At Inner Bloom Dispensary, we understand the importance of your patients associating their herbal medicine with your practice, and not some other company. For this reason all our packaging is intentionally unbranded, including our bottle labels. Whilst our labels (pictured below) are elegant and personalised with your name as the practitioner and your patient’s details, we understand some practitioners still prefer to use their own labels with their own branding.

If this includes you, just send us a bunch of your own labels and we'll happily use them instead of ours on all your bottles for no extra charge. Alternatively, we can use our labels on the back, plus a simple sticker with your business name or logo on the front. The choice is yours.

If you don't already have your own labels, this article guides you through the process of designing and printing your own bottle labels using Vistaprint (beginner-friendly).

Alternatively, if you are more advanced and familiar with graphic design and the printing process, then a cheaper option would be to design your labels in Canva and use a separate company like OzStickerPrinting to do the printing. We recommend using their Standard Vinyl Stickers (they are cheap, and waterproof). 

Option 1: Vistaprint (beginner-friendly)

Vistaprint is known for its user-friendly platform and high-quality printing services. They are a design AND printing service in one, and because of this they are a slightly more expensive option. However, they offer a wide range of customisable templates, and waterproof labels that are essential for products stored in the fridge. These labels ensure that your branding remains intact even in damp conditions and can still be written on with a permanent marker for additional information.

Getting Started with Vistaprint

1. Visit the Vistaprint Website:

Although there are a few label choices, we recommend their wine labels which are waterproof and can still be written on with permanent marker. Pricing starts from $64.99 for 50 labels. The more you order the cheaper the unit cost.

2. Choose the Shape:

Their wine labels come in different shapes – circle, square, rectangle and oval. Rectangle is the most common shape used by naturopaths on their liquid herb bottles.

3. Selecting the Size:

If you are wanting to design the whole label, a suitable size would be A7 size (7.4 cm x 10.5 cm) which is a good size for both 200ml and 500ml bottles and includes enough space to include all the necessary information. Although any label with a height between 5-7.5 cm and a width between 8-15 cm will also work. 

Our current labels (pictured below) are 6cm high x 10cm wide. The MediHerb labels are 6cm high x 15cm wide. On the 200mL bottles these pretty much wrap the entire way around.

4. Select the Material:

The Vistaprint wine labels are available in two material options:

• White laid paper - Uncoated, ribbed white paper for a premium look and feel, finished with extra wet strength properties and an acrylic adhesive.

• White plastic - Glossy white plastic with an acrylic adhesive. This option is slightly cheaper and what we would recommend.

Designing Your Label

1. Customise Your Design:

Once you’ve selected your label, you can use Vistaprint’s design templates to customise your design. Ensure your label includes your logo, and leave enough space for us to write in your patient’s name, the dosage instructions, your name as the practitioner, bottle size, bottling date, and expiry date.

You can include additional information such as “Shake well before use. Keep out of reach of children. Store below 30⁰C and out of direct sunlight.” An example of our label is below.

2. Consider Readability:

Make sure the text is clear and easy to read. Choose fonts and colours that align with your brand but also stand out against the bottle.

Cost Considerations

Prices for custom labels on Vistaprint are reasonable and become cheaper per label the more you order. It’s a cost-effective way to get high-quality labels without breaking the bank.

Vistaprint often has promo codes and discounts available, so be sure to check their website or subscribe to their newsletter for deals.

Practical Tips

• Waterproof and Writable: Remember to choose labels that are vinyl / plastic / PVC (as opposed to a paper or kraft material) so they are waterproof and stay on in the fridge. Make sure they can also be written on with a permanent marker for patient-specific information.
• Order in Bulk: To save money, consider ordering labels in larger quantities. This reduces the cost per label and ensures you have a steady supply.
• Use Promo Codes: Always look for promo codes or discounts to get the best deal.

Option 2: Canva + OzStickerPrinting

If you want to go down the DIY route, have a bit more control and/or save a few bucks in the process, then you can design your label in Canva and get it printed through OzStickerPrinting.

We have compared a few different printing companies and OzStickerPrinting seem to have the best value and most options available. 

If you're looking to really save on your pennies, then check out Bizay. They are even cheaper than OzStickerPrinting, however you are limited to their pre-determined label sizes and they manufacture and post from overseas (can be slow). 

If you decide to go ahead and DIY, here are some tips:

• Find a label template you like in Canva, or start something from scratch. 
• Before you start designing, resize to match the label size you're after (you may need Canva Pro for this). 
• Go to settings and select 'show print bleed'. You want to make sure your design falls within these margins.
• Download the image as a PDF Print, but make sure you select CMYK as the colour profile before you do this.
  • What's CMYK? It's the colour model most industrial printers use (cyan, magenta, yellow, and key, which is most often black). Because this differs to the colour model on your computer screen which is RGB (red, green, blue), it's important to note when you convert from RGB to CMYK there can be very minor differences in colours between what you are seeing on the screen and what the print will show. Unfortunately there is no easy option to overcome this other than to limit the use of vivid and bright colours which are the most likely to shift or appear duller. You can also try and avoid bright greens, neon or electric blues, deep purples, bright oranges, hot pinks and magentas.
• Once you have finalised your design, head on over to OzStickerPrinting and find your preferred label. We recommend using the 'Standard Vinyl Stickers'. 
• The cheapest options are the Die Cut stickers (ie individual stickers), and the Roll option.

Conclusion

Once you have received your labels and are happy with them, post them to us and we’ll use them on all your bottles for free!