Forms Plus Labels Equals Profitability

Effective tools when independent of one another, forms and labels partner up for dynamic results.

Forms and labels come together in a few ways to accomplish all sorts of nifty things for businesses.

Kansas City, Missouri-based GRI (Graphic Resources Incorporated)—formerly Dial Business Forms—has been specializing in form/label combinations for 25 years, with particular emphasis on solutions for the health-care industry. For instance, a form and tamper-proof label combination provides added value in processing samples for drug testing.

At Genforms, a division of Ennis that's headquartered in Cerritos, Calif., forms featuring integrated labels are a core product. The lion's share of the orders are for packing list applications with built-in customer service and promotional marketing elements that are used in business-to-consumer environments.

Each of these products utilizes a very different design approach to achieve streamlined efficiency for end-users and significant profitability for distributors.

Combo Deals

Form/label combinations account for more than $200,000 in sales at GRI, and President Jack Schall said that that figure is growing. Manufactured in a traditional sandwich style—consisting of the substrate, adhesive and liner—the label is printed using a two-color Mark Andy press. "We don't have much call for a lot of color on the labels—usually just one or two colors, at most," said Schall. The label's permanent liner then sticks to the form by being blown on using a Quadrel label affixer that has extremely close tolerances.

The equipment's tremendous accuracy allows GRI to handle a lot of tight registration applications and can be a solid sale-closer for distributors. "Because end-users want as much value as possible out of the form, they tend to fill it up with as much printing as they can, leaving only a very small area for the label to be applied," he said. Once attached to the form, the label is simply pulled off of the liner and applied as needed.