Alternating Labels

What Do We Mean by Alternating Labels?

The production of alternating labels involves printing front and back labels sequentially or alternately on the same roll, even if they differ in size, within a single printing batch. This technique is commonly used in the bottle labelling market for automatic application. Essentially, you will receive self-adhesive labels on a roll, with both front and back labels arranged alternately for easy application.

How Does the Production of Alternating Labels Work?

1. Create the print file – To order roll labels where front and back are alternating, you need your label print file to contain both graphics in a single drawing board. The best way to create such a file is with a vector graphics software such as Adobe Illustrator.

2. Define width and height – Add the width of the front label to that of the back label and include the intermediate cut, which is usually 5 mm. However, you can decide the measurement yourself. As the height of the document, use the higher of the two alternating labels.

Example:
Your front label is 90 mm wide; your back label is 80 mm wide.
Width calculation: 90 mm+80 mm+5 mm (Interspace) = 175 mm

Your front label is 100 mm high; your back label is 90 mm high. The height of the document will be 100 mm (maximum height).

3. Label alignment – Label alignment depends on how the labels are to be applied to your product.

4. Sample image – In order to make it clearer how the print file should be prepared, please view the image below.

Pay attention:

1. When placing the order, the two double-sided labels will have to be supplied in one file; the total quantity to be ordered refers to the pair of labels. For example, if you need 1,000 front and 1,000 back labels, you will need to select 1,000 labels (not 2,000) with custom shape on the calculator.

2. When you are asked to choose the cutting type, select die-cut. We will produce your alternating double-sided labels by laser cutting only if the two labels have the same shape, format, and the interspace is 5 mm.

We Are Happy to Help You!

We will be happy to help you create the correct print files. On the right side, you can find a tab that says “print file guidelines”. This is a list of our tools and services that will help you create print-ready files of your data. If you still have questions, you can contact us anytime by email or phone.