12oz Label Design Guide

Label Size

This guide is for 12oz or 16oz single color bags.
Our standard label for the front and back of the bags is 3 inches wide and 4 inches tall.
When you are making your label, the "artboard" or image size, should be 3.15" x 4.15".  
Your label design should cover the full size, though we will only print the 3" x 4".  The extra space is for the overprint, we print over the edges so that we don't get a white border on your label.  You should be sure that any logos and text don't go into the extra space.

Color Format

If you have the option to select the color format, we use CMYK as opposed to RGB.  This isn't too important, but will help make sure the colors come out closer what you intend.

Label Format

We prefer vector format as opposed to raster, so Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PDF or similar.
If you use a raster format, like jpg, png, or tiff, please make sure your resolution is high enough.  it should be set to at least 600 dpi, though 1200 dpi is preferred.

Artwork and Fonts

You cannot use copywrite or trademarked images on your products.  It is your responsibility to make sure you are allowed to use any images.  It is not safe to just find a picture on the internet and use it.  It's best to make your own artwork, or have a graphic designer make it for you (we can make a recommendation if you need one).  If you must find something online, make sure you are also able to find the license to use it. You can use a site like https://creativecommons.org/ to find images that are free for commercial use.

Fonts are also trademarked.  If you are sending your artwork in vector format, we ask that you make all fonts Outlines.  That way it doesn't matter if we have the font or not.  If you download a font, even if you have paid for it, that does NOT mean that it is available for commercial use.  You need to check the license of the font to see if you can use it for commercial proposes.

You are ultimately responsible for any copywrite or trademark issues.  We are not equipped to check your work for any such issues, and will assume you have made sure you are allowed to use any of that material.

Required Information

Since coffee is a food product, it is regulated by the FDA, and in our case, the Ohio Department of Agriculture. There are certain things that are required on the label.

Front Label

There are only three things required on the front label.  You have to identify the product on the front, in the lower 1/3rd of the label.  In this case it would be "Coffee" or "Ground Coffee" or "Whole Bean Coffee".
If the word "Coffee" is part of your logo, that does not count, you also have to have the word in the lower part of the label separate from your logo.

The second thing you need is the Net Weight.  This has to be in ounces and in grams, something like this: "Net Wt 12oz (340g)"

Third thing is if you are using flavored coffee, it should say "Artificially Flavored" below the flavor name. 

Back Label

These items aren't restricted to the back label, you can put them on the front if you want, we tend to have them on the back so the front label isn't too busy.

Statement of Identity

This can be:
"Distributed by: Your company name and address"
-OR-
"Manufactured at: Raptis Coffee, 341 Main Ave SW, Warren, OH 44481"

We suggest that you use your name, not ours.  

Ingredient List

You can leave this space blank and we will fill it in appropriately based on what your product has.  Some examples:
"Ingredient List: Coffee"
"Ingredient List: Coffee, Natural and Artificial Flavors"
"Ingredient List: Coffee, caffeine, Natural and Artificial Flavors"

Best By and Lot Number

This is another space you should leave bland so that we can fill it in when we produce your product. It will look like this:
"Best By: 11/15/2023 Lot #: R145:1"

For our products we use a 9-month best by date.  You can choose what yours should be.  Coffee doesn't go bad in a way that can harm you, it goes stale.  You can choose for yours to be shorter or longer, some supermarkets won't allow your product on the shelf without a really long expiration date.  Some of our customers use 9 months, some more use a year or a year and half.

The lot number is "R" for Raptis, in case we aren't your only supplier, then the 3 digit day of the year.  So 023 would be January 23rd.  The last digit "1" is the batch number.  

Barcode

If you need a barcode on your products, leave a white space on the label for it.  You can either supply your own barcode, which you have to get through GS1: https://www.gs1us.org/

Or you can have us generate one for you.  If we generate one for you, the first group of numbers in the barcode will allow customers to identify us as your supplier.  If you switch suppliers you will also have to switch barcodes as the barcode belongs to us.