L9 names 2017 World Label Awards winners

The L9 is an alliance of global label associations formed to jointly formulate policies and collecting strategic information of global interest to the worldwide label industry.

The WLA competition is judged by an international panel of judges representing each of the participating associations. The judging took place in Brussels the day before Labelexpo Europe 2017.

All of the L9 label associations are invited, each year, to submit entries for the WLA competition. This year the Indian label association, LMAI, took part for the first time in several years. Other associations involved in the 2017 competition included Finat (Europe), TLMI (US), JFLP (Japan), FPLMA (Australia), SALMA (New Zealand) and PEIAC (China).

In order to be considered for entry in the WLA competition, a label converter must first have won an award from its local association’s competition. Each L9 association is permitted to submit one entry in each class, with entries from individual converters not accepted.

The awards structure includes 22 classes covering all the principal printing processes and market applications.

Class 1: Flexo Line

Winner: Rapid Labels, New Zealand (SALMA) for NZ Sunscreen Pure Shade

Class 2: Flexo Line/Screen

Winner: Label Impressions, US (TLMI) for Deva Curl Buildup Buster

Class 3: Flexo Colour Process

Winner: Label Force, Australia (FPLMA) for John West Calamari

Honorable Mention: Admark Visual Imaging, New Zealand (SALMA) for Moana

Class 4: Flexo Wine/Spirit

Winner: Takara Pac, Japan (JFLP) for Chablis Wine Label

Honorable Mention: Rapid Labels, New Zealand (SALMA) for Craggy Range Wild Rock Pinot Gris 2016

Honorable Mention: Royston Labels, UK (Finat) for King’s Cross

Class 5: Letterpress Line

Honorable Mention: Cabas, Greece (Finat) for Agro.VI.M. Olive Oil Kalamata PDO 1L

Class 6: Letterpress Line/Screen

Winner: Maru-Sin, Japan (JFLP) for Safety Drive

Class 7: Letterpress Colour Process

Winner: Sato Printing, Japan (JFLP) for Daimyo Futomaki (Sushi Roll)

Honorable Mention: Leading Label, New Zealand (SALMA) for Pumpkin Seed Oil

Class 8: Letterpress Wine/Spirits

Winner: Sato Printing, Japan (JFLP) for Apple and Lime Liqueur “Ringo Hime”

Class 9: Offset Line

Winner: Panprint, New Zealand (SALMA) for True Honey Co. 300+ MGO

Class 11: Offset Colour Process

Joint Winner: Beijing YaZhengYuan Colourful Printing, China (PEIAC) for Jomo Label

Joint Winner: Shinwa Label Printing, Japan (JFLP) for Yamagata Sukaranbo

Class 12: Offset Wine/Spirits

Joint Winner: Seieido Printing, Japan (JFLP) for Japanese Sake “Yamahousi”

Joint Winner: Panprint, New Zealand (SALMA) for Pacific Potion Sauvignon Blanc

Honorable mention: Multi-Color Corporation, North America Wine and Spirits, US, (Finat) for Fortnight

Honorable mention: Multi-Color Australia (FPLMA) for D’SAS

Class 13: Combination Line

Winner: Rapid Labels, New Zealand (SALMA) for Floating Oil Snapper

Honorable mention: Label House, Australia (FPLMA) for Pale Ale Birra Zonzo

Class 14: Combination Line/Screen

Winner: McDowell Label & Screen Printing, US (FPLMA) for Performance Nutrition

Class 15: Combination Colour Process

Winner: Sunmec, Japan (JFLP) for Denen Fuka Box Label

Class 16: Combination Wine/Spirits

Winner: Multi-Color Corporation, US (TLMI) for Octopoda Cabernet Wine

Honorable mention: Maru-Sin, Japan (JFLP) for NEI (Japanese Shochu)

Class 17: Digital Printing

Winner: Digital Label Solutions, US (TLMI) for Kia –The Extra Mile

Honorable mention: Ҫiftsan Etiket Ambalaj San. Ve Ticaret, Turkey (Finat) for Winx Body Lotion 75ml

Class 18: Digital Wine/Spirits

Winner: Syracuse Label & Surround Printing, US (TLMI) for Ryze Vodka

Honorable mention: Marzek Etiketten, Austria (Finat) for Heathland Whisky

Honorable mention: Multi-Color Australia (FPLMA) for Silken Beastie Shiraz

Class 19: Screen Printing

Winner: Any Graphics, India (LMAI) for ComAD Designs

Honorable mention: Sibel Industry, Japan (JFLP) for Vronique & Claudette

Honorable mention: Stratus Packaging, France (Finat) for Shampoo Color Lômé Paris

Class 20: Gravure

Winner: Gravure Packaging, New Zealand (SALMA) for Chobani 170g

Honorable mention: Multi-Color Wales, UK (Finat) for Heineken Green Identity

Class 21: Booklets

Winner: Stratus Packaging, France (Finat) for Multipages les recettes Végétales sans gluten

Class 22: Innovation

Joint Winner:  Source Labels, UK (Finat) for Fortnum and Mason Beluga 000 Fresh Caviar

Joint Winner: Shibatasesco, Japan (JFLP) for Instant Pocket Label

Joint Winner: Mudrika Labels, India (LMAI) for Colgate Deep Cleaning

This is the fifth year that the competition has included five additional awards representing the ‘Best of the Best’ entries from the principal printing processes selected during the judging process. The awards will be presented at the Label Industry Global Awards event, to be held during Labelexpo Americas 2018 in September.

The winners have been selected from the winning entries in the L9 WLA competition from the following classes: Flexography, Letterpress, Offset Litho, Combination Printing and Digital Printing.

The judges for the 2017 competition included Tony White (Finat), Mike Buystedt (TLMI), Harveer Sahni (LMAI), Tony Wheeler (SALMA), Andrew Maxwell (FPLMA), Masaaki Yoshitake (JFLP) and Jean Li (PEIAC).

White, chair of the judging panel, said: ‘Never will a label have been examined in such detail, even by the converter’s QC department. We expect a high standard of printing at this level and we also look for the quality of the design of the label. We continue to be surprised by the quality of the entries year-on-year.’

L9 WLA competition winners are a regular feature in the L&L Yearbook, with the latest edition available to read online here