A glass of red wine stands in front of several wine bottles in different colours on a table.

Reliable and precise bottle labelling

As containers for liquids, bottles are unsurpassed in their practicality. Labelling them cleanly is sometimes a challenge due to their round shape and curved or tapered surfaces. Also because high production speeds and humid environments often occur.

HERMA Labelling Machines Solutions Applications

Bottle labels generally have two main tasks: On the one hand, they are intended to arouse interest at the sales shelf and create incentives to buy the brand or product in question. This applies in particular to food and beverages, but also to cosmetics. On the other hand, they must safely transport necessary, often legally prescribed information - an aspect that is particularly important for pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Precision and reliability therefore play a paramount role in bottle labelling.

 

 

A black bottle sits on a conveyor belt in a production facility, surrounded by machines and equipment.
A filling machine with a transparent container and an orange lever, ready to be filled.
A labelling device with a yellow label, which is applied to bottles, is located in a production environment.
What awaits you on this page

This is what matters when labelling bottles

A glass bottle is being processed on a conveyor belt as it gets labelled.

High speed

A feature of labelling high-volume or small-format products is almost always high speeds. Bottle labellers should therefore have sufficient performance reserves or fast upgrade options, for example in the event that the cycle rate of an upstream capping machine is increased.

A woman with glasses is looking at a juice bottle on the supermarket shelf while having a shopping cart beside her.

Sophisticated appearance

Bottles often carry more than a single label. In the case of two-sided labelling, possibly in combination with another bottle neck label, the visual interplay must be perfectly coordinated.

A hand is holding a blue bottle of dietary supplements, and the label displays the supplement facts.

Detailed information

Wrap-around labelling makes optimum use of the space available for information. However, as the length of the labels increases, so do the demands on their handling to ensure a perfect fit on a bottle.

Water bottles with green caps on a conveyor belt in a production facility.

Challenging environment

Where liquids are filled into bottles, moisture and humidity as well as low or high temperatures are often the order of the day. To ensure that beverage labels adhere securely right from the start even in these cases, labelling machines and the label dispensers for beverage marking must be equally robust, reliable and easy to clean.

Yellow tablets are next to a small bottle with a label showing the manufacturing date and the expiry date.

Comprehensive requirements

Simply applying labels to bottles is sometimes only part of the requirements. In many cases, variable or even serialised print data is added, for example by thermal transfer printing. In many cases, it must also be possible to integrate corresponding control systems and reject options.

Bottle types and label types for bottle labelling

Each industry has developed its characteristic bottle shapes and the labels to match. Some bottle shapes are now even iconic of a particular brand. For luxury products such as perfume, wine or high-priced spirits, highly refined and therefore sometimes very sensitive labels are common.

 

Form follows function

The number of different bottle materials is not too large. Most of them are made of glass or plastic, occasionally also of aluminum or stoneware. The shapes, on the other hand, are virtually unlimited. Depending on the application, certain types of bottles have become established for certain product categories. Whether it's cough syrup, nose drops, perfume, cleaning agents, mineral water, wine, spirits or other beverages labels, the pure function of a bottle can often be identified without a label.

A bottle of red wine with a red cork and a white label that has the word 'HERMA' written in blue.
Brown glass bottle with a white label featuring the word 'HERMA' in blue lettering. The bottle cap is gold-colored.
Two bottles of juice, one red and one green, both with a white label that says 'HERMA'.
White wine bottle with a simple label that displays the name 'HERMA' in blue lettering.
Brown glass bottle with a white label that says 'HERMA' in blue lettering.
Bottle with red liquid, labelled with 'HERMA' on a white label.
Green glass bottle with a white label that says 'HERMA' in blue lettering.
Bottle with yellow liquid inside, labelled with 'HERMA' in blue letters on a white label.
Green liquid in a transparent bottle with a white label that reads 'HERMA'.
Transparent perfume bottle with a black spray nozzle, filled with yellow liquid and a white label that reads 'HERMA'.
Brown glass bottle with a dropper cap, labelled 'HERMA'. Ideal for liquids or medications.
Yellow mustard bottle with a white label that has the word 'HERMA' written in blue.

The following labels are used

HERMA labelling machines process all standard labels for cosmetics products with complete reliability, including more unusual designs such as sandwich labels, 3D labels, luminescent labels and RFID labels as well as labels made from recycled materials.
  

Promotional labels

  • Promotional label
  • Multiple packaging label
  • Wobbler label

Information labels

  • Sandwich label 
  • Leporellos label
  • Booklet label

Transparent labels

  • No-label look labels
  • Grab tabs
  • 3D label

Security labels

  • Tamper-evident label
  • Luminescent label
  • RFID label / anti-theft label

These machines are used in the labelling of bottles

Depending on the defined labelling type or number of labels, HERMA offers suitable fully automatic labelling machines or labellers for bottles. The HERMA 500 Rotary applicator is specially designed for use in rotary machines. Thanks to its particularly slim design, it can be integrated particularly easy. The 362M is ideally suited for two-sided labelling of even complex-shaped bottles. It can label demanding product shapes precisely when centered. When it comes to wrap-around labelling of small vials such as glass vials, the 132M HC is in demand. With 600 products per minute, it is designed for high batch sizes, such as those found in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. In principle, many HERMA labelling machines can be equipped with several labellers if required. For smaller batch sizes, HERMA also offers hand labellers with manual operation, for example for labelling wine bottles.
   

HERMA labelling machines for labelling bottles

HERMA labelling machines have proven their worth in many industries for labelling glass and plastic bottles of any shape. Their high flexibility and proverbial reliability are guarantees for efficient labelling. HERMA labelling machines ensure

 

  • due to its modular design with standardised connections, maximum freedom in the selection of serialisation, printing and control systems
  • wrap-around labelling with two individual labels, the "multiple labelling function" in which both labels are on one carrier tape
  • short makeready times due to the tool-free changeover of many format parts - important especially for contract labelling with changing product types
  • simple and reliable integration into complete packaging lines thanks to state-of-the-art interfaces
  • the use of special labels such as booklet labels, labels for the blind, or labels with braille
  • compliance with GMP and FDA guidelines, foodstuffs requirements, machine guidelines and ISO9001
  • optional equipment with controls from Siemens or Allen Bradley

Examples of bottle labelling with HERMA technology

Frequently asked questions about bottle labelling

  • What do I have to pay special attention to when labelling bottles?

    Especially because bottled products are mostly liquids, you should take special care to keep the surface as free as possible from moisture, oil and chemicals. Dust, which may form if the empty bottles are stored for a long time, should also be avoided.

  • When making an enquiry for a labelling machine, do you already need to know what type of labels will specifically be used?

    Since bottles are very different and sometimes also very complex in shape, it is very important to find out what the specifications of the labels are as early as the project planning phase. Often, for marketing reasons, unusual shapes, materials or finishing techniques are used for the labels. You should also inform us of these points when making an enquiry, preferably supported by original samples, both for the labels and for the bottles.

  • What is the difference between a wet glue label and a self-adhesive label?

    In the case of wet-glue labels, which are single-sheet labels made exclusively of paper, the adhesive is activated by water only immediately before application. This is relatively time-consuming, and the adhesive effect is delayed. Before the advent of self-adhesive labels, wet glue labels were the standard, especially on beer and other beverage bottles, but also on glasses, buckets and cans. Self-adhesive labels, which can be made of both paper and film, are characterized by their ease of handling. They can also be printed from both sides and also allow a higher degree of design and finishing options as well as a greater variety of label papers. In contrast to wet-glue labels, they are produced on backing paper or film and thus on rolls, i.e. on a winding tape, and are now widely used for glass or PET bottles, cans and other cylindrical products. HERMA labelling machines are primarily designed for self-adhesive labels. However, especially for rotary machines, HERMA also offers components that can be used for wet glue labelling.

  • What type and size of bottles can be labelled with HERMA labelling machines?

    Our machines process glass and plastic bottles in many shapes. The standard possible diameters range from 14.75 mm to 100 mm, and the product heights can vary between 20 mm and 250 mm. This also makes them suitable as labelling machines for jars.

  • What are the different types of labelling on bottles?

    The most common is probably single- or double-sided labelling. Wrap-around labelling is also widespread, especially for smaller bottles. In addition, especially for beverage bottles, there is often a label on the neck of the bottle, for example in the form of a neck loop. An increasingly popular application is a lid label that is firmly attached to the bottle neck or bottle. It is then used as a seal label for proof of initial opening (tamper-evident).

  • Can bottles with a particularly large diameter also be labelled with a wrap-around label?

    There is always the possibility of realizing even unusual customer wishes via individual adaptations to the machine. The components and assemblies used by HERMA are so flexible that practically nothing is impossible. However, this makes it all the more important to have a precise project description right from the start.

  • With what accuracy can the label be applied in wrap-around labelling?

    Keeping the so-called spiral offset as low as possible is crucial for the overall appearance of the product in wrap-around labelling. HERMA labelling machines can be equipped with a roller prism, for example, which can almost completely eliminate the spiral offset and ensure the best labelling results.

Success Stories

HERMA technology is used in many industries for labelling bottles. See for yourself the challenges of some selected customers.

High precision for high-strength liquor
Learn more

Customer:

BRB Globus

Application / sector:

Spirits producer

Labelling solution:

HERMA 500 Rotary

Gernep labelling machines with HERMA 500 Rotary
Learn more

Customer:

Gernep

Application / sector:

Ketchup bottles

Labelling solution:

HERMA 500 Rotary

WALA relies on a highly flexible HERMA system
Learn more

Customer:

WALA

Application / sector:

Pharmaceutical and cosmetic production

Labelling solution:

Wrap-around labelling system HERMA 132M / HERMA 040M

Contact

We are here to support all your labelling requirements


Request for quotation

We produce labelling solutions according to your specifications - suitable for your application!

 

[Translate to English:] HERMA Formular Etikettiermaschinen Angebot anfordern

 

Please take a moment to provide us with some detailed information about your labelling solution requirements on the following page so that we can give you a good consultation.

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