Choosing a paper for hang tag.

A hand tag is not the intended use for Lettra. First of all I wouldn’t worry about a “tasteful impression” You don’t want your product to fail. If you would need it to hang on a hook it would fall apart. I would suggest at least, nothing lighter than a C1S (coated 1 side) 10pt. Cougar but a Coated 2 side paper would be better. Not sure what company would make it. You must make sure that what ever paper you use your ink matches the application. You might just try some 140lb Index or be daring and use Tyvek.
The weight of the paper would depend on whether or not it’s hung on a hook, whether there is a hole punched, maybe fold over would double the strength.

Not sure what you mean by hang on a hook, usually a hang tag just hangs off of a product with no need to support the product. Like a tag that hangs off a new pair of shoes.

If your tag is going to be attached to a package of cheese, it may possibly be considered to be part of the packaging for the cheese. If this is the case, then the inks you use should be approved for food packaging. You should consult your ink supplier about this. Since your inks will not come in direct contact with the cheese, they will not have as strict requirements as if they did, and you should tell your ink supplier that this is the case. Since lots of ink is used for food packaging, your inks may be OK assuming they were made by one of the big commercial ink companies, but you should still check. If your inks were made for artist use, they may not be approved…..I don’t have much knowledge of that type of ink. In any case, I believe that no components of the ink are allowed to migrate to the food, even if they are edible inks. The food product can’t be degraded.

Some questions you should think about are: what kind of packaging will the cheese be in? Is the packaging adequate to contain the grease/fat in the cheese? If you are not sure, you may want to consider grease resistant ink and/or paper. Are the cheese pachages going to be packed loose in a box and then transported, where they can rub against each other? In that case you may want to consider rub resistant ink for your tags, and/or overvarnish the ink to protect it. (If you use varnish, is the varnish approved for food packaging?)

The point I’m trying to make is, there are regulations surrounding food packaging, and you don’t want to get in a situation where you may be liable. In addition, if someone gets sick from the cheese and decides to sue the cheese company, they will probably name everyone involved, including you. Even if you are not at fault in any way, your profit will go down the drain and then some, if you have to defend yourself in court. Also, if your tags underperform in some way, the cheese company may require you to pay the cost of transporting the cheese back to their company, replace the tags, and then transport the cheese back to the store. Worst case scenario, they might scrap the cheese and send you the bill.

See the following for some (but by no means all), info on toxics in food packaging:

http://www.toxicsinpackaging.org/

One other thing I just thought of is that inks generally have at least some smell. If the cheese company packs a lot of cheese packages together in a box with your tags, the ink smell might migrate to the cheese.

Very good advice Geoffrey!

Thanks for the advice guys.

In case you ever are ordering prosciutto in the future, it’s a cured ham. Not cheese. Nonetheless, good example.

General rule is to allow for an odourless food safe sealer to over coat the ink , this way you only have to carry the one foodsafe ink (clear sealer) .
Allow the position of the die cut to have as much material left betwen the hole or slot and the edge as the width of the hole , weighty packages will require as mentioned a weighty stock to hang it on , you can have a doubled material (folded Header ) or a tripled header which is made up of two strips assembled as a sandwich in the packing process , these are questions yourclient should have provided answers with the quote call . Sandwiched headers are literally two strips ,one to the front of the pack ,the opening of the pack holds the second then the third at the back ,the pair then are often stapled through , however it is a question for the packing plant to answer .
I believe meats have to be contained completely and separately from any external material that is of an absorbent nature , any material within the package must be food safe rated and maintain a suitable and wholesome “look” during the shelf life of the product .

Thank you for the kind words, Girl with a kluge. I’m still a little gun-shy after the old guys took a beating a few months ago, and comments like yours make me more comfortable about trying to help.

Geoffrey,
Food packaging and ink hasn’t been discussed much. Many people don’t know how important it is. Please don’t be gun-shy about helping and offering your advice/help.

Note this post is referring to its hanger component not the packaging ,the hanger is usually referred to as labelling .
By sealing the labelling you reduce the risk of any contamination from the ink , that is the usual requirement here (UK) Although this applies still with vegetable oil based inks , the problem is in the pigment not the vehicle of ink .