Custom stock label templates
Breww generates stock labels using its own built-in template, but you can design your own instead. Custom templates let you control exactly what appears on a stock label and how it's laid out.
You'll find them under Settings -> Label & printing settings -> Custom stock label templates. You need the Settings permission to manage them.
Please be careful and make sure to test your templates. It's possible to build a template that's too big for the label, or that prevents labels printing at all. You can always switch a container type back to Breww's default template if there's a problem.
Custom templates apply to stock labels only. Delivery labels, permanent container labels and pallet labels always use Breww's own layout.
Creating a template
Click Add new template and fill in the form.
Template name
Give the template a name that tells you what it's for. Names must be unique within your account, so you always know which one you're using.
The template itself
The template is edited in a rich text editor, so you can build up your layout with tables, text sizes, bold text and images. A starter template is filled in for you when you create a new one, which is a good place to begin.
To place your own data onto the label, insert a variable. Each variable is replaced with the real value when the label is printed. The full list of variables, together with a live example of what each one will produce for your account, is shown underneath the editor on the create and edit pages.
| Variable | What it shows |
|---|---|
label.logo |
Your logo |
label.telephone |
Your phone number, from your settings |
label.brewery_display_name |
Your business name as set in your label settings |
label.product |
The name of the product |
label.drink_name |
The name of the drink |
label.drink_style |
The name of the drink style |
label.container_description |
The container type name, prefixed with a quantity for multipacks |
label.batch_ref_display |
The batch number and/or reference, as per your label settings |
label.packaged_on |
The date the product was packaged |
label.best_before |
The best before date |
label.taxable_volume |
The taxable volume of the container type |
label.gross_volume |
The gross (fill) volume of the container type |
label.abv |
The ABV of the product |
label.plato |
The Plato of the product |
label.ibu |
The bitterness (IBU) of the product |
label.label_code |
The label code, typically blank for tracked containers and filled for non-returnables and smallpack |
label.product_code |
The product code (also known as the SKU) |
label.product_barcode |
The product's own barcode, usually EAN or UPC |
label.container_code_barcode |
The container's barcode |
label.notes |
Notes entered on labels printed in advance via a planned packaging |
label.allergens |
The allergens, as entered on the product or the drink |
label.footer_message |
The stock label footer message from your label settings |
label.sequence_number |
The number of this label |
label.sequence_total |
The total number of labels |
Any product custom fields you've set up are available too, as label.product_custom_fields.your-field-slug. They appear at the bottom of the variable list with your own field names.
We'd suggest keeping allergens in bold in your template.
Barcode sizes
Set the height, in pixels, of the product barcode and the container code barcode when they appear on the label. Both default to 55px.
Label size
Set the width and height of the label in millimetres. The defaults are 102mm x 76mm, matching Breww's recommended 4 x 3 inch thermal labels.
This only changes the size of thermal labels. It has no effect on A4 or US Letter label sheets, where the label size comes from the paper label sheet settings on the Label & printing settings page. Changing the size of individual labels on paper sheets isn't supported.
Choosing which stock uses a template
Creating a template doesn't change anything on its own. You then need to say which stock should use it.
At the bottom of the custom stock label templates page you'll find every container type on your account and the template it currently uses. Click the pencil button next to a container type to pick a template, or to put it back onto Breww's default template.
A template can also be set on an individual drink or product, which overrides whatever the container type says. Breww looks in this order and uses the first template it finds:
- Specified on the product
- Specified on the drink
- Specified on the container type
If none of those has a template set, Breww's built-in template is used.
Testing a template
Click the print button next to a template to generate a test PDF, in the thermal label format. Do this every time you change a template. It's easy to build a template that's too big to fit on the label, and the test PDF is the quickest way to spot it.
When you're setting up a new template, we'd suggest assigning it to a single container type first and testing it there. The easiest way to produce real labels for testing is a planned packaging on a batch for that container type. If something isn't right, you can unassign the template from the container type while you keep working on it, so your everyday label printing is unaffected.
Editing and deleting templates
Click the pencil button next to a template to edit it. Changes take effect on the next labels printed, so test again after saving.
A template can only be deleted once nothing is using it. If it's still assigned to a container type, Breww will tell you and refuse to delete it. Move those container types onto another template first.
Related guides
- Label & printing settings, for the settings that still apply when using a custom template
- How to print stock (packaging) labels