North Bay Business Journal

NAPA — Tapp Label Technologies Inc., a printer of wine and spirits labels from plants in Napa and Canada, today said it acquired Ben Franklin Press & Label Co. of Napa.

PETALUMA — Sharing a common vision, the founders of Paragon Label and Vintners Global Resource (VGR) have formed a strategic partnership to provide small-and-medium-size wineries with a package of labels, bottles, supplies and services from a single source.

One of the ways that some vintners are looking to distinguish the look of their high-end wines is novel bottle embellishments. On the mass-market end of the wine business, rising fuel prices are bringing back the escalating freight surcharges of 2008 at a time when vintners also are facing rapidly rising prices for bulk wine and grapes for new and renewing contracts.

NAPA — A new firm in Napa wants to help small wineries wineries not only craft their packaging design but also develop brand strategy and marketing, better manage their logistics and get more Internet exposure.

NAPA — Wine label printer Tapp Technologies Inc. today said it plans to expand its California plant in Napa to a nearby facility this fall to “significantly” increase capacity.

NAPA — Collotype Labels, the North Bay’s largest commercial and wine label printer, now has a digital printing press at its Napa plant to complete prototype and other small-run jobs in-house.

NAPA – Two wine label printers have made significant equipment upgrades this summer with a new class of digital printing presses and one that reduces waste through automation.

Printing Services Napa Valley at the beginning of April acquired St. Helena commercial printer Albright Printing & Design from Tim Doran, whose family started it as Doran’s Printing, sold it in November 2002 and regained ownership recently. … Several new North Coast wineries and tasting rooms have opened or received a green light recently. … ***

In wine packaging news, 585 Wine Partners of Sonoma launched a 3-liter “Mini-Barrel” format for the Red Truck brand in Wal-Mart Stores’ Sam’s Club chain, with a wider retail rollout planned this year. … Andrews & Thornley Construction of Napa in mid-March started reconstruction on Napa Valley Vintners’ new headquarters in the former Jackse Winery in St. Helena. … The Academy of Wine Communications, a Napa-based trade group for wine marketing and publicity professionals, has new officials as the organization looks to expand membership beyond Napa and Sonoma counties and reach new-generation media such as blogs and social networks. … In wine shipping news, Inertia Beverage Group of Napa launched WineREvolution.com to allow restaurants and retailers in 12 states to purchase 60-plus brands not commonly distributed via traditional wholesalers. … Cork stopper distributor M.A. Silva Corks USA in Santa Rosa was certified by the Green Business Program Sonoma County, coordinated by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board and the Business Environmental Alliance. … Wine People items

NORTH COAST — Palo Alto-based HP, maker of the Indigo line of digital offset printing presses commonly used by wine label printers, plans to release a new version of the press late this year that may provide the speed local wine label printers say they need to take better advantage of digital printing.

PETALUMA — Paragon Label has acquired a digital offset label printing press to meet increasing demand from vintners for easily customizable novel or exclusive packaging.

NAPA — Ben Franklin Press will be shifting to much larger quarters in south Napa this spring to make room for equipment to print pressure-sensitive labels, which are increasingly adhering to the wine business.

PETALUMA — McCoy Packaging will be sticking around in Petaluma, but the 80-year-old label printer will look quite different after partial acquisition by Petaluma-based Paragon Label.

NAPA — Nine years after opening as a printer of pressure-sensitive labels specifically for the wine industry, Tapp sees the need to be closer to its client wineries and packaging designers, according to Matt Schwanebeck, operations manager for the Napa plant and architect of Tapp’s printing plant for the past five years.