Features

TLMI Label Awards 2025

The TLMI judging panel has selected ASL Print FX, an AWT Company, as the winner of the prestigious Best in Show Award.

December 1, 2025

Editor

The respected TLMI judging panel has selected ASL Print FX, an AWT Company, as the winner of the prestigious Best in Show Award at the 2025 TLMI Label Awards competition. ASL Print FX, an AWT Company, was recognized for its Bù Pinot Noir entry in the Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label category. In addition to the ASL Print FX, an AWT Company, winning submission, a range of companies were acknowledged as Best in Class winners in the competition. Hub Labels and McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Company, were each honored with two Best in Class distinctions. Meanwhile, Amherst Label, an Inovar Company, Brook + Whittle, Flexo-Graphics, an Inovar Company, Great Little Box Company, and Phenix Label rounded out the winners of Best in Class honors.

TLMI handed out several other awards, too. Kristen Shields, president, Graymills Corporation, has been honored as the Supplier of the Year. Meanwhile, Tyler Matusevich, sustainability director, Brook + Whittle, has received the Volunteer of the Year Award. Plus, John Crosby, vice president of operations, Grand Rapids Label, has been named the Converter of the Year.

TLMI has also recognized three Board members for their years of outstanding service to the association. Mark Pollard, CEO, Brook + Whittle, has been an integral converter member of the Board of Directors and TLMI Board Finance Committee from 2021-2025. Meanwhile, Catherine Heckman, director of business development and key account management, Flexcon, has served as a senior supplier on the Board of Directors from 2021-2025. Plus, Tim McDonough, president, Flexo-Graphics, an Inovar Company, has been TLMI’s past chairman and a key part of the TLMI Board Finance Committee. He is being acknowledged for 10 years of service on TLMI Board from 2015-2025.

A staple of the Awards Program, TLMI has once again rewarded sustainable innovation with the announcement of the Calvin Frost Sustainability Awards. NCCO received the Trailhead Award as a converter. Meanwhile, Amherst Label, an Inovar Company, notched a win for its strong entry for the Journey Award. Meanwhile, a year after winning in the Journey category, Resource Label Group has been recognized with an Elevation Award as a converter. On the supplier side, Henkel Corporation received honors in the Elevation category for its strong submission. “The Frosties” recognize TLMI members – at different stages in their environmental journey – for taking significant steps to implement sustainable practices.

The TLMI Annual Awards competition recognizes innovative printing and rewards technical achievement in all areas of the narrow web industry, including tags and labels, cartons, flexible packaging, nonwoven pressure sensitive products and more. The competition distinguishes the finest efforts of the association’s converter members throughout the previous 12-month period.

ASL Print FX, an AWT Company

Category: Wine & Spirits – All, including neck label
Entry: Bù Pinot Noir

Challenges: This project involved a delicate balance between maintaining a minimalist design and adding subtle texture to enhance the visual appeal. Doming and varnish were carefully
applied to provide a refined texture without distracting from the clean, simple design.

Amherst Label, an Inovar Company

Category: Personal Care & Cosmetics
Entry:Green Tribes – Current Body Glow Mist Tropical Dreams

Challenges: This order was run on a hybrid press in CMYKOV digital inkjet print and a spot flexo UV matte varnish. Running this artwork with orange and violet allowed Amherst Label, an Inovar Company, to achieve the customer vision of a tropical glowing gradient.

Brook + Whittle

Category:Household – UTC
Entry: Unreleased Product

Flexo-Graphics,an Inovar Company

Category: Industrial & Automotive
Entry: Formula 1

Challenges: It was a challenge to print CMYK and spot 107 to match the customer’s plastic bottle, all on top of a spot white so the metallic effect could be used, as well as the opaque base for the CMYK printing.

Great Little Box Company

Category: Promotional & Extended Content
Entry: GLBC Peel N Play Contest – Distillery Focus

Challenges: The GLBC team came up with the concept for a double-layer label that could be used for a contest where consumers can peel off an inner label to reveal either a winning or losing message. The top label removed can be used as a fun sticker. Variable print was utilized to ensure the correct number of winning and losing labels. GLBC used high-end material on the label and added emboss elements to show the variety in its capabilities. The company finished the labels as cut sheets rather than a roll for ease of distribution at trade shows.

Hub Labels, Inc.

Category:Innovation, Single Application, Linerless & Sustainability
Entry: Perdue Harvestland Linerless Label

Challenges: This linerless label was printed on a clear film, which required careful attention to white ink laydown to ensure opacity and clean registration behind the design. Maintaining precise alignment was critical to prevent any haloing or shift between the white underlayer and the printed artwork. Additionally, the image of the diced chicken needed to retain its sharpness and natural color to convey freshness on-shelf. The result is a well-executed, shelf-ready label that delivers both clarity and visual appeal on a challenging substrate.

Hub Labels, Inc.

Category: Food
Entry: Bird-Friendly Mexico Coffee

Challenges: The biggest challenge with this label was making sure the colors and design really stood out on the textured material. With all the fine details in the hummingbird and the deep, rich greens in the leaves, it took extra care to keep everything looking crisp and vibrant. The uncoated look of the stock adds to the natural feel, but it can easily dull the artwork if not handled right. Hub Labels worked hard to make sure nothing got lost and that the final label had the bold, handcrafted look the brand was going for.

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Company

Category: Beverage – Nonalcoholic
Entry:Benjamin Blue

Challenges: The iconic Benjamin Blue brand has introduced a new bottled water that is positioned nothing short of the idea that it’s a $100 bottle of water (a la Ben Franklin). This special-shape diecut label possesses incredible screen tones and a varnish toothed specifically to invoke the authenticity of currency. The use of gold foil for the border, the leaf stems, the calligraphy pattern, The United Sates of America and Benjamin copy provide balance, depth, and the perfect accent to the incredibly well-executed illustration of Ben Franklin and Independence Hall. The label featured very clean screen tones and tight registration.

McDowell Label, a Resource Label Group Company

Category:Wellness, Pharmaceutical, & Nutraceutical
Entry: RYSE – Godzilla

Challenges: The unique challenges included the tight registration of each combination-printing process and the ever-so-incumbent criteria of executing the crisp details of the four-color-process image and the smooth screen tones built out of the process colors.

Phenix Label

Category: Beverage – Alcoholic
Entry: 360 Madagascar Vanilla

Challenges: This multi-material label was created to enhance a bottle of vodka. It started with a clear pressure sensitive base material that allows ease of application and repositionability. A semi-gloss paper is laminated over the clear BOPP for high-end graphics. Cold foil is applied to enhance the appearance, adding additional eye-catching shelf appeal. A soft touch matte laminate is applied followed by a spot gloss varnish for contrast and a luxury feel. Embossing is added to give extra dimension.