Deep Black Labels · Creative papers
Black paper, not black ink
The short answer: the sheet is dyed through, so there is no printed layer to scuff, no white edge when it is cut, and no grey where the fold falls. Gold or silver foil pressed onto it is the strongest contrast in the catalogue — and, at £145 per 100, the cheapest way into a foiled label.
Any shape within this size — rectangle, round, oval or custom die-cut.
VAT invoice · card or bank transfer · proof before production · ±5 % quantity tolerance
- Printing
- 2 options
- Protection
- 1 option
- Adhesives
- 1
- Sizes
- 24 formats
- Smallest
- 35 × 30 mm
- Largest
- 150 × 105 mm
- Quantities
- 100 → 10 000, more quoted
- Variable data
- quoted on request
Printed from £145 per 100, unprinted on rolls from £57. Production 2 to 10 working days after proof approval.
The detail nobody photographs
The cut edge stays black
Print a black background on white paper and the label betrays itself at the edges: a white line wherever the die cut, a pale crease wherever it curves onto a bottle, and a visible scuff wherever a thumbnail catches it. On a dark bottle, that white line is the first thing the eye finds.
A dyed sheet has none of it. The colour goes all the way through, so the die exposes more black, the curve stays black and the scratch is invisible. It also uses less ink than a solid printed background — which is why the foiled version starts below the price of the other textured papers rather than above it.
- Gold or silver foil
- £145 / 100
- Full colour
- £158 / 100
- Unprinted rolls
- £57 / 100
- White ink
- needs an opaque layer
- Protection
- none — matt stays matt
- Adhesive
- permanent
- Variable data
- not on this stock
Designing on black
Foil, or an opaque white — nothing else reads
Printing inks are transparent. On a black sheet that means every colour disappears: a red becomes invisible, a pale tint becomes nothing at all. Two things show, and you choose between them before the design starts.
Hot foil
Metal pressed into the paper — gold or silver, brilliant, and unmistakably physical under a shop light. On this stock it is the cheapest printing option, not a supplement, because the foil replaces the printing rather than adding to it.
Full colour with a white backing
We lay an opaque white under the areas that must show, then print the colours on top. It is how a photograph or a coloured logo survives on black — and it costs £14 more per 100 than the foil version.
Foil and white backing can be combined in the same run: a foiled name over a small white-backed pictogram is a common spirits layout.
Price by quantity
What a run actually costs
Up to 55 × 70 mm, hot foil, gold or silver, unprotected — die, setup and printing included.
| Quantity | Run price | Per label |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | £145 | £1.45 |
| 200 | £149 | £0.74 |
| 300 | £152 | £0.50 |
| 500 | £156 | £0.31 |
| 1 000 | £175 | £0.17 |
| 1 500 | £187 | £0.13 |
| 2 000 | £205 | £0.10 |
| 3 000 | £235 | £0.079 |
| 5 000 | £306 | £0.062 |
| 10 000 | £483 | £0.049 |
Excluding VAT and delivery. Other sizes, finishes and quantities are priced in the configurator above.
Where it is used
Products that take this material
FAQ
Deep black — what customers ask us
Is the paper printed black or dyed black?
Dyed through the sheet. That is the whole point: the cut edges stay black, a crease stays black and a scratch does not reveal white paper underneath. A printed black background does none of that, and it shows first on a dark bottle.
Why is foil cheaper than full colour here?
Because on this stock foil is the printing, not an extra. Gold or silver stamping starts at £145 per 100 while four-colour printing with the opaque white it needs starts at £158. On every other textured paper foil is an option costing about £167 more — deep black is the exception.
Can I print white text on it?
Yes, with an opaque white layer printed first — otherwise the ink is transparent and simply vanishes. We add it wherever your design needs it and show the result on the proof; it is part of the full-colour price, not a surcharge.
Does it need a varnish?
No, and it is better without. The matt black surface is part of the effect, and a gloss varnish turns it into something that looks like coated paper. It also means the stock belongs on products that stay dry.
Can I have numbering on deep black labels?
Not in the run: variable data is not available on creative papers. For a numbered prestige series — a limited cuvée, for instance — the usual answer is a small numbered label on the back in a coated stock, with the deep black kept for the front.
Gold on true black, from a hundred labels.
Deep black paper with hot foil, from £145 per 100.