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After weeks of design work and approvals, your label looks exactly how you pictured it. The colors are right, the copy is in place—the finished package is ready for the shelf.
Then a customer picks it up at the store. The barcode reaches the scanner and doesn’t read. Or someone notices the Nutrition Facts panel contains outdated information. Suddenly, a label that looked finished has a problem appearance alone couldn’t reveal.
Label quality depends on the information printed on the package as much as the way it looks. Once approved artwork reaches KDV Label, our role is to reproduce that content clearly and accurately while accounting for the realities of print production.
Read on to discover what brands should consider when preparing barcodes, Nutrition Facts, certification marks, recycling information, and other label content for production.
Product Label Compliance Starts Before Prepress
Food and beverage labels often need to fit a large amount of information into a limited area. Depending on the product, FDA requirements may apply to the product identity, ingredient statement, Nutrition Facts panel, allergen information, net quantity of contents, and manufacturer or distributor information.
The FDA Food Labeling Guide is a useful starting point for understanding required product label information and the broader food labeling requirements that may apply to a package. Specific requirements vary by product and package, so the customer’s legal or regulatory team should determine what belongs on the label and confirm applicable size and placement rules, along with any required formatting.
Responsibility for product label compliance remains with the brand and its legal or regulatory resources. We can serve as a resource during label development by helping customers identify authoritative guidance and flagging production considerations once content has been approved.
Barcode Label Printing Has to Work at the Scanner
A barcode is a functional part of the package; small changes to its size, surrounding space, or printed reproduction can affect whether a scanner reads it successfully.
GS1 US provides guidance on barcode dimensions, placement, color, and quiet zones, the blank areas that need to remain clear around the symbol. GS1 also cautions against arbitrarily resizing supplied barcode artwork or truncating a barcode by reducing its height.
Strong barcode label printing also depends on preserving those characteristics through production. Print quality matters because changes in reproduction can affect how reliably the finished barcode scans.
Barcode requirements depend on the symbol and application, so brands should confirm their data and specifications through the appropriate GS1 resources before approving artwork.
Nutrition Label Accuracy Often Comes Down to Version Control
The customer’s regulatory team should confirm the nutrition data and required format before artwork reaches production. From there, nutrition label accuracy depends on using the correct approved file for each label version and reproducing small, information-heavy areas clearly.
Private-label and high-mix work can make version control especially important. Multiple products may use nearly identical layouts while ingredients, Nutrition Facts, claims, or other copy changes from one SKU to the next.
KDV regularly works with high-mix production and private-label projects involving many SKUs. Clear file identification and disciplined version management help keep each approved label tied to the correct product throughout production.
Claims, Certification Marks, and Recycling Labels Follow Different Rules
Gluten-free claims, certification logos, and recycling labels may appear together on the same package, but each have distinctly different governing bodies, and therefore, credentialing processes.
FDA regulates the voluntary use of “gluten-free” on foods under its jurisdiction. Third-party certification is separate. A brand choosing to display the Gluten-Free Certification Organization mark, for example, must follow GFCO’s certification process before using it.
The Whole Grain Stamp has its own approval process through the Whole Grains Council. Similarly, How2Recycle owns and assigns on-package recycling labels through package-specific recyclability assessments rather than treating the mark as a generic recycling graphic.
Brands must confirm the applicable approvals and usage rights before final artwork is released. Discovering an unapproved mark late can force artwork changes and delay production, or open the brand to public perception or legal risks.
When Label Space Gets Tight
One of the most common questions in label development is: How small can each element be?
Available space can disappear quickly once branding shares the label with required food information, barcode content, preparation instructions, or third-party marks. Shrinking copy until everything fits can create new problems if a regulation or outside organization specifies minimum type size, formatting, placement, or clear-space requirements, not to mention printability issues.
The customer’s legal or regulatory resources should make those determinations. Earlier coordination still gives the design and production teams more options because the amount of approved content can influence the layout and label dimensions, as well as the construction considered for the application.
Expanded content labels can provide another option when a conventional format doesn’t offer enough communication space. KDV offers expanded content capabilities for applications that need additional room, while brands remain responsible for confirming where regulated information may appear.
Approved Content Still Has to Make It Through Production
Fine type needs to reproduce clearly, and print quality becomes especially important when labels contain small regulatory copy, variable content, or unique barcodes.
KDV’s Prepress & Design Services support the transition from customer artwork to a production-ready label, and our diverse printing capabilities allow for the production method to be matched to the needs of the project.
Label Quality Includes the Information on the Package
A strong label still needs visual impact, but appearance is only part of the job. Barcodes have to function at checkout, and nutrition information has to match the approved content. Certification marks or recycling labels also need the proper authorization before they reach print.
Brands should work with their legal and regulatory resources to confirm compliance requirements and use authoritative sources such as the FDA or GS1 when specifications are involved. Once the content is approved, KDV can help carry it into production through Prepress & Design Services and digital or flexographic printing, as well as manage artwork updates and SKU additions seamlessly.
Since 1974, KDV Label has worked with brands to produce labels that perform across the product, package, and production environment.
Working through a label project with a large amount of content or multiple SKUs? Talk with us today about your labeling needs.
