Soap Labels Guide Part 2: Design and Materials

Liquid soap labels

Now that you have a better understanding of soap regulations from the first part of our guide, next comes the fun part…getting custom soap labels! There are a variety of factors that go into creating the right label for your soap product like design, materials, and even printing technique. Don’t worry, our Soap Labels Guide Part 2 will guide you through these important considerations to help you achieve a label look that you love.

Design Ideas to Get You Started

Your label design has a big influence on the success of your soap labels. It can enhance the product’s appeal, make your brand more memorable and distinctive from competitors – it can even make less expensive materials look higher end for budget-conscious buyers. Whether your brand’s style is minimal and elegant, bright and youthful, or natural and laid-back, there are lots of ways you can design your soap labels. Not only is your brand a good source of inspiration, the soap product itself can be helpful too. Incorporating imagery like soap ingredients and scents – lavender, mint, coconut, etc. – makes it easier and quicker to communicate product information to consumers.

  • Tip: Add visual interest to your soap labels by using creative graphics or incorporating foil touches into the design.

One way to make your design stand out is by adding foil accents to certain design elements like the logo or a graphic. Foil can elevate the look of your design and grab consumers’ attention with its eye-catching shine. There are a couple of ways we can do a foil look like printing your labels on metalized-silver paper or foil film, or “cold foil stamping” where we overlay your material of choice (glossy white paper, clear film, etc.) with foil. We can even tint your foil to any color to really make your design pop.

Label Materials for Soap Products

Soap products can face labeling challenges like moisture, friction, and exposure to product contents, so it’s essential that your label materials can handle the job. If your soap products are packaged in bottles, the label will need to be printed on durable materials since the product will be exposed to wet, humid conditions which are typical in showers and bathrooms. Film materials – clear, white, and foil – are popular choices for soap labels since they are water and tear resistant. Shrink sleeves are another option to consider for soap bottles since they provide the same benefits of film labels but offer more space for artwork with its 360-degree coverage.

  • Tip: Consider the product’s environment and packaging before selecting a label material.

Soap bars that are packaged in wrapping paper, a cardboard box, or metal tin, can use film or less durable materials like glossy or matte white paper because the labels won’t be exposed to a lot of moisture and friction since the packaging is usually discarded after opening. Although paper materials aren’t as durable as film, they have comparable appeal and tend to be less expensive. Your soap product, the packaging, and where it will mainly be used are factors that need to be considered when selecting the right label material.

Once your soap label design is finalized and your customer service rep has helped you select the perfect material, the next step is to make your label dreams into reality. We can print your labels with flexographic or digital printing presses depending on your needs. Flexographic printing is a cost-effective solution for printing large volumes of custom labels, whereas digital printing is ideal for smaller label quantities (10,000 or less) or if you have multiple versions of your label design. If you’re not sure which printing technique will work best for you, our customer service team would be happy to help.