Beer label sizes: 12 oz bottles and 12 and 16 oz cans
A 12 oz longneck beer bottle usually takes a label about 4 in wide by 3.25 to 3.5 in tall; Bottle Your Brand calls 4 × 3.5 in the most common size. Labels for a standard 12 oz can (about 2.6 in across) wrap nearly all the way round, at about 8 in wide by 3.5 in tall, and a 16 oz can takes about 8 × 5 in. Printers differ by up to half an inch, so measure your container. A 4 × 3.5 in bottle label is 1200 × 1050 pixels at 300 ppi, or 1275 × 1125 with 0.125 in of bleed.
Beer label sizes: dimensions, bleed and pixels
Bleed is 0.125 in on every side for inch sizes and 3 mm for metric ones. Pixels are rounded to the nearest whole pixel.
| Size | Inches | Millimeters | With bleed | Pixels at 300 ppi (with bleed) | Notes and template |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 oz longneck, 4 × 3.5 in | 4 × 3.5 in | 101.6 × 88.9 mm | 4.25 × 3.75 in | 1,200 × 1,050 px 1,275 × 1,125 px | The most common bottle size Free template |
| 12 oz longneck, 4 × 3.25 in | 4 × 3.25 in | 101.6 × 82.55 mm | 4.25 × 3.5 in | 1,200 × 975 px 1,275 × 1,050 px | |
| 12 oz longneck, oval | 2.25 × 3.5 in | 57.15 × 88.9 mm | 2.5 × 3.75 in | 675 × 1,050 px 750 × 1,125 px | Upright oval |
| 12 oz stubby, 4 × 3 in | 4 × 3 in | 101.6 × 76.2 mm | 4.25 × 3.25 in | 1,200 × 900 px 1,275 × 975 px | Shorter flat band |
| 22 oz bomber, 5 × 5 in | 5 × 5 in | 127 × 127 mm | 5.25 × 5.25 in | 1,500 × 1,500 px 1,575 × 1,575 px | Also 4 × 4 and 6 × 4 in |
| 12 oz can, wrap | 8 × 3.5 in | 203.2 × 88.9 mm | 8.25 × 3.75 in | 2,400 × 1,050 px 2,475 × 1,125 px | 7.75 to 8.125 in wide by printer Free template |
| 16 oz can, wrap | 8 × 5 in | 203.2 × 127 mm | 8.25 × 5.25 in | 2,400 × 1,500 px 2,475 × 1,575 px | Some printers 7 to 7.25 in wide |
Bottles: longneck, stubby and bomber
A North American 12 oz longneck is about 9 in tall and 2.4 in across, with roughly 3.5 to 4 in of straight glass for the label, according to The Cary Company’s bottle dimensions. Label printers’ suggestions sit inside that: Bottle Your Brand lists 4 × 3.5 in as the most common, or an upright oval of 2.25 × 3.5 in, and other printers suggest 4 × 3.25, 3.5 × 3.25 or 3.25 × 4 in. A stubby is wider and shorter, so its labels are shorter too, about 3 in tall, and a 22 oz bomber takes a bigger label, from about 4 × 4 to 5 × 5 or 6 × 4 in.
A front label shouldn’t reach all the way round a bottle: leave room for a back or neck label, and leave the labels clear of each other. Glass from different makers, and returnable or imported bottles, vary, so tape a paper print-out to the bottle you’ll fill before you order.
Cans: wrap labels, sleek cans and shrink sleeves
A standard 12 oz can has a 211 body, about 2.6 in (66 mm) across, which is about 8.17 in around, and a 16 oz can has the same diameter but is taller. Printers’ wrap labels for them differ: StickerGiant gives 3.5 × 8 in as the best size for a 12 oz can, 8.125 in for a full wrap and 5 × 8.125 in for a 16 oz can, while Sttark lists 5 × 7 in for a 16 oz can and other printers sell 3.5 × 7.75 in for 12 oz. A label slightly shorter than the circumference leaves a small gap at the back instead of a ragged overlap; a sleek or slim can is narrower, so a standard-can label overlaps on it.
A shrink sleeve covers the whole can, top to bottom, and is printed flat and then shrunk on with heat, so the artwork is distorted on purpose to come out right on the can. Sleeve printers supply their own template with the distortion, the seam and the lay-flat size, so design on that rather than on a wrap label size. Either way, design the file with 0.125 in (3 mm) of bleed and keep text clear of the seam. In the US, the alcohol health warning on a 12 oz container must be at least 2 mm tall; see the guide to beer label rules below.
Questions
- What size is a standard beer bottle label?
- For a 12 oz longneck, about 4 in wide by 3.25 to 3.5 in tall; 4 × 3.5 in is the most common. A stubby takes about 4 × 3 in, and a 22 oz bomber 4 × 4 to 5 × 5 in.
- What size label fits a 12 oz can?
- About 8 in wide by 3.5 in tall for a label that wraps almost all the way round a standard 211 can, which is about 8.17 in around. Printers’ sizes run from 7.75 to 8.125 in wide; a sleek or slim can needs a narrower label.
- What size is a 16 oz can label?
- About 8 × 5 in for a wrap, since a 16 oz can is the same diameter as a 12 oz can but taller. Some printers sell 7 to 7.25 × 5 in, which leaves a wider gap at the back.
- What size is a beer label in pixels?
- At 300 ppi, a 4 × 3.5 in bottle label is 1200 × 1050 pixels (1275 × 1125 with 0.125 in of bleed), a 12 oz can wrap of 8 × 3.5 in is 2400 × 1050 (2475 × 1125), and a 16 oz can wrap of 8 × 5 in is 2400 × 1500 (2475 × 1575).
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