The label has to fit, and it is a long one

What a dispensing label carries

Who it is for, what it is, how much, how to take it, who supplied it, when, and usually one or more cautionary statements. That is a lot of lines, and much of it has to be legible to somebody with imperfect eyesight.

Round bottles show one third of a label

A wrap label on a cylinder presents a fraction of itself at any angle, so the information somebody needs first has to be on the panel they see first. That is a layout decision rather than a size one.

Legibility is not negotiable here

Shrinking the type to fit is the obvious move and it is the wrong one for a population that includes the same people the senior adult test is about. If the text does not fit legibly, the container is too small.

Which argues for a size up

Choosing a container with more label area than the fill strictly requires is a reasonable trade in this category, in a way it would not be for a sauce. The contents are small and the information is not.

Extended-content labels exist for this

A peel-back or booklet label gives a second surface without a larger bottle, and this is one of the categories where they are routine. They cost more and they are cheaper than the alternative of unreadable text.

Check it on the actual container

Printed at size and wrapped around the real bottle, read at arm’s length. That catches the problem while it is still artwork rather than a received order, which is the same check the supplement property arrives at.

Leave room for a second label

Auxiliary warning labels get added at dispensing, after the main label is on. A design that covers the whole circumference leaves nowhere to put them except over the information already there.

References