“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 (RCR) 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.