The L9 Group of international label associations are pleased to announce the results of the 2024 L9 World Label Awards (WLA) competition which was judged by an international panel of judges selected from each of the participating associations. The judging took place in Chicago the day before the Labelexpo America exhibition opened.

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

The World Label Awards is an annual contest, existing since 1991, showcasing the best quality labels submitted by the L9 associations. https://www.worldlabelawardsassociation.com/

This year is particularly poignant as it is the first year that the new chairman of the judges, Steve Wood (on the right), has taken over complete responsibility for the competition. The previous chairman, Tony White (on the left), had held the position for more than 25 years and in that time had witnessed many changes in the structure of the global label industry. We have tried to keep the L9-WLA competition up to date and fresh over the years especially with the growth of digital technology. We are confident that the competition under Steve’s guidance will continue to represent the best labels from the worldwide label industry for many years to come.

The competition has been held in the existing format since 1996 with a change to the current class structure in 2012. The existing class structure encompasses all the principal printing processes and market applications used in the international label industry. The results are listed in Class order with the Winners announced first followed by the Honourable Mention (HM) awards.

All member associations are invited to submit entries in any of the 24 classes of the competition thus ensuring that a true international flavour is maintained, and that the results are a true representation of the worldwide label industry. This is actually the 33rd year that the competition has been held (discounting the 4 years that it was not held because of COVID). In 2024 entries were received from the following associations: FINAT (Europe), JFLP (Japan), TLMI (USA), FPLMA (Australia), SALMA (New Zealand), and CPF (China). In total 62 entries were received resulting in 20 Winners and 14 HM awards being given (a table showing the awards received by each association can be found at the end of this press release).

The judges for the WLA 2023 competition included:  Chair Steve Wood (FINAT), Keith Nagle (TLMI), Jon Murray (FPLMA), Masaaki Yoshitake (JFLP), Ruth Cobb (SALMA) and Xu Wencai (CPF).

The Results

Class 1: Flexo Line

Winner CPF: Suzhou Jiangtian Packing Technology Co. Ltd., China for RIO Neon Cocktail Label

A bright and colourful label with a striking 3D effect which moves in relation to the viewing angle. The use of transparent colours printing over the holographic image gives this label a quite distinctive appearance. The fully servo-driven printing machine accurately prints various effects, and with the combination of reverse primer and topcoat, it achieves a bright and textured finish.

HM FINAT: IPE Industria Gráfica S.L.U., Spain for D.Pedro Neve

A wine bottle shrink sleeve printed with thermos-chromic ink/varnish which changes from clear, to blue when the bottle is chilled to 8-10oC, indicating that it is at optimum drinking temperature. Printed using flexography in 6 colours the label is finished with a varnish and a cold foil title in a single pass. Excellent solid white background. The pixelated face is very striking.

Class 2: Flexo Line/Screen

Winner FPLMA: Fantastick Label Co., Australia for Moro Ultra

Printed in 4 colours plus varnish on a clear PP substrate in 4 passes. A punchy label with lots of colour and vignetted shading, and excellent coverage in the solid colour areas.

HM CPF: Yali (Guangzhou) Printing Co., Ltd., China for Sweet Dream Shuntian Herbal Drink

This label is printed on a bright silver substrate using flexographic printing combined with rotary screen printing in white, and paired with a reverse oil process. The metallic silver base, combined with the reverse process, adds some lines and patterns to the label, giving it different light and shadow changes at different angles, enhancing the dynamic and artistic sense of the label. The background vignette fades from blue to pink and the Chinese characters are nice and sharp.

Class 3 Flexo Colour Process

Winner SALMA: Kiwi Labels, New Zealand, for Win with Kylie

An innovative self-adhesive neck tag printed on a combination of PP synthetic and paper substrates in 3 passes. The clear face stock was delaminated from its liner, printed with gloss varnish to neutralise the tack. The reverse reading 4 colour process printed over the face of the clear material created the reverse side of the tag. The paper top layer was produced on the second pass with challenging reversed out white detail. Subsequently the two films were laminated together in tight register and rotary die-cut.

HM CPF: Cymmetrik (Zhejiang ) Printing Co. Ltd., China for P&G Toni Laundry Liquid 3D label

The 3D labels on the market are currently only available in PET material because PE stretches, which makes it impossible to produce accurately. This label however uses PE 3D material made by Cymmetrik's patented method. The label is printed using flexography which is suitable for the labelling needs of PE bottles required by daily chemical products.

Class 4 Flexo Wines and Spirits

Winner JFLP: Takara Pac Ltd., Japan for Japanese Sake Label

Printed using flexography in the following sequence; print: die-cut: laminate: print: laminate : die-cut: backside; die-cut all achieved in one pass. This is a two-layer label, when the outer label is peeled off, another label with liner is inside and can be removed. This could be a bonus, or collectable label. The surface is protected so the inner label cannot be stolen in stores.

HM SALMA: MCC Albany, New Zealand for Elephant Hill Sparkling Rosé

This label depicts the sun, land and water necessary to produce a great wine. Printed using flexography in 4 colours in one pass including cold foil, spot matt and spot gloss. By using gloss and matt varnishes, a considerable contrast is achieved between the elements of the design. In pre-press and subsequently on press, registration was critical to obtain minimal bleed, taking into account that cold foiling “grows”.

HM TLMI: AWT Label & Packaging, USA for Santo 2023 Mezquila

This dramatic looking black and gold label was produced in a two-step process, where the basic job was primarily printed using flexo. The printed substrate was then moved to a secondary machine for the finishing processes, where the foiling, embossing, doming, and varnishing that give this label its added customer appeal, were applied. Tight registration is essential to the finished appearance of this label. The detail in the foiling and the black background set the label apart from the norm.

Class 6 Letterpress Line & Screen

HM JFLP: Otsuki Seal Printing, Japan for Arrowroot Starch Noodles

Printed in 5 colours this small label has a complex pattern of raised varnish on the surface. The mock fibre effect was created by printing varnish onto the pre-printed “Japanese” matt clear substrate. The transparency of the paper allows the substrate to show through, giving a kind of “seal” effect.

Class 7 Letterpress Colour Process

Winner JFLP:  Kyushu Craft Industries, Japan for the Frozen Eel

Printed in 5 colours on a silver coated paper which added a certain brightness to the final image. The intention was to encourage people to eat eel when they saw the label. Particular attention was needed to control the printing pressure in both light and dark areas of the label. Registration of the white lettering was particularly tight.

Class 11 Offset Colour Process

Winner CPF: Ningxia Sunrise Printing Co. Ltd., China, for Tong Ren Tang —— President Brand Instant Bird's Nest Bottle Label

The upgraded label layout features traditional textured hot foil stamping surrounded by embossed radial lines. The main image of the golden swiftlet is printed in four colours with a laser embossing effect, with distinct contour lines that highlight the shimmer and layers of the feathers, which is more in line with Tong Ren Tang's high-end product positioning.

The process includes offset printing in four colours + spot colour + hot foil stamping + laser hot foil stamping + embossing and debossing, etc. The label uses environmentally friendly special paper for wine labels with FSC certification, printed by domestic rotary offset printing equipment. The material is artistic paper with moisture-proof properties, well suited for the product's refrigerated application conditions. Through a combination of multiple printing and technical processes, it enhances the theme of the golden swiftlet's nest and highlights its high-end positioning.

HM JFLP: Sankyo Seal, Japan for Mitsume Japanese Character Label

A rather colourful and striking label expressing Mitsume which means 3 Eyes, those being My Eye, Your Eye, An Eye. It is printed in 4 colours on a paper PET laminated substrate. This label shows very accurate registration and very even sold colour background

Class 12 Offset Wine and Spirits

Winner FPLMA: Multicolor Corporation, Australia, for Brix Core Range-Mandarin Liqueur

Printed on a Nilpeter MO4 Offset press in 5 colours on a paper substrate this is a bright orange orientated label which uses an extra black to add contrast. A silver foil, a flexo sealer, a High Build Gloss varnish and a flexo spot satin varnish were the applied to give the label an extra dimension. Debossing was added to the black banner and embossing to the word Brix to enhance the silver foil branding.

HM CPF: Yantai Sunrise Label Technology Co., Ltd., China for Great Wall Coast Red Wine Label

Waterless offset printing was used in four colours + spot colour + matte gold stamping + embossing and debossing techniques. The label uses environmentally friendly special paper for wine labels with FSC certification and low migration ink minimizing the printing and process area (energy saving and consumption reduction), and reducing the overall carbon footprint. At the same time, the material is artistic paper with moisture-proof properties, more suitable for the application conditions of wine storage. The design employs traditional calligraphy and the simplicity of ink wash painting to express the dot transitions of "only this cyan and green" combined with the "golden" coastline and the vigorous (embossed) calligraphy, vividly conveying the Chinese-style coastline and the fairyland of Penglai.

Class 13 Combination Line

Winner FINAT: Gráficas Varias S.A.U., Spain for El Hallazgo

Printed in one colour using flexo & gravure with gold hot foil and embossing additional processes. Two substrates were used, which were subsequently combined. The 3d effect was created by printing a gold lacquer and grey “detailing” on the top substrate which was then embossed, with hot foiling of the name on the lower substrate.

Class 14 Combination Line & Screen

Winner FINAT: Seb. Wolf, GmbH, Germany for Pott Eierlikör

A very nice label, printed flexo and letterpress in 5 colours in a single pass, with hot foil, embossing and varnishing. The illustration depicts a sailing vessel on a stormy sea. The solid colours are intense, and the halftone image of the ship is very crisp. The foiling is nice and even, and the embossing registration is accurate

Class 15 Combination Colour Process

Winner TLMI: McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Company, USA for Isopept Vanilla Ice Cream

Printed using flexo on a silver Foil substrate, with a large, even coverage of a matt black background. The colour process image of an ice-cream cone was enhanced by a patterned lacquer and printed in sharp reverse-outs to give gold effect. The white solids and very fine lettering are excellent. The label is also both domed and tactile varnished with accuracy.

HM FINAT: Ҫiftsan Label & Packaging Company, Turkey for Valeria Deep Sea Body & Hair Fragrance

A colourful label evoking a feeling of a deep mesa environment. Digitally printed on a silver foil substrate in 5 colours, producing vibrant colours. Very clean reversing out of the fine text. The screen printed gloss varnish gives a 3D effect and the product logo giving a sharp visual contrast of finish. A pronounced tactile feel is created with screen high build varnish, almost to Braille height

Class 16 Combination Wine/ Spirit

Winner JLFP: Seieido Printing, Japan for Tayutafu Aged Japanese Sake Label

Printed offset 5 colours onto a silver PET substrate. The background of this label depicts the cycle of night band day and the process of aging over time. Impressive registration to reverse out very fine diamond pattern creates a sparkling effect. The “hidden“ Tayutafu lettering becomes visible when viewed at certain angles. The golden sun and moon are created by using transparent lacquers fitted over reversed out printing.

HM FINAT: Achertäler Druckerei GmbH & Co. KG, Germany for Waldulmer Art Series

Striking label of a girl’s face with fluorescent areas and high build varnish. The label was printed with waterless offset, fluorescent inks printed rotary screen and high build varnish applied by flatbed screen in 3 passes in 6 colours. The aim was to reproduce the artist’s work as faithfully as possible. Relief embossing for haptic experiences of the faces (mouth, eyebrows, eyelashes etc.)

HM CPF: Tianjin Great Printing TECH. Development Co.,Ltd., China for EV Wine Label

A very colourful flower orientated label printed on a selected pearlescent wine label paper.  Four-color printing, with hot stamping and embossing processes was used for the main text to present colour contrast and a three-dimensional effect. Partial main patterns were spot varnished to make them more prominent, enhancing the product display effect.

HM FPLMA: Label Avenue, Australia for Fortell Vodka

A Classy looking Vodka label. First pass, printing of reverse detail onto clear PP. Second pass, top substrate laminated onto first pass PP.  Third pass digitally printed by, and on fourth pass, laminated with matt, high build screen print tactile varnish and die cut

Class 18 Digital Line / Screen

Winner SALMA: Leading Label Co. New Zealand for 26K Glacial Water

This 2-sided label with a bold image was created by printing two films in 4 passes in 5 colours. The reversed back image was printed onto clear stock. A gloss laminate was used for maximum impact. The front image was printed onto silver foil substrate, which had been laminated onto the back film.

HM FPLMA: Ultra Labels and Flexpack, Australia for Amino Corps Food Supplement Label

Printed digitally in 4 colours plus white onto silver PP substrate. Using spot varnish the terrain was highlighted in detail in the background, to ensure that the design shone through the spot flexo varnishes to create the desired result. The high build screen varnish creating extra depth.

Class 19 Digital Colour Process

Winner CPF: Cymmetrik (Jiangsu) Printing Co., Ltd, China for P&G HR Shampoo Label

A light and airy label with masses of Chinese characters which are clear and sharp. Printed in 4 colours with cold foiling on a filmic substrate. Cold foil stamping and digital process was applied after stamping. The digital printing process creates a brushed effect that also feels tactile to the touch

Class 20 Digital Wine & Spirits

Winner FPLMA: Ultra Labels & Flexpack, Australia for Cotes de Hentley

A nice clean looking label with clear and sharp type. The customer requested a premium looking label with a thick stock, so with this in mind a stock constructed to push the capabilities of the machines. Printed using 4 colours, the real challenge began! Using a clear foil the bottle numbers were highlighted to show the edition number of the vintage and batch. Finished off with a blind emboss and a matt varnish the result was delivered to the customer’s satisfaction.

Class 21 Screen Printing

Winner FINAT: Ҫiftsan Label & Packaging Company, Turkey for Tiny Green Handwash

Printed in 5 colours plus varnish and lamination in 3 passes on a clear filmic substrate. An overpowering illustration of a hand identifies the use of this product. Excellent reproduction of very fine detail.

Class 22 Gravure

Winner CPF: Huaxin (Foshan) Color Printing Co., LTD., China for 1.28L Sesame Yuanji First Press Virgin Oil OPP Holographic Label

Printed in 8 colours plus solventless lamination on a BOPP filmic substrate which in turn is laminated with a layer of matte holographic aluminium film. The label creates different dazzling colour effects when viewed under different angles and lighting conditions. The solventless lamination technology leaves no solvent residue in the composite packaging materials, which meets modern hygiene requirements for food and pharmaceutical packaging. There is no emission of volatile solvents during production, causing no pollution to the atmospheric environment during the production process.

Class 23 Booklets

Winner SALMA: Kiwi Labels, New Zealand for Manuka Concertina Honey Label

Printed using flexography in 2 colours in 3 passes. The top web was printed as a separate pass with a fine detailed flexo cold foil and 877 silver. This created the over-laminate that secures the booklet to the base web. Booklets were produced and folded to fit five lanes across the 330mm web. The booklets were inserted onto a base web and secured with the pre-printed over laminate. The Prati operator precisely made-ready the inserting and flexo unit to ensure a seamless production run. Once the inserting unit was set and synchronised with the printed base web, the operator applied and registered the pre-printed laminate over the booklets. The multi-layered construction then passed through the rotary die station. Accurate alignment of die to the circular multi-layered design ensures the label would function as required. With limited margin for error, the operator printed the base, inserted the booklet, applied the pre-printed over-laminate and die-cut all in-line.

HM FINAT: Helvetikett AG, Switzerland for DIPA Booklet Label

Printed in 3 colours in several passes using flexo for the main label on a clear film, and offset litho for the booklet on a paper base. Impressive solid blue background with reversed lettering .This is a reclosable booklet for round containers with a shortened base layer and integrated Quality Control Certificate and thermos-transfer printable surface. The shortened base and preformed protective laminate prevents the booklet from standing up. Adhesive free finger lift generated by a paper nose punching enables maximum convenience during the opening process. A detachable quality talon for customer-side thermal transfer printing of the same printable surface as the booklet for identical information.

Class 24 Innovation

Winner FINAT: Schreiner Group GmbH & Co. KG., Germany for Needle Protection

This unique label has a plastic trap to prevent accidental injury from the needle. The new development features a closure seal integrated into the needle protection label with a tab ending on the syringe cap. Prior to the injection the needle trap is folded sideways. A key advantage is that the first-opening seal replaces blister packs. The label meets the EU and USA requirements for protection of sharps in hospital environments.

Winner SALMA: MCC Albany, New Zealand for Red Mill Rum

This label is printed digitally in 4 colours along with spot matt varnish, matt high build varnish and the removal of internal die-cut waste. The difficulty was to remove 46 die-cut areas on press without compromising the integrity of the label and without requiring additional equipment. The difficulty in production using textured material was to balance printing large hotfoil areas and fine reversed out type within the 3 passes required to produce the final result.

Winner JFLP: Kamiiso Sansho Co. Ltd., Japan for Japanese Paper Masking Tape

This label was printed using offset litho in 4 colours along with hot foil and varnish in a single pass. Lintec Japanese Paper and Murata Kinpaku OGN 6 Gold substrate was used and a removable adhesive applied. The applications include being able to make origami cranes, chopstick holders, coasters etc. also for decoration of Japanese style accessories. The biggest challenge was the foil stamping to reproduce a smooth and natural gradation and to hold exact register.

Pictures

To view the winning entries, click here.

Overall ranking of awards by association 

Association	Winners	Honourable Mention	Total
FINAT	4	4	8
JFLP	4	2	6
TLMI	1	1	2
FPLMA	3	2	5
CPF	4	4	8
SALMA	4	1	5
Total	20	14	34

Best of the Best 2024

Since 2012, the L9 World Label Association has annually commissioned five additional awards to represent the best labels from 2024 in each of the main printing processes. These awards are selected from the winning labels following the completion of the main judging in the following group categories: Flexography, Letterpress, Offset Litho, Combination and Digital Printing. The New style plaques will be presented by the individual associations at dates to be agreed domestically.

Some background info on the competition

The ONLY route for submitting a label is through the relevant L9 association. Direct entry by individual converters is not accepted. Each association selects suitable entries from their own, respective competitions for submission to the WLA competition. Entries must have won an award in the local competition. In addition each association is limited to entering only one label in each class.

Receiving a WLA award is considered to be the peak of achievement in the international label industry, the winning converter being able to harness winning the award to boost their marketing campaigns and self-esteem. The recognition of being presented with an award goes deeper than just the printer. A considerable amount of effort is expended by the pre-press department, the design studio and the brand owner and it is only fair that they all share in the prestige of winning an award. The term “Technical Oscars of the Label Industry” has often been used over the years to describe the WLA awards. All entries are subject to intense scrutiny from a technical and aesthetic point of view by the panel of expert judges.

“Judging is a complex business relying on the expertise and knowledge of the judges. Each entry is carefully scrutinised for the quality of the printing with a certain weighting being given to the aesthetic properties. This often results in a great deal of discussion between the judges which means that it can take a considerable time to reach an agreement. The technical background information provided by the printer is often crucial when selecting the eventual award winner. With the considerable technical developments introduced during the past few years and quality levels improving the judges are continually challenged to make the correct decision regarding the award winning entries.”