One of the most important aspects of your label is the material it is printed on, but not all materials are created equal. Your product type, primary container, product storage and use, and design goals are only a few of the elements that will play a role in which material is appropriate for your label.

Perhaps you’ve felt the recent disruptions to the paper supply chain and are looking for an alternative material for your labels, or maybe you’re just looking for the best label for your product. We know that choosing the material for your label can seem overwhelming, but fear not: the experts at Dion Label Printing will guide you to the right material for every one of your labels! Here we’ll break down three benefits of using BOPP—a common type of film material—for product labels.

VERSATILITY

Films are probably the most versatile label material option. In the labeling industry, we commonly use BOPP (biaxially-oriented polypropylene, in case you’re a label nerd like us!), which is a type of film. If you’ve  BOPP is the top material choice for brands across many industries including food, beverage, supplements, OTC pharmaceuticals, and breweries, and for good reason.

BOPP has a unique set of characteristics that make it optimal for a huge variety of applications. It is a strong material that will hold up in many different environments, and your design and artwork options are nearly limitless when you select BOPP as your primary label material, as we’ll discuss more below.

STURDINESS

Will your product be handled frequently? During the filling process or when a customer is storing it, will there be moisture or temperature changes? If so, film is likely going to be the material that will provide the strength you need from your label. Its benefits include water and oil resistance, durability, and tensile strength. It is a sturdy, fatigue and moisture resistant material, so BOPP provides the ruggedness many companies are looking for from their product labels to avoid unsightly peeling and tearing. 

DESIGN, COLOR, PRINT OPTIONS

There are nearly unlimited design and print options with BOPP, making it one of our favorite labeling material options. We offer a variety of different BOPP materials that allow you to achieve the precise look you want.



White BOPP is an exceedingly common label material, but there is nothing common about the design choices you have with this option. Vibrant colors, gradients, custom die cuts, foiling—if you can create the art, there’s a good chance the skilled prepress and print teams at Dion can achieve the look you want with white BOPP as a base material.

As metallic labels become increasingly popular for supplement, personal care, industrial labels, and beyond, metallic BOPP offers an incredible opportunity to incorporate metallic features in the exact way you desire. Instead of using metallic inks, a silver metallic BOPP base can be used to create a wide range of metallic colors from classic golds and silvers to just about any color on the spectrum. And with metallic BOPP, you’re not limited to just a few metallic color choices; we can create variegated metallic looks with many different colors on one label.

The “no label look” is usually achieved with clear BOPP. Using clear BOPP allows you the unique opportunity to show off your product itself, a trend that is expanding as customers look more and more for transparency (with a clear label, literally!) from the companies they do business with. An amazing facet of using a clear film for your label material is the ability it gives you to play with opacity. While the look you are going for may call for completely opaque text or design, when using a clear material, different levels of opacity and transparency can be achieved with ink that can create a label with more depth and more impact on a potential customer.

Material selection is only one of several aspects to take into consideration when you are looking to start your next labeling project. What coating is used, adhesive qualities, and color considerations all will play a technical role in making your label work for your product. And while BOPP is an exceptionally popular label material, the best way to figure out which label material is right for your product is to talk with a label specialist. Our team of experts will listen to your concerns and guide you to exactly what you need. Request your free quote today to get started!