Smith & McLaurin - AdaptVivant Brochure

The globalisation of the spirit and wine industry has made drinks from around the world readily available through specialist shops, bars, restaurants, supermarkets and off-licences. The ensuing on-menu, on-gantry and on-shelf battle for consumer attention continues to intensify; consequently producers, bottlers and retailers have realised that high quality labelling is a crucial element in the fight to achieve sales-winning stand-out.

More Stand-out More Up-take Less Down-time

From first concept to final placing in the aisle, labelling materials and services must:

• Enable designers to express ideas more creatively and achieve greater impact

• Complement the product’s brand image wherever seen

• Help producers more effectively dominate customer-facing shelf space

• Make life as easy as possible for bottlers – improve efficiency

• Enhance retailers’ sales spaces –improve consumer appeal

Premium products deserve premium presentation, so Smith & McLaurin’s Adapt Vivant helps provide exactly that and more. Pressure-sensitive label materials lend themselves to more innovative and adventurous techniques, finishes, colours, tactile printing styles and digital printing techniques, all of which helps brands capture the customer’s eye.

Ultimately, the time-honoured glint of metallic foil, and the distinctive touch of woven paper can provide benefits almost too elusive to quantify. As barmen and sommelier the world over will confirm, however, such subtleties do add to the character of winery and distillery; deepen the allure of restaurant and whisky bar; and strengthen the bottle’s ability to sell itself on sight.

Wet glue labels represent 37.5% of the volume

Pressure sensitive labels accounts for 44.6% of the volume

Pressure sensitive labels offer higher efficiency

Glue-applied labelling still claims 18% of the world market

Pressure-sensitive labeling dominates wine label print, with a 79% global share in 2018

Sensitive Information 79% 18% 15% 44.6% 37.5%

In 2020 the global label market reached a volume of nearly 60.3 billion m2. The growth in pressure sensitive labels has grown exponentially over the last few years, taking up more than 80% market share.

While wet-glue labels accounted for 37.5% of volume, pressure sensitive labels were leading with 44.6%.

Overall, using pressure sensitive labels offers up to 15% higher efficiency and faster changeovers, dispelling the notion that pressure sensitive labels are only for shorter-run niche applications. The fact is, pressure sensitive label bottling speeds can now help you print 1000 bottles/ minute and are on a par with wet-glue. In 2018, the wine labelling market’s use of pressure sensitive labels was at 79%, outperforming glue-applied labels at a small 18%.

For a Better Result, Consult

Why SMCL Adheres to the Consultative Approach

When developing solutions, the SMCL approach is inclusive and consultative. This applies across the various market sectors in the PSL industry: the spirit and wine markets are prime examples. The Scotch whisky industry – world-class in its attention to detail, quality and brand values – regularly takes advantage of the skills on its doorstep: we have case studies galore revealing how closely and productively SMCL can collaborate with the in-house teams of famous Scotch whisky brands.

We believe that working in isolation from all of the stakeholders within any application will only prolong the development cycle and will often not end with a solution that meets all of the criteria.

By involving all stakeholders - such as brand owner, PSL laminator and label convertor - at the initial stages of any project, SMCL can accelerate the development process, avoid delays and save time.

In more than 170 years of innovation across all market sectors, SMCL has developed adhesives and unique constructions to meet the ever-increasing demands of the label industry. Within the wines and spirits markets SMCL has created adhesives to match the challenging requirements found on bottling lines.

It has to be recognised that the label convertor has the technical expertise to realise the marketing brief and translate it into an aesthetic reality. But it is only as part of a fully cooperating team that the most effective results are most efficiently achieved.

The end result of the SMCL consultative method is a solution that complies with every requirement for the brand owner and ensures that the label is printed and applied within specification. The Case Study in this brochure demonstrates the consultative approach in action.

1. Several repositionable adhesives were trialled via A4 samples and applied by hand to bottles to determine suitability for this specific application.

2. Having defined the correct adhesive, a sample of the new face/ adhesive/liner combination was manufactured and delivered to the brand owner for live trials within four working days.

3. The trial confirmed that the degree of repositionability was correct for the application and that the release level for the inline applicators was at the right level to allow for fast application speeds.

CASE STUDY

The Case for Adapt Vivant

THE CHALLENGE

The brand owner of one of Smith & McLaurin’s (SMCL’s) customers encountered an adhesive problem during the integration of Pressure Sensitive Labels (PSL) within their inline bottling and label application system.

The problem occurred when the label needed to be repositioned if misaligned on the inline applicator. The existing adhesive was not staying open long enough to allow the label to be repositioned, causing significant downtime on the bottling line.

GO DIRECT, GO FASTER

The brand owner, realising that at this early stage of their development within PSL they did not have the appropriate knowledge base, arranged a meeting with SMCL and the label company to try to resolve the issue. This direct, consultative approach ensured that all stakeholders in the development process had full knowledge of the problem; consequently the development process was significantly faster and more efficient.

Here’s how we proceeded:

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

SMCL’s flexible and proactive approach to the problem enabled their customer to offer a quick, professional solution, and helped them to successfully retain their client.

In turn, SMCL and the customer both enhanced their reputations for offering a consultative approach to resolving end user issues.

Disclaimer - The information relating to the use of the products is given for information purposes only. No guarantee or warranty is provided that the product is adapted to the client’s specific use. The client should perform their own tests to determine the suitability for a particular purpose. The final choice of use of a product remains the sole responsibility of the client.

Products and

In addition to the products featured in this brochure we have several commodity and modified-commodity market materials for self-adhesive labels, tickets and tags within our main AdaptLabelStock range. For further information please visit our website www.smcl.co.uk

More Ways to Build Business

If you are looking for alternatives to your standard materials, our pioneering AdaptEco range includes materials that are recyclable, reusable and from sustainable sources. We offer our customers FSC certified, cellulose free and recycled papers as well as a range of PLA & Cello films. For further information please visit the dedicated AdaptEco page on our website www.smcl.co.uk/our-range/adapteco

Our AdaptUltra range is suitable for customers’ looking for specialty products. These materials are used for a wide variety of promotional applications including ultra-peelable labels, drypeel coupons, bottle collarettes, block-out labels and CD and greeting card labels. For further information please visit the dedicated AdaptUltra page on our website www.smcl.co.uk/our-range/adaptultra

Our AdaptDigi range includes a variety of gloss, matt and satin finish papers, clear and white PE & PP films; metallised papers and textured papers. Some of these substrates are HP Certified and approved for use on Xeikon & Jetrion Presses as well as other major digital presses in the market. In addition to this, we offer customers the option of digitally optimizing any material from our standard and specialist ranges to make it digitally receptive. For further information please visit the dedicated AdaptDigi page on our website www.smcl.co.uk/our-range/adaptdigi

Smith & McLaurin Manufacturer, Supplier, Innovator

Founded and based in Kilbarchan, Scotland, Smith & McLaurin Limited is a leading manufacturer and global supplier of self-adhesive label, ticket and tag materials. The company sells material in roll form to printers and converters who produce finished label, ticket and tag products for a wide variety of end users including the spirit and wine industry, supermarkets, pharmacy chains, logistics companies and food manufacturers.

Throughout its long history the company has built a reputation for innovation in the labelling industry, particularly in the digital and environmental labelling sectors.

www.smcl.co.uk/our-range/adaptvivant

Wine & Spirit Labelling Glossary

Abrasion resistance: The degree to which a facestock will resist deterioration from rubbing, handling or scuffing.

Brightness: A measurement of the light reflectance (brilliance) of a facestock.

Calender-Finished: A label stock whose smooth, gloss finish has been obtained by passing it under pressure between two highly polished cylinders.

Cast-coated: A high gloss coated label stock on which the clay coating has been dried in contact with a highly polished chromium casting drum or drying cylinder to give an almost mirror smooth surface.

Coral Texture: Organic stipple texture with a fine granulated appearance.

Digital Printing: A process involving the creation, storage, transfer and reproduction of printed images in a digital format so as to allow fixed or completely variable information to be printed on a label without printing plates.

Digital Topcoat: A surface finish applied to label face stock that aids digital print anchorage and/or durability. It may also be used to provide a protective coating.

ECF: Elemental chlorine free.

Embossing: Is the process of raising a design or image above the label surface, through the use of a set of matched dies, to produce a relief image.

Face stock: The top layer or printing surface of a self-adhesive label construction.

Felt Texture: Random, mottled, raised texture.

Flexibility: The ability of a paper to wrap around tight diameters. Papers with excellent flexibility are good choices to test as neck labels and wide body labels. Papers with poor flexibility may flag when used on curved surfaces, especially when combined with low tack adhesives.

Foil Laminate: Special paper, extrusion laminated with thin-gauge aluminium foil for enhanced aesthetics. Can be top coated to improve its printability.

Foil Printing: A dry printing process which uses very thin aluminium foil in a variety of metallic colours – such as gold, silver, red or blue, rather than inks from which to print. It can print on a wide range of surfaces and is used to provide a luxury (metallic) look on higher added-value label applications.

Gloss: The characteristic of a surface which causes it to reflect light at a given angle. It is usually expressed as ‘gloss’, ‘low gloss’, or ‘matt.’

Grain: The direction in which most fibres align when paper is formed and is usually synonymous with the machine direction of the paper.

Handmade Texture: Natural handmade feel with a raised graphic or texture.

HP Indigo Digital Press: A commercial and industrial digital offset press manufactured by HP Indigo . Available label presses are the WS4000, WS4050, WS4500 & WS6000. Unlike other digital presses, HP Indigo uses a unique a patented liquid toner in the press; its ElectroInk is a strong pigment dispersion that is diluted with imaging oil on the press to give a fluid colorant.

Ice bucket test: A performance test to verify the resistance of a label during water immersion. In this test, labelled bottles are immersed in a 50/50 ice/water bath for up to 4 hours. Failure may include label edge lifting, sliding, delamination, or ink flaking off the label.

Initial tack: The initial ‘grab’ of the adhesive to the substrate.

Laid Texture: A paper in which fine parallel lines can be seen in the body of the sheet, in imitation of traditional hand-made papers.

Linen Texture: Crisp, tightly patterned horizontal and vertical raised lines.

Liner: The carrier for a self-adhesive label. Release liners are coated with a release material, allowing them to separate from the label immediately before application.

Mandrel Test: An aggressive test used to determine the suitability of an adhesive/facestock combination for very tight curvatures; ie. neck label applications.

Metallised: Special paper with vacuum or transfer deposited metal for enhanced aesthetics.

Peel strength: A characteristic of adhesion referring to the force per unit width required to break the bond between the label and the container. This is often expressed at a specific degree and rate of peel under controlled environmental conditions.

Permanent Adhesive: An adhesive designed so that labels cannot be removed without damage to the wine label printing or container.

Removable Adhesive: An adhesive property that allows labels to be removed from a surface and re-applied with no damage to the wine label printing or container.

Short-term repositionability: Repositionable pressure sensitive adhesives enable a label to be removed and then repositioned within a short, finite, period of time after application. This is useful to correct misapplied labels prior to ultimate adhesion being achieved.

Smooth Texture: No noticeable relief pattern or texture.

Tensile strength: The force required to snap a paper sample of standard width cut in either the M.D (machine direction) or X.D. (cross direction) . It is usually quoted in Newtons, the higher the value, the stronger the paper.

Textures: The tactile surface characteristic of wine label printing facestock, including Laid, Vellum, Handmade, Felt, Linen, Smooth and Coral.

Ultimate adhesion: The final adhesion level achieved by the label, usually 72 hours after labelling.

Vellum Texture: Rough, porous surface, but with no distinct raised areas.

Water removability: Label and adhesive will remove from glass and plastic containers when soaked in an alkaline or caustic solution for five minutes.

Wet-Labelling Conditions: Certain labels are suitable for use in moist environments or when condensation is present on bottles at the time of labelling. Air-dryers are recommended for extremely wet conditions.

Wet Stick: The ability of an adhesive to stick to wet glass.

Wet strength: Paper that has chemical and/or physical components added to increase internal bond strength when saturated.. The paper fibres retain their bond strength when wet. Wet strength should not be confused with the lower-performance characteristics of ‘water resistance.

Xeikon: A dry toner-based digital colour printing system. Digital label presses available from Xeikon International include the Xeikon 3300 & 3500 series presses.

YOUR Customer Journey

Service, Trust and Innovation have been the foundation of Smith & McLaurin’s company culture since it was established in 1849. Our commitment to these core values extends beyond basic manufacturing and translates into a comprehensive and innovative product portfolio of self adhesive label and tag materials; strong research and development based on market trends; and a continuous focus on enhancing our customers’ buying experience.

We work with our customers to deliver flexible and managed supply solutions with a difference. During your journey as a customer of Smith & McLaurin you will be able to:

CUSTOMER SERVICES

Enjoy a personalised comprehensive response.

Benefit from us being a one-stop solutions provider. All of our customer service staff are based in our central service centre.

SALES & MARKETING

Engage with the most relevant SMCL employee. We are not a faceless organisation; it’s our people that make a difference.

Delegate responsibility for solving your problems to us and we will take ownership and commit our people and resources to finding a solution.

Take advantage of our strong brand and reputation as a valued trusted supplier.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Access a wide range of unique and innovative materials.

Have exclusivity on materials sourced specifically for your application.

Offer your customers value-added solutions and innovative products.

PRODUCTION

Benefit from our manufacturing flexibility resulting in quicker response times & endless material combinations. Place more economical order sizes.

Limit your risk as a result of our phased material introduction and trial process.

DISTRIBUTION

Benefit from our efficient stock management system which comes with automatic replenishment and consolidated invoicing.

Smith and McLaurin Ltd, is a leading manufacturer and global supplier of self-adhesive label, ticket and tag materials. Based in Kilbarchan, the company sells material in roll form to printers and converters who produce label ticket and tag products for a wide variety of end users, including, supermarkets, pharmacy chains, logistics companies and food manufacturers.

Throughout its long history, the company has carved a reputation for innovation in the labelling industry, particularly in the digital and environmental labelling sectors.