in Show Award at the 2023 TLMI Label Awards competition. McDowell Label has emerged as an annual fixture at the awards competition, earning a multitude of awards in categories that run the gamut. This year, McDowell Label received the highest honor for its IsoPept Vanilla Ice Cream label entry in the Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical category.

McDowell Label claimed victories throughout the competition. In addition to the IsoPept Vanilla Ice Cream label entry, McDowell Label was tabbed as the Best in Class winner in two other categories: Beverages – Non-alcoholic, and Personal Care & Cosmetics. Meanwhile, Hub Labels and Inland Packaging also received two Best in Class honors apiece. The other Best in Class winners included AWT Labels & Packaging – Anaheim, Brook + Whittle, and Multi-Color Australia.

TLMI has announced several other honors, too. Robert Parker, president, Label King, has been named the Converter of the Year, while David Ellen, divisional director, Domino Digital Printing Solutions, received Supplier of the Year honors. Tailored Label Products’ Tracy Tenpenny has posthumously been named the Volunteer of the Year. At the TLMI Annual Meeting, Claire Tenpenny accepted the award, and both Claire and her daughter, Lorraine, were on-hand for the renaming of the annual Pickleball Tournament, which has been named in Tracy’s honor.

John McDowell (McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.), Tara Halpin (Steinhauser), and David Ellen (Domino) have also been recognized for their service to the TLMI Board.

The results are also in for the Calvin Frost Sustainability Awards. Amherst Label, an Inovar Co., won the Trailhead Award on the converter side, and Maxcess International notched a Trailhead Award for suppliers. Meanwhile, AWT Labels & Packaging took home top honors in the Journey category for converters, and Siegwerk received a Journey Award for suppliers. Finally, Nosco garnered an Elevation Award for the converters, while UPM Raflatac received honors on the suppliers’ side of the Elevation category.

The TLMI Annual Awards competition recognizes innovative printing and rewards technical achievement in all areas of the narrow web industry, including tags and labels, cartons, flexible packaging, nonwoven pressure sensitive products and more. The competition distinguishes the finest efforts of the association’s converter members throughout the previous 12-month period.

Best in Show

Best in Class
MCDOWELL LABEL, A RESOURCE LABEL GROUP CO.
Category: Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical
Entry: IsoPept Vanilla Ice Cream
Challenges: Photographic-quality 4-color process reproduction of the vanilla ice cream cone proved to be a challenge, along with the clean reverse-outs from the metallic substrate. The rich, bold coverage of heavy black, and the pattern gloss varnish and soft touch, also required navigation. McDowell Label utilized a unique use of tactile doming on the logo identity, hydrolyzed power dots, and strokes of copy, icons, and the vanilla ice cream cone, which were all executed in one station.

Best in Class

First Place
AWT LABELS & PACKAGING – ANAHEIM
Category: Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label
Entry: Santo 2023 Mezquila
Challenges: This artistic label was challenging because it was produced in a 2-step process. The job was printed on a flexo press and then moved over to a secondary piece of equipment, where all the embellishments that give this label its glorious touches were added. There is no doubt that the tight registration is key to the high-quality displayed on this label. The detail on the foil captures and reflects the vision the artist was trying to convey.

Best in Class

First Place
BROOK + WHITTLE
Category: Household – UTC
Entry: Fireside – order from Bath & Body Works

Best in Class

First Place
HUB LABELS
Category: Innovation, Single Application, Linerless & Sustainability
Entry: Perdue
Challenges: Hub Labels’ journey was not without hurdles. Tackling the twin obstacles of color matching and adhesive precision emerged as key battlegrounds. Rigorous efforts were invested to ensure that each label required the exact hues that Perdue’s reputation relies upon. Moreover, Hub Labels dedicated substantial resources to calibrate the application of silicone and adhesive. A critical aspect in the smooth functioning of Perdue’s label applicators, this demanded meticulous attention to detail, particularly given the stringent coat weight GSM tolerances the converter had to adhere to. Hub Labels’ collaboration with Perdue embodies the resilience and ingenuity that define this industry. Overcoming the complexities of color consistency and adhesive precision, Hub Labels transformed challenges toward a more sustainable and vibrant label production process.

Best in Class

First Place
HUB LABELS
Category: Promotional & Extended Content
Entry: Savage Bunny
Challenges: Creating the Savage Bunny label came with its share of challenges, primarily centered around seamlessly weaving variable data into the design. Balancing aesthetics and functionality demanded a collaborative effort, spanning design and technology. The label’s visual cohesion while accommodating dynamic elements demanded meticulous iterations, yielding an exceptional marriage of artistry and innovation.

Best in Class

First Place
INLAND PACKAGING
Category: Beverages – Alcoholic
Entry: Berkshire Lager

Best in Class

First Place
INLAND PACKAGING
Category: Food
Entry: Stater Bros Pumpkin Puree

Best in Class

First Place
MCDOWELL LABEL, A RESOURCE LABEL GROUP CO.
Category: Beverages – Non-alcoholic
Entry: Space Tea – order from Vitamin Shoppe
Challenges: This line-art heavy design required super-tight registration of eight colors, with white as the primary printed color on the canvas of sleeve. There are no rich colors to hide potential printing flaws or errors. The sleeve is finished with a lightly-textured, pattern matte varnish for enhanced consumer engagement.

Best in Class

First Place
MCDOWELL LABEL, A RESOURCE LABEL GROUP CO.
Category: Personal Care & Cosmetics
Entry: Winter Breeze
Challenges: Beautifully vivid 4-color process and an exceptionally smooth screen-toned vignette sets off the graphics for this holiday-inspired hand soap. All graphics and varnish are surface printed on this opaque shrink film so that none of the soap colors impacts the graphic identity of any of the SKUs within this ever-growing portfolio of extensions. The label is an authentic representation of crisp dot technology and an effective feathering of dots.

Best in Class

First Place
MULTI-COLOR AUSTRALIA
Category: Industrial – Automotive
Entry: Liebherr Remanufactured Component
Challenges: The first pass of this impressive label included back slit glassine on the clear substrate.

First Place
LABEL KING
Category: Beverages – Alcoholic
Entry: Embolden Lighthouse Blonde Ale

First Place
YERECIC LABEL
Category: Promotional & Extended Content
Entry: Easy Fresh Cooking Chicken Breast

First Place
STOMP STICKERS
Category: Beverages – Alcoholic
Entry: Save the Sacks Drink ‘N Peel Label

TLMI 2023 FIRST PLACE AWARD WINNERS

MCC Label Paarl
L’Ormarins Brut Classique
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Metalcraft, Inc.
Double-Sided Registered Print RFID Parking Permit
Innovation, Single Application, Linerless & Sustainability

Multi-Color Australia
Mr Black – Starward
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Multi-Color Australia
Annais
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Multi-Color Australia
Liebherr Remanufactured Component, Best in Class
Industrial – Automotive

AWT Labels & Packaging – Anaheim
Santo 2023 Mezquila, Best in Class
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Hub Labels
Perdue, Best in Class
Innovation, Single Application, Linerless & Sustainability

Hub Labels
Savage Bunny, Best in Class
Promotional & Extended Content

Inland Packaging
Stater Bros Pumpkin Puree, Best in Class
Food

Inland Packaging
Berkshire Lager, Best in Class
Beverages – Alcoholic

Inland Packaging
Three Floyds Gumballhead
Beverages – Alcoholic

Stomp Stickers
Save the Sacks Drink ‘N Peel Label
Beverages – Alcoholic

Brook + Whittle
Relaxing Midnight Sky
Personal Care & Cosmetics

Brook + Whittle
Fireside – order from Bath & Body Works, Best in Class
Household – UTC

Brook + Whittle
Stone Breaker Blended Whiskey
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Yerecic Label
Easy Fresh Cooking Chicken Breast
Promotional & Extended Content

Label King
Embolden Lighthouse Blonde Ale
Beverages – Alcoholic

Label King
Pure Project Distant Shores
Beverages – Alcoholic

Label King
Elum Designs Orangey Good Flowers
Household – UTC

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Bonsai Cherry Peach
Beverages – Non-alcoholic

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Space Tea – order from Vitamin Shoppe, Best in Class
Beverages – Non-alcoholic

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Vanilla Latte
Beverages – Non-alcoholic

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Super Coffee XXTRA
Beverages – Non-alcoholic

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Whole Turkey
Food

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
De-Skunk
Household – UTC

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Winter Breeze, Best in Class
Personal Care & Cosmetics

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Midnite Train
Personal Care & Cosmetics

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Peppermint Vanilla Swirl
Personal Care & Cosmetics

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Hydro Black
Personal Care & Cosmetics

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Eternally Dark
Personal Care & Cosmetics

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
C4 Pre-Workout
Promotional & Extended Content

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
REDCON1
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
G.1.M Sport
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
IsoPept Vanilla Ice Cream, Best in Show
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Beta Alanine Pro
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Pre Lift Black Cherry
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Front 9
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Macaran, a NextGen Label Group Company
Ranger Ready Repellent
Promotional & Extended Content

Macaran, a NextGen Label Group Company
Spice Island White Pepper
Food

Consolidated Label
Bomb Pop
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

Consolidated Label
Phase One
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

MCC Napa
Hilton Head
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

TLMI 2023 SECOND PLACE AWARD WINNERS

Flexo-Graphics, an Inovar Company
Caterpillar 7000 Industrial – Automotive Wipers
Industrial – Automotive

ID Images, LLC – Summit Labels Division
Unity Brew
Beverages – Alcoholic

Berry Global, Corporate/EVV
John Frieda Deep Sea Hydration Moisturizing Shampoo
Personal Care & Cosmetics

Blue Label Packaging Company
Phantasm
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Hub Labels
Cannabis Cowboy
Promotional & Extended Content

Inland Packaging
Two Pitches Nordic Jam Lager
Beverages – Alcoholic

Multi-Color North America Wine & Spirits
The Prisoner
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Brook + Whittle
Leaves
Household – UTC

Steinhauser, Inc.
New Riff Wild Kentucky Gin
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Label King
Elum Designs Marrakesh Blooms
Household – UTC

Syracuse Label, a NextGen Label Group Company
Joint Buddy
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

Macaran, a NextGen Label Group Company
Stonetech Oil Remover
Promotional & Extended Content

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Black Cherry
Beverages – Non-alcoholic

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Bourbon Ginger Ale
Beverages – Alcoholic

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Adjacent Orange Cream
Beverages – Non-alcoholic

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Ghost Golden Knight
Beverages – Non-alcoholic

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Buttercream Birthday Cake
Personal Care & Cosmetics

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Ghost Cinnabon
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
CBD
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Venom
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Glitch Sunrise
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Field of Greens
Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
McConnell’s Old Irish Whiskey
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Co.
Blue Nectur- Cristalino Anjeo
Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label

Macaran, a NextGen Label Group Company
Humphrey’s Lavender Mist
Personal Care & Cosmetics