The Mobius loop, often called the recycling symbol, is used to promote recyclable content of paper products. The three chasing arrows symbol came about in 1970 when Gary Anderson, then a 23 year old college student from the University of Southern California, entered a contest put on by the Container Corporation of America. Gary’s entry into the raising awareness of environmental issues design contest is now the universal symbol for recycling.

According to thepapermillstore.com, "When you use the recycled paper symbol, you are indicating to consumer that the paper or envelope you are using was manufactured using recycled fiber - either pre-consumer or post-consumer waste. This is considered less harmful to the environment because less virgin fiber is used; thereby reducing tree harvesting, water usage, energy consumption, emission of greenhouse gases and pollution."

The recycling symbol is not a trademark; therefore, it can be used on any product as long as it is not misleading or deceptive. There are many variations of the recycling symbol. When the universal symbol is found inside of a circle shape, it lets you know that the object has been made from recyclable materials. If you peek at the bottom of your bottled water you will see this form of recycling symbol, the plastic resin type symbol. This triangular shaped recycling symbol has a number from 1-7 placed in the center denoting what type of resin the bottle is formed from. These are only a few of the numerous variations of recycling symbols; go here to check out a few more.

Let Dion Label Printing, Inc help you become sustainable! Currently at Dion Label we have 30%, 50%, and 100% post consumer content. Along with our post consumer content we also have a PLA material, which is a film material made from corn. To see printed samples on eco-friendly material, please request a sample packet.

Tropicana will be resorting back to their old package design only months after introducing the brand new look. The old design of a fresh Florida orange with a straw protruding will be popping back up on shelves everywhere. The redesigned packaging with the orange juice on the top left hand corner will begin to disappear from shelves. Neil Campbell, President of Tropicana North America, stated that it wasn’t the amount of hatred towards the new label; it was the underestimation of the emotional bond people had with their original packaging.  "Those consumers are very important to us, so we responded," stated Mr. Campbell. You will start seeing the updates starting in March, but for now the ads and commercials will still contain the previously redesigned packaging. Mr. Campbell said, "I feel it’s the right thing to do, to innovate as a company. I wouldn’t want to stop innovating as a result of this. At the same time, if consumers are speaking, you have to listen."

Pantone© Inc, headquartered in Carlstadt, NJ, is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS). PMS colors are used in several industries such as printing, paint manufacturing, fabric and plastics. In its early years, Pantone manufactured color cards for cosmetic companies. However in 1962, Lawrence Herbert changed the company direction and developed the its first color matching system.

Today, the company's primary product are its Pantone Guides, which consist of color swatches in a flipbook form. These PMS colors allow designers to 'color match' specific colors when a design enters production stage—regardless of the equipment used to produce the color. This system has been widely adopted by graphic designers, reproduction and printing houses for a number of years now. Pantone recommends that PMS Color Guides be purchased annually as their inks become more yellow over time. Color variance also occurs within editions based on the paper stock used (coated, matte or uncoated), while inter-edition color variance occurs when there are changes to the specific paper stock used.

Our internet searches for PMS colors gave us many results and descriptions of what these colors are and how they can be used. But one particular Pantone product caught our eyes... Pantone coffee mugs! Whether you are feeling a little 286 blue today or maybe you are a chirpy 388 yellow, Pantone has a mug for you! For more information on PMS colors, visit Pantone© 

When I think of energy drinks the first thing that comes to mind is not redneck. Double Blue Jay Corporation has come out with a line of redneck punch energy drinks that are sure engage its target market. The term redneck has become mainstream in the last few years with help from stand up comedians such as Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. The redneck demographic was missing a high quality beverage, until now, with the introduction Hammer’s Redneck Energy drink rednecks everywhere will get the drink they’ve been waiting for. 

According to Double Blue Jay Corporation’s President, Steve Williams, "The product line has national appeal – akin to the 1980’s Mountain Dew®, but a jazzed up 21st century Energy Drink version.  That 1980’s style of marketing by Pepsi® really summarizes who and what we’re targeting.  We’re making best efforts to position ourselves as a fun, catchy, engaging brand that doesn’t push away consumers.  Because of these efforts, we’re anticipating great market appeal that will grow proportionally with the brand recognition." Hammer’s Redneck Energy Drink is available in six flavors: Punch, Grape, Peach Tea, Root Beer, Green Apple, and Cherry Cola.

Localgreenie.org is a free online listing of green and socially responsible businesses. Their directory covers environmental impact, fair trade, recycling, solar energy, community support, and more. Users of the localgreenie.org site can utilize the site as a guide to green products and services, or even learn about how the local businesses in your community are taking steps to becoming green. We have recently printed some promotional materials for Localgreenie.org on PLA material.

PolyLactic Acid (PLA) is an environmentally-friendly material that is made from corn. PLA is biodegradable; when PLA comes into contact with an organic substance, such as soil, it will decompose completely in about 100 days. Due to its biodegradable nature it has become useful for loose-fill packaging, compost bags, and food packaging. PLA is only one of the many options we have at Dion Label Printing for eco-friendly material. Visit our sustainability page for more information!  

This Valentine’s Day, consumers are projected to spend 4.8 percent less this year than in 2008, according to IBISWorld. Valentine’s Day greeting cards and candy are the only items projected for an increase in sales. "Valentine's Day is more of a discretionary occasion than Christmas and birthdays, which means it will be hit particularly hard by the current economic climate," explained George Van Horn, senior analyst with IBISWorld. "Tightening household budgets will make it difficult to justify splurging on loved ones this year, especially for couples with children who have just had to budget for the Christmas holiday."

Some companies are getting creative and offering special Valentine’s Day packaging for their products.  For example, Dreamworks Animated has released Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in limited edition Valentine’s Day packaging. This DVD will be gift-wrapped in bright pink packaging, creating perfect gifts. If you love the Valentine’s Day candy conversation hearts, you’re in luck! Necco Company has decided to expand their brand this year and will be making sweetheart candies for more then just Valentine’s Day. Taking advantage of the cult phenomenon Twilight, Necco will be introducing Twilight inspired sweetheart candies with book related phrases. Also, Necco will also be introducing their Memorial Day line this year with red, white, and blue conversation hearts.

With New Year’s Resolutions still in full force, more and more consumers are starting to read food labels. Food labels are based on a 2,000 calorie adult diet, which in some cases is more then you need. Depending on your age, gender, and activity level you may need a diet that consists of less or more then 2,000 calories. Let’s break down this food label together and see what everything really means. If you’re anything like me, then I’m sure you have been highly surprised by the serving size listed on food labels. Serving size, most packages contain more then one serving and typically that is not the portion size you’ve consumed. As far as total fat is concerned, how much is too much? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, total fat should not exceed 30 percent of your daily calories. According to the Atkins diet carbohydrates are the devil, but are they really? Carbohydrates should be about half of your daily calories, things such as whole grain breads and cereals, beans and rice, potatoes, and pasta. The bad carbohydrates are the ones consisting of simple sugars such as corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, and other things of that nature. Fruits and vegetables are a main source of fiber for those needing a little bit of fiber enrichment. Fiber is a main feature in healthy diets and it is recommended that adults and children eat a high fiber diet. To go deeper into the world of reading food labels, check out this article.

Did you know that…

Every time I hear the terms raster or vector images, I always have to Google the difference between the two. If I was a graphic designer, then these terms would be second nature to me. So this got me thinking... do our customers really understand the difference between the two? Wouldn't it be great if I researched this topic and provided an area our customers could go to for reference? Well, here it is! After much research to discover a simple way of explaining the two (several of my searches yielded results that made me feel like I needed a special decoder to figure out the difference) I came across the website for Logo Design Works. Here is a summary of their raster versus vector explanation...

Vector Graphics typically are generated using drawing or illustration programs (e.g., Adobe Illustrator) and are composed of mathematically-defined geometric shapes—lines, objects and fills. Since vectors entail both magnitude and direction, vector elements thus are comprised of line segments whose length represents magnitude and whose orientation in space represents direction.

Vector graphics usually are easily modified within the creating application and generally are not affected detrimentally by scaling (enlarging or reducing their size). Because vector elements are mathematically-defined, scaling simply requires modification of their mathematical locations. However, vector files do not support photographic imagery well and often can be problematic for cross-platform exchange. Vector graphics typically are saved as EPS format.

Raster Images are produced by digital image capture devices: digital scanners or digital cameras, or by pixel editing programs (e.g., Adobe Photoshop). Raster images are composed of a matrix (grid) or bitmap of digital picture elements (pixels). Pixels are squares or rectangles described as black, white, gray or color. Raster images typically are saved as TIFF format, but can be saved as EPS as well.

Whereas conversion from vector to raster is easily accomplished, raster conversion to vector is much more difficult (and often is not possible). Raster images typically are easily shared across various platforms, but can be more difficult than vector graphics to modify. As well, raster graphics are impacted by scaling.

Original entry written by Mallesh Bonigala, an entrepreneur since 1999, specializes in logo design, graphic design, branding, website design and content management applications.

BETHLEHEM, Pa., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Valentine's Day 2009 Just Born, Inc. is pleased to introduce PEEPS(R) Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Bears for Valentine's Day. For the first time PEEPS(R) will be shaped as bears! The PEEPS(R) Bears are soft and deliciously rich in creamy chocolate mousse flavor.

The PEEPS(R) Brand is sure its fans will love the taste of its PEEPS(R) Valentine's Day Layer Cake, surrounded by PEEPS(R) Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Bears.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/justborn/36813/ 

Have you ever ordered a whopper from Burger King and wanted to savor the fragrance of the juicy hamburger nestled between two buns, lettuce, pickles, onions and delicious condiments? With the introduction of "Flame" you can capture the essence of Burger King with the scent of flame-broiled meat. Since its introduction just before the holidays, the $3.99 cologne has been flying out of Burger Kings everywhere.

To coincide with the introduction of "Flame," Burger King has also created a Facebook application that has caused a huge debate. Burger King stated that if you deleted ten of your friends you would receive a free whopper. Using the slogan if "You like your friends but you love the whopper," the whopper sacrifice got 233,906 friends deleted and now will be giving away 23,290 whoppers.