Picking the right
material.
There are two families of label material and six options in total. This guide gets you to the right one in a few minutes — start with the family, then pick the finish that fits your product and how it'll be stored.
Picking the right material.
There are two families of label material and six options in total. This guide gets you to the right one in a few minutes — start with the family, then pick the finish that fits your product and how it'll be stored.
01Why material is the first thing to get right
Your material decides more than you'd think. It sets how the label looks — glossy and modern, or textured and artisan. It sets how it feels in someone's hand on the shelf. It decides how the label holds up in a cold fridge, a wet crate, or a bucket of melting ice. And it's part of what your run costs.
Get it right and the label does quiet work for your brand every time someone picks up the can. Get it wrong and you're looking at peeling corners or a finish that fights your artwork. The good news: it's a short decision once you know the two families you're choosing between.
02The two families: PP film vs wine paper
Everything we print sits in one of two camps.
Polypropylene (PP) filmsare synthetic. They're fully waterproof, tough, and print with bold, saturated colour. This is the standard for cans and for anything that's going to live cold and wet. They also unlock effects paper can't do — transparency and metallic shine.
Wine papersare premium textured papers. They have a tactile, handmade quality you can feel, and they're water-resistant — perfectly happy with fridge condensation and a bit of handling. What they're not built for is sitting submerged in an ice bucket for hours. They're the choice when the feel of the label is part of how the product sells itself, typically on bottles and premium releases.
03The polypropylene films
Three options, all waterproof, all great on moist cans and bottles.
Opaque bright-white film that makes colours pop. It's our most-used material and the safe default for the vast majority of cans and bottles. If you're not sure where to start, start here.
A silver film for reflective, premium effects. The trick is in the artwork: leave areas unprinted (or use selective white ink) and the silver shines through as a true metallic; print solid white behind an area and it behaves like white film. Great for cans that want a bit of glint on the shelf.
Transparent film so the can or the liquid shows through, for that clean “printed straight onto the container” effect. One thing to plan for: clear film needs a white-ink underprint anywhere you want colours to read true — without it, inks print translucent over whatever's behind. Worth designing around from the start.
04The wine papers
Three textures, all high-end and water-resistant, all about feel. These suit bottled beer, cider, and premium or limited releases where someone picking up the bottle should feel that it's special.
A textured paper with a warm, traditional, antique character.
A cork-and-marble-style texture with real depth and movement.
A smoother surface that still reads as natural and crafted.
Pick the one whose texture matches your brand's personality. They look most at home on bottles; on cans, the PP films usually serve you better.
05What actually drives your choice
A few practical factors settle it:
Where will it live?
This is the big one. Cans, kegs in cold stores, and anything that ends up sitting in a bucket of ice and melt-water want a PP film — they're fully waterproof and shrug off submersion. Wine papers handle a chilled fridge and condensation without trouble, but they're not the choice for hours under ice water, so keep them to bottles and products that stay drier.
The look you're after.
Bold and colourful → PP White. Metallic glint → PP Silver. The bare-can or bare-glass look → PP Clear. Tactile and crafted → one of the wine papers.
How it pairs with your finish.
Material is only half the surface — your finish (matte, gloss, soft-touch, and so on) layers on top and changes the final feel. The two work together, so it's worth deciding them as a pair.
06Quick picker: match material to your product
Find the row that sounds like you, and start with the material on the right.
07Still deciding? Feel them in person
Material is one of those choices that's hard to make from a screen — texture and metallic shine don't photograph honestly, and print looks different on each substrate. Order a sample kit and you can feel every option and see how colour sits on it before you commit. Or just tell us about your product and how it'll be stored, and we'll point you to the right one.