From left to right: Ken Bradely and Jeremy Jolly of Paragon Label.

Paragon Label was established in Petaluma, in the San Francisco Bay of California, in 1999. The company is located on the border between Sonoma County and the legendary Napa Valley, the beating heart of American wine production, which started in the southern part of the state by Spanish missionaries in the 18th century.

Starting in the 1980s, California wines began to gain visibility and prestige in international markets, where they gained notoriety for their body, softness and intense aromas, which positioned them in competition with the best French, Italian and Spanish products.

With around 5,000 wineries, which represent 86% of national production, California is both a land of wines and fine labels – such as those created by Paragon Label and designed by agencies specializing in packaging design for the wine sector. For two decades, Paragon Label has grown by investing in increasingly sophisticated technologies, embracing digital printing, testing the most precious papers, and exploring all possible opportunities in the field of finishing.

In 2018, thanks to its verticality in the field of wine and spirits, unique professionalism, and a consolidated and prestigious clientele, the company became part of Resource Label Group, the third largest label producer in the United States.

Finally, in 2023, to streamline on-demand processing and create new levels of decoration, Paragon Label introduced a Cartes Gemini GE362WL laser diecutting system, which allowed the label converter to conquer new market segments.

Traditional and digital technology for demanding customers and designers

The wine label market is subject to fashions and trends more than most others. In fact, wine producers compete to make bottles more attractive, both in terms of design and finishing. To satisfy its most demanding customers, Paragon Label has always invested in differentiating technologies and studied original combinations of support, printing techniques, and special effects.

“Wineries are always looking for something new to stand out from their competitors and make their product show up on the shelf,” explains Jeremy Jolly, Operations Manager, Paragon Label. “Every day we talk to designers and wineries who ask us to go beyond what is possible with graphics alone.”

In its production department, the converter utilizes Mark Andy LP3000 and Nilpeter MO4 HD flexo printing lines, with which it effectively produces labels of quality comparable to offset with runs of up to a few million labels. Small runs are entrusted to HP Indigo 6900 and 6800 digital presses. The finishing, however, is carried out with off-line devices and with a dedicated line. The most used supports are self-adhesive by natural paper and BOPP face stock, as well as several types of films for flexible packaging.

The challenge of small series and extreme customization

Wine producers are suffering from the growing polarization between mass-produced products – which require premium packaging for the vast public who purchase medium-to-low value wines –and niche products or special editions, dedicated to high-spending clients, in use to purchase at wine shops and restaurants.

To satisfy even the most particular needs, Paragon Label specializes in the management of small quantities, with extreme customization and in the most refined finishings for high-end or collectible wines and spirits. Furthermore, the company has developed a selection of quality materials and introduced numbering, serialization, die-cutting and carving techniques.

“The orders are smaller and more fragmented. Often the wineries order the labels at the last moment, when the wine is ready to be bottled,” says Jolly. “If digital printing solves part of the problem, die-cutting and special processes are a bottleneck that needs to be resolved.”

Although already using laser technology, combined with other traditional decoration processing, Paragon Label decided to invest in new laser cutting technology in 2022. This allowed the converter to diecut and ennoble labels in a more productive, efficient, and precise way.

The reasons for choosing Cartes Gemini

The Paragon Label team tested multiple solutions and ultimately chose to acquire the Cartes Gemini platform. The American converter was convinced by the construction quality, the large number of machines installed, the positive feedback received from colleagues, and the excellent results of the tests carried out.

“We tested other technologies already in use among the 31 companies of the group, but the results obtained with Cartes went beyond expectations,” reports Jolly. “Gemini is a concentration of functionality and repeatability, and the possibility of having customizations is unparalleled.”

Paragon Label installed a GE362WL configuration with corona treatment, semi-rotary flexo with over-lamination and cold foil, a double laser source with an automatic positioning blade and turret rewinder.

The Gemini has excelled thanks to numerous exclusive features, including ILC (Invisible Laser Cutting) technology, which allows converters to make cuts without white edges even on dark materials. Furthermore, Paragon Label has been impressed by Cartes’s tailor-made approach, which offers the label manufacturer countless machine customization options.

One of the winning labels at the Leaf Awards produced by CARTES Gemini GE362WL.

The “All-in-One” technology

About a year after installing the Cartes Gemini, Paragon Label cuts small batches more effectively, without producing dies, and guarantees its customers shorter delivery times and lower costs. Even on the commercial front, being able to quickly manage multiple jobs in sequence has allowed the California company to win over more medium-to-small customers, increasing the number of orders, turnover and margins.

Furthermore, on the application front, the company has pushed the use of laser for decorative carvings to the extreme: a process that Cartes Gemini carries out with impeccable results thanks to the extreme precision of the entire machine system.

“Gemini has helped us create a new market, serve new customers, offer wineries decorative solutions ready for the shelf, and increase turnover,” underlines Jolly. “Some customers come to us after seeing the labels produced for other wineries or the samples we send them, and in most cases, they decide to entrust us with their most creative and technically challenging projects.”

As proof of Paragon Label’s craftsmanship, and the performance of Cartes’s technology, the converter has won numerous awards for its wine labels, including best use of laser technology at the Gold Leaf Awards organized by the Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA).

A partnership destined to last

Beyond machinery and technologies, the technical-commercial relationship between Paragon Label and Cartes has transformed into a partnership and a joint R&D process, which sees the two companies united in creating solutions for increasingly complex technical and application challenges.

“We love pushing machines beyond the limits, and if we explain to Cartes what we want to do, they support us in achieving the goals”, concludes Jolly. “Cartes inspires us, and if the company doesn’t have an instant answer, it always comes back to us within a few days with the solution.”

Today, Paragon Label is preparing to further raise the bar in its finishing processes. The company is set to invest in a Paper line with Jet D-Screen digital varnishing and foiling technology.