”Corner Radius”(CR) describes how rounded the corners are on a rectangular die-cut. The term “corner radius” refers to the radius of the circle created by extended the corner arc to form a complete circle.
What is an RCR?
Rounded Corner Rectangle. Describes a rectangle with a corner radius greater than 0.0 (the radius of a square corner).
Why Do Labels Have a Corner Radius?
1) The need for high speed automatic label application led to Pressure Sensitive Labels - labels with adhesive already on them adhered to a carrier liner. The liner is pulled across a sharp edge, causing the label to dispense onto the container. A square cornered label does not release as easily from a PS liner - thus corner radius is used to help ease automatic application.
2) Graphic Designers will often choose rounded corners or square corners to enhance a design concept. For example, many wine labels have square corners to evoke the look of old-school cut and glue labels. Other designers use large radius rounded corners to differentiate their products on the shelf against traditional 1/8″ corner radius labels.
How do I measure the Corner Radius of a label?
Click the thumbnail on the right to open a full page Corner Radius Chart. Print the page and hold the label against the corner radius examples until you find a match.
What Corner Radius should I use?
This is a matter of preference. The packaging industry standard is 1/8″ corner radius. This size radius is not unsightly, but allows ease of manufacturing and application. For customers desiring “square corners” we often recommend 1/64″ (0.015625″) as the smallest CR we can consistently convert. For machine application projects Custom Label recommends consulting your production team or contract packager before purchasing labels with less than a 1/8″ CR.
The custom wine label was produced to commemorate an international training event hosted by the Alameda County Sheriff’s department. 60 Police Dogs and their handlers came from across the United States and 4 countries. An example of the international delegation, the Phillipines sent two canine officers to learn the latest canine training techniques. They say that since Sept. 11, 2001 police dogs have become a very important weapon against their war on terror. Custom Label was glad to donate this short run of custom digital labels to the cause - celebrating the Alameda County Sheriff’s Deparment’s role as a leader in canine law enforcement. 
The other label we provided was a simple gold label for the K-9 unit. This short run was used for promotional items at the conference, but we just received a call from the Sheriff’s Department asking for longer run quotes. It seems the labels were a big hit and many of the officer’s were asking for a few printed label rolls to carry with them. Great handouts for children who come in contact with the K-9 Officers!
With Earth Day nearly at an end, I started wondering. Who declared the first Earth Day, and why? Did they realize how important environmental awareness would become, and at the same time how polarizing an issue?
responsible for stabilizing its own population. It can be done.” Quite a different spin on environmentalism! Even more ironic, one popular environmental concern cited “imminent cooling” of the earth’s surface and “glaciation” as a significant threat to our environment! A downward temperature trend was observed during the 30 year period preceding 1970 which alarmed some scientists, and led to the popular fear of “Global Cooling”.
Whether our planet is cooling or heating, one thing is certain. We should all do our best to use earth’s resources wisely and reduce waste. Custom Label is ready to help you find packaging materials that are environmentally friendly. Our Digital Label press is a perfect example. Digital printing has significantly lower material waste than traditional flexography, letterpress, or rotogravure. By running an order digitally we avoid the need to “set-up” the press while running waste stock through the press. Selecting an eco-friendly label stock is also a way to green up your package. We offer a range of facestocks that have higher post-consumer-waste content. There are also bio-degradable and compostable materials that Custom Label can propose for your labels. We even have renewable materials, such as tree-free bamboo papers, where the source plant can be replenished faster than the consumption rate. Give your representative a call, Custom Label would welcome the opportunity to help you create a more eco-friendly package!
Custom Label is all about Color. Your Color. We have more than 30 years of experience working with customers to match your exact color – not once, but every time you place an order. Our flexo label presses are multi-color platforms that support up to 10 individual colors run in a single pass. Each print station can print a different PMS or custom-match color. We can provide color draw down samples or conduct a live press-check proof where you can be involved and confirm the perfect color for your label and product. Our digital press uses up to 6 colors to create a process blend that emulates the traditional PMS colors. We can come very close for a large percentage of PMS colors. For those colors that do not translate to process printing, we can order PMS match colors for the digital press. Whether your need is short run digital labels or a long run flexo job, we will make sure you are happy with the color. Your success depends upon it!