The importance of bespoke products for specific label applications

02 November, 2026 | Category: News, PREMDURE™, PREMECO™, PREMFIX™, PREMJET™, PREMLASER™, PREMTAG™, PREMVIS™, TESLIN, The PCC Team

Technical Talk with Bruce Paddy, Technical & Operations Director

PCC produces bespoke label materials to client specification, drawing on more than twenty-five years of manufacturing experience. We sit down with Technical & Operations Director, Bruce Paddy to show brands, converters and manufacturers how to avoid costly compromises when it comes to labelling options. Bruce has been with the business for two decades and understands the importance of getting the face material, adhesive and liner right to ensure a successful labelling solution.

Hi Bruce, tell us what PCC achieve when it comes to bespoke self-adhesive label materials?

The best self-adhesive label materials are selected around the job they need to do, not just the way they look. We have materials that we’ve been producing for many years, but we also can produce bespoke labels for specific applications.

The key is, a label may need to withstand moisture, abrasion, oils, handling, outdoor exposure, chilled storage, curved packaging, chemical contact or high-speed application. There’s a huge number of variables that we will face, when trying to find the right ingredients for our customers. It also needs to suit the print process, adhesive requirements and end-use surface. These factors are huge at the start of any project.

A practical starting point is to think of the label as a full construction rather than a single sheet. All parts of the construction play a part. If one element is wrong, the label may lift, wrinkle, tear, discolour, fail during conversion or struggle on the application line.

For many projects, standard self-stick labels are enough. For others, especially technical, industrial or brand-critical applications, custom adhesive labels are the safer route because the material can be produced around the exact specification rather than forced into an off-the-shelf format. We are known for our experience in bespoke production. We will test materials at the initial stage. Our Quality Manager Steve White and I worked together in the laboratory for many years before I moved into my role that I’m in now. Steve has a fantastic knowledge of our processes. He works closely with the technical team to ensure the best possible adhesion and performance of each product that goes through the machine.

Why does bespoke manufacturing matter?

We find labels often fail when a standard construction is asked to do a specialist job. We’ve won work over the years because customers have had issues with the particulars not being met. In the labelling industry, people remember poor performance and visibility. It can come back to bite you. But bespoke manufacturing is all about relationships and partnerships with our clients.

It’s very rare for us to say, “we can’t do that”. We’ll explore every avenue of possibility at the start of the sales process. I speak directly with the sales team most days about our abilities. Most importantly, what we can and can’t achieve for clients. If we trust that we can at the very least try and produce a material we haven’t constructed before, we’ll endeavour to do so. It’s part of who we are, never standing still and pushing the envelope in a everchanging industry.

Producing materials to our customers specification allows the construction to be tailored around the surface, environment, print method, conversion process and application requirements. We find out every ounce of information before production have an instruction to run materials. It gives us more control when producing materials. As well as giving our buyers more control over performance rather than relying on a standard product that will “do the job” but might not perform accurately.

How has that changed the way we work as a business?

Those conversations have helped us expand our reach when it comes to our product base in recent years. The catalogue of materials is still growing. Customers come to us for everything now. Whether they’re looking for laser printable materials, inkjet printable, tape materials, tags, sustainable labels or visual point of sale materials, the product range has expanded massively. From what was a predominantly durable labelling stance, we’ve diversified but the quality hasn’t been compromised.

What sets us apart?

To me, it’s the people. When we produce bespoke materials, we are that end-to-end customer focused company that we say we are. There’s no chatbot that’s going to pick up a message or a phone here. Whether it’s Kia, Lewis, Lee or me who takes your initial enquiry. We’ll make sure we’re on top of it from the initial conversation (which is sometimes just an idea!) until you’ve received your goods. That personal touch has been there since I started.

That’s the importance of our bespoke approach. Many of our customers have stuck around because we’ve built that trust, we work with integrity and our most importantly, our materials work. It’s the old adage; people buy from people. However, people stop buying when the label materials don’t do the job, they’re supposed to. It comes back to what I said at the start, the best labels work because they are selected to do the job they’re supposed to do. It’s all about ensuring that the application is correct and the look and feel is too!