Divine Label Compliance (DLC)

Terms & Conditions

The following Terms and Conditions of Service apply to all products and services provided by Divine Label Compliance, a trading name of Cevian Consulting Ltd (hereinafter referred to as DLC) and in the event of any dispute are governed by the laws of England.

All work is conducted by DLC on the understanding that the client has agreed to our terms and conditions.

Copyright is retained on any new design work including words, pictures, ideas, visuals, and illustrations until all costs have been settled.

If a choice of revised design is presented and one is chosen by you, only that solution is deemed to be given by us as fulfilling the contract.

These Terms and Conditions can be read at any time on the DLC website.

Key Points

  1. Project work is not scheduled into the DLC workflow until payment is received, at which point DLC will inform the client of completion timescales.
  2. For swift project completion we need the following information from a client:1) outlined print files, 2) editable artwork files, 3) specification sheet from the manufacturer, 4) fonts and 5) a product image showing the label on a finished pack if available. See section 5.
  3. Audit coverage does not include technical Artwork corrections OR briefing time (documentation) required to explain required amendments to a 3rd party designer. Either of these are additional work briefs for DLC and attract fees. See 1 -16 below regarding audit parameters.
  4. Post audit report completion, a client has 5 days to respond to DLC regarding the report content either for clarification or to action a further work brief.
  5. When artwork and product documentation (specs or any supporting materials) are submitted to us for audit, we will ask for confirmation that this is the final artwork version. Once we have started work on the final version, any further versions received will attract charges due to the additional time requirement.
  6. All data given by a client, for the purposes of completing an audit, will be assumed to be accurate this includes without limitation, Specification sheets & product testing. We may or may not question the accuracy of data provided.
  7. Often regulations change without notice and it is possible for crossover with DLC current understanding if there has been a sudden change at short notice. DLC takes every step to build in latest the regulatory guidelines.
  8. In a Full audit, a 10-minute allowance is made (held back) for receiving artwork back from a 3rd party designer for ‘sign off’. If DLC subsequently observes final artwork errors, we reserve the right to charge for additional audit time requirement.
  9. Explaining requirements for a correct label (e.g., to a designer) can take as long as the audit itself. The communication of these requirements is always charged separately. See section 3.

  1. Scope of Work / Procedures

    1. Our Audits do not include Detailed solutions of how to fix compliance issues, technical corrections service or technical report for the client designer or compliance certificates. These are separate services unless specified in writing and included on the invoice.
    2. Our services include only 1 version of an artwork file check and product specification review. If multiple versions of the same artwork and product specs are supplied additional administration and fees apply.
    3. Comments on audit reports will show variance to FIC guidelines and best practice only.
    4. An artwork review will show additional items that can only be identified via finished artwork for e.g., font size... Note, correct format files are required for this.
    5. If Artwork assistance is requested this will be based only on the artwork supplied.
    6. Our responses to label compliance will be provided on email. The accuracy and operation of a client’s email system is the responsibility of the client.
    7. Any artwork will be maintained for any period of work where required. Once we have responded to you, we will delete any artwork, labels, or designs that we receive from you.
    8. Our working day is Monday to Friday however we may decide to work outside daytime hours i.e., in evenings and at weekends.
    9. Any further questions or work requested beyond the scope of work normally offered by DLC will be charged per hour.
    10. We assume that ingredient text and word order provided by yourself is correct. We are not recipe developers or food scientist and will not comment on the individual ingredients or their functionality including claims made.
    11. Nutritional data is taken as given; we will only consider layout and not accuracy of the data.
    12. Audit work will not commence without all files provided by the client. These should be the final files for use by DLC e.g., artwork or product spec docs. Client revisions to these files that are resupplied may give rise to further charges for DLC to review and discuss with the client.
    13. Artwork should be supplied in a vector format.
    14. Once work has commenced, any new versions of files already received or additional info files will mean addition work is required to review these and incorporate understanding in our audit work. A minimum charge of 1 hour is likely in such circumstances.
    15. Clients have up to 5 working days to come back with questions/clarification or send any additional info requested to complete a label audit or technical correction (within reason, within the scope of work, no new regulation questions.) After 5 working days we deem the project completed. To revisit a completed project requires additional time and will be chargeable.
    16. Specific detail on the DLC audit service

      17. What the audit does:
      The service includes 4h Regulatory Expert and Consultant work

      1. The audit stage (includes up to 2h - file Assessment,  regulatory research, and auditing)

        • assess the relevant documents
        • Relevant country Regulations check
        • review and audit product packaging, and spec sheet
        •  Review of artwork for technical regulatory compliance 
        • 1 product packaging artwork and spec sheet review is included per SKU

      2. The Audit reporting stage (includes up to 1.5h-  Reporting and references)

        • Assessment: Is the packaging compliant (Y/N)
        • sign off if the product packaging  is 100% compliant 
        • Identifies and lists out issues if at present
        • references designated country regulation 
        • references regulation when appropriate alongside the issues
        • lists out inconsistencies with the spec sheet
        • provides an overview and recommends steps to ensure packaging compliance in cases of errors

        IF time permits, we may also include the following*:

        • Quick feedback on how to resolve minor issues with references
        • Provide examples to quickly resolve minor issues 

      3. 3. The Audit consultation and feedback stage includes (up to 1h total):

        • A brief review call after the completion of the audit

        • 1-time review of the artwork corrections done by the client's designer (only in the scope of the list of issues reported in the audit). This provides an answer:

          1. Yes issues are corrected and assuming no other changes have been done to the rest of the art work then product packaging is compliant.

          2. No, issues remain and product packaging is not compliant.(No detailed lists are included but we may give feedback on minor issues and quick fixes.) Any further work is chargeable based on hourly fees.

        IMPORTANT

        A client has up to 5 working days to ask questions that were not covered and are relevant to the project in the follow up call, and to submit a 3rd party designer corrected file. After 5 working days additional fees may apply on hourly basis.

        The Audit does not include:

        • Sign off a product packaging that is not 100% compliant
        • Regulatory technical corrections
        • Detailed regulatory Technical guidance for the designer 
        • Coaching client's designer 
        • Design work
        • Additional research
        • Additional consultation
        • Multiple reviews of the same product artwork and specifications before or after the audit work.

  2. Promotion Specific Terms & Conditions

    1. An ‘Instant check’ is not a label compliance audit and will not provide compliant labels. It is available to give a YES/NO review.
    2. During an Instant Check we may provide additional feedback in regards of artwork compliance and issues
    3. An Instant Check may give some qualitative feedback about the food and drink product labels that are reviewed. This is at our discretion and will depend on the extent of the issues.
    4. An Instant Check will not provide a full list of issues identified, a report, or how to resolve the issues.
    5. Responses may be in email or phone call and up to 15 min consultation.
    6. Any further requests resulting from the Instant Check and/or additional work is chargeable.

  3. Project Acceptance

    1. We will give a written estimate and quote for work requested prior to payment and graphics being uploaded / sent to DLC.
    2. Payment confirms acceptance of the quote and acceptance to the Terms and Conditions.
    3. For the avoidance of doubt, the DLC Terms & Conditions govern the job responsibilities, not any conditions on a customer’s purchase order.
    4. Once payment is received, we will start work. If we do not receive design/artwork within 14 days DLC is not obliged to complete the review within any specific timeframe.

  4. Charges

    1. All work is prepaid, and we DO NOT schedule in work until an invoice is paid. Once payment arrives, we evaluate our timeslots available and give estimated time for completion. Any delays in payment mean delays in booking into our schedule – first come first serve.
    2. It is client responsibility to ensure that payments are on time.
    3. All prices quoted are EX VAT. We will add VAT at the prevailing rate if applicable.
    4. Our quotes are valid for 10 days, additional fees may be added if further time is required due to the complexity of the project, or any related files and materials require additional time.
    5. We reserve the right to change service fees without any notice to a client.
    6. Additional charges for services to be provided by DLC will be set out in the written estimate or quotation that is provided to the customer.
    7. All services are payable in advance. Our service is quick; therefore, credit is not offered for what is a relatively small payment.
    8. Any free items offered by us may be sourced from partner suppliers who in turn will carry liability for work provided.
    9. All label artwork changes are charged at an hourly rate of £99.00/hr.
    10. All projects assume 30 mins consultancy work per label to allow for necessary research and administration.
    11. When we initiate a project with you, we rely on you sending us all the information that is required at the start. If we subsequently have to conduct further research or redesign artwork based on information that is introduced later, then we will charge an additional fee. You will be notified of the ‘required by deadline date’ at the start of the project.
      • Late file supply will require a minimum of 1 hour for review.
      • If feedback is required for late supplied files, this will constitute additional work /questions/clarification/ info request, this will be charged as an additional hour.
      • The minimum charge for dealing with late replacement information files will be 2h
      • All additional charges, once an audit has started, are due prior to commencement of additional work.
    12. Making changes post audit completion, particularly where artwork has been changed can take time which is a chargeable expense.
    13. The current fee structure is communicated on initial contact, and will have been discussed with you at the beginning of the project. Our Terms & Conditions are available on our website: labelcompliance.co.uk
    14. DELAYS
      • Early in an audit instruction we will ask you for any key information required to complete the audit. This must be sent to us within five working days to allow us to progress.
      • If after 20 working days, we have not received requested key information we reserve the right to de-prioritise the audit and normal completion timescales will not apply.
      • If after a further twenty working days, we have still not received requested information we reserve the right to void the audit project.
      • If a project is voided a refund may be requested of a maximum of 30% of the invoiced amount depending on the level of work and time already committed by DLC.
    15. Supply of artwork that includes technical corrections is free. If artwork is supplied and subsequently lost by a client, or a transfer link has expired, then DLC reserves the right to charge as ‘re-supply’ fee of £50.00 to cover additional time required.
    16. Any additional regulatory questions that may arise are generally considered additional consultation and chargeable unless we specifically include this with our service offering.
    17. In the case of label conversions (country to country) we reserve the right to demonstrate these by providing text or additional files although these may not be full technical corrections to artwork. Some of our work is NOT accompanied by written feedback or referencing and we will not brief a 3rd party designer in detail to carry out required changes. We may provide notes and reference files to assist, however.

  5. Required Source Files (inc Fonts)

    1. We ask for source files from a client to enable us to undertake artwork changes. Not all source files are usable, and we will advise you of this on receipt if we believe there to be any issues.
    2. If further design work is required, we will contact you before initiating what would be deemed as additional work incurring additional costs. Such work includes redesign, conversion to formats required and fixing corrupt files.
    3. If there is missing information that is required for the agreed project work, we will start the work after 10 working days from receiving payment. Up until this point we will send 3 written reminders to provide the missing information or files.
    4. After 10 working days, we will proceed with contracted work based on the information provided by the client to the best of our ability.
    5. After we have started the project, ANYTHING provided after that by the client, such as a review of product spec, artwork files, may incur additional costs based on our normal hourly charge fee, unless agreed beforehand in writing.
    6. If DLC has had to wait more than 10 days for necessary files or information, we reserve the right to decide on the actual completion date to manage our workflow.
    7. We may create a placeholder on artwork to illustrate where missing information should be placed. If there is no label information at all we will provide a reference guide i.e an example label layout with Adobe fonts. No design work is undertaken, however.
    8. There may be costs incurred for creating editable artwork. IF no fonts are provided, we will substitute with readily available Adobe fonts.
    9. Without a ‘product spec’ document, we will assume that the label contents are correct. We will create a placeholder for mandatory info / mock-up text if information required is not provided: For example, ingredients listed as visible on the artwork or nutritional information with calculation completed with ‘dummy’ data.
    10. If we are missing language information, we will create a placeholder in English. Note that translation options via a 3rd party agency are available at an extra cost.
    11. If files are supplied and are not usable, a client has 3 days to replace these with better graphics once notified by us.
    12. Artwork should be supplied in a vector format.
    13. If we have not received fonts from a client within 5 days, we will proceed with our chosen font and finish the work.

  6. Charges for Other Services

    1. Charges for any additional services requested during the project that are over and above the estimated time or out of scope, will become fully payable (100% of the quoted amount) at the time of estimate or quotation acceptance.

  7. Payment

    1. The customer will be provided with a quote.
    2. On acceptance of the quote an invoice will be raised which should be paid immediately before work commences.
    3. Any invoice queries must be submitted by email immediately to ensure that lead times are not affected.
    4. Payments must be made by bank transfer to the bank account details provided on the invoice or quote itself.
    5. Cheques are not accepted.
    6. Publication and/or release of work done by DLC on behalf of the client, will not take place before cleared funds have been received.

  8. Copyrights and Trademarks

    1. By supplying text, images, and other data to DLC, the customer declares that it holds the appropriate copyright and/or trademark permissions. The ownership of such materials will remain with the customer, or rightful copyright or trademark owner.
    2. Any artwork, images, or text supplied and/or designed by DLC on behalf of the customer, will remain the property of DLC and/or its suppliers unless otherwise agreed in writing.
    3. The customer may request in writing from DLC, the necessary permission to use materials (for which DLC holds the copyright) in forms other than for which it was originally supplied, and DLC may, at its discretion, grant this and may charge for the additional usage. Such permission must be obtained in writing before any artwork, images, text, or other data is used.
    4. By employing DLC, the client confirms that it owns the trademark and copyright for source materials, designs & logos.
    5. By supplying images, text, or any other data to DLC, the customer grants DLC permission to use this material freely in the pursuit of the design.
    6. Should DLC, or the customer supply an image, text, or any other file for use in a mock-up believing it to be copyright and royalty free, which subsequently emerges to have such copyright or royalty usage limitations, the customer will agree to allow DLC to amend the artwork.
    7. The customer agrees to fully indemnify and hold DLC free from harm in all claims resulting from the customer in not having obtained all the required copyright, and/or any other necessary permissions.

  9. Alterations

    1. The customer agrees that changes required over and above the estimated work, or in addition to the agreed scope, or where the client makes changes to the supplied copy or changes required to be conducted after acceptance of the draft design, will be liable to a separate charge.
    2. The customer also agrees that DLC holds no responsibility for any amendments made by any third party, before or after a mock-up is used for the intended purpose.
    3. DLC are not responsible for label compliance if the artwork has been changed by another agent or third party AFTER we have released the file to a client.

  10. Licensing

    1. All design work – where there is a risk that another party make a claim, should be registered by the client with the appropriate authorities prior to publishing or first use or searches and legal advice sought as to its use.
    2. DLC will not be held responsible for all damages resulting from such claims.
    3. DLC is not responsible for any loss, or consequential loss, non-delivery of products or services, of whatever cause. The customer agrees not to hold DLC responsible for any such loss or damage.
    4. Any claim against DLC shall be limited to the relevant fee(s) paid by the customer.

  11. Data Formats

    1. The client agrees to DLC’s definition of acceptable means of supplying data to the company.
    2. Text is to be supplied to DLC in electronic format as standard text (.txt), MS Word (.docx) or via e-mail / FTP or shared folder.
    3. Images which are supplied in an electronic format are to be provided in a format as prescribed by DLC. Images must be of a quality suitable for use without any subsequent image processing, and DLC will not be held responsible for any image quality which the client later deems to be unacceptable.
    4. DLC cannot be held responsible for the quality of any images which the client wishes to be scanned from printed materials.
    5. Additional expenses may be incurred for any necessary action, including, but not limited to, photography and art direction, photography searches, media conversion, digital image processing, or data entry services, colour correction and alteration of images.
    6. All artwork files should be supplied in Vector format for audit purposes.

  12. Review Project Duration

    1. Any indication given by DLC of a review project’s duration is to be considered by the customer to be an estimation however we expect to respond within 24 hours.
    2. Estimated project duration should be deemed to be from the date that cleared funds are received by DLC for the initial payment or by date confirmed in writing by DLC.
    3. We may not be able to proceed if key information required for any project is not supplied in a timely manner.
      • If after 20 working days, we have not received requested key information we reserve the right to de-prioritise the audit and normal completion timescales will not apply.
      • If after a further twenty working days, we have still not received requested information we reserve the right to void the audit project.

  13. Design Project Completion

    1. DLC considers the design project complete upon response to client regarding the label query raised or a response given.
    2. Other services such as printing, design, photography, uploading, publishing etc either that are contracted on the client’s behalf constitute a separate project and can be treated as a separate charge.
    3. A DETAILED AUDIT includes 10mins review/sign off. This is ONLY APPLICABLE if there are no issues and Artwork/packaging has had all DLC feedback applied i.e we assume it is compliant. If we find an error, we may charge per hour to report and detail out the errors. Payment is required prior. SIGN-OFF delivers either “YES” – approved, or “NO” – there are compliance issues. It is the client responsibility to ensure that the client designer applies required amendments correctly. This is a risk a client takes in not using DLC technical correction services.

  14. Project Credits

    1. The customer agrees to allow DLC to place a small credit on printed material exhibition displays, advertisements and/or a link to DLC own website on the customer’s website. This will usually be in the form of a small logo or line of text placed towards the bottom of the page.
    2. The customer also agrees to allow DLC to place websites and other designs, along with a link to the client’s site on DLC’s own website for demonstration purposes and to use any designs in its own publicity and portfolios.

  15. Rights of Refusal

    1. DLC will not review labels or designs that contain any text, images, or other data which it deems to be immoral, offensive, obscene, or illegal. All material must conform to all standards laid down by all relevant standards authorities.
    2. DLC also reserves the right to refuse to include submitted material without giving reason. In the situation where any images and/or data that DLC does include in all good faith, and subsequently discovers is in contravention to such Terms and Conditions, the customer is obliged to allow DLC to remove the contravention without hindrance, or penalty. DLC is to be held in no way responsible for any such data being included.

  16. Cancellation

    1. Cancellation of an order may be made by e-mail however this must be made within 48 hours, or the full fee will still be retained. We work quickly on review projects and expect to have started within a 72-hour period.
    2. Refunds will be made in 14 days.

  17. Disclaimer

    1. Source information is the responsibility of the client. In the case of ingredients or specification information, our assumption will be that this is accurate and correct for the label that we are reviewing. DLC does not warrant that these are legally allowable for any regional market, and this is the sole responsibility of the client.
    2. Once a final review file has been supplied (text review commentary or artwork), a client has 3 days to raise questions that provide clarity for the DLC work submitted. After this period DLC reserves the right to charge a minimum of 1 hour to deal with questions or requirements not previously raised. Some queries may lead to further consultation requirements which will be charged for in advance at our standard hourly rate.
    3. 16b will not be enforced where DLC is at fault.
    4. DLC makes no warranties of any kind, express or implied, for all products and/or services that it supplies. DLC will not be held responsible for all damages resulting from products and/or services it supplies. DLC is not responsible for any loss, or consequential loss of data, or non-delivery of products or services, of whatever cause. The customer agrees not to hold DLC responsible for any such loss or damage. Any claim against DLC shall be limited to the relevant fee(s) paid by the customer.
    5. DLC reserves the right to use the services of sub-contractors, agents and suppliers and any work, content, services, and usage is bound by their Terms and Conditions. DLC will not knowingly perform any actions to contravene these, and the client also agrees to be so bound.
    6. Feedback on label compliance will not contain references other than the general ‘publication’ where these are contained.
    7. DLC shall not be held responsible for any delays in printing or artwork supply because of DLC feedback.
    8. DLC responsibility for labels reviewed only applies to the specific labels provided by a client to DLC and accepted by DLC. Each label is considered an individual project and feedback is given on this basis and is not transferrable. DLC takes no liability for content transferred to additional labels i.e., other variants of OR range extensions OR additional flavours, which have not been submitted to DLC as additional projects.
    9. DLC will only warrant finished labels when DLC has made changes to the artwork itself. If the audit is completed and used to brief a 3rd party graphic designer, then DLC cannot be held liable for the resultant artwork and the interpretation made by the printer.
    10. Our observations and advice are given using the latest regulatory understanding as published by government departments in the UK, EU, and the rest of the world. These regulations are subject to change and often without warning therefore it is possible that alterations have been implemented by government departments in between our referencing and the advice given to clients.
    11. A Technical report for the client designer is not an educational service of how to apply label compliance. It is up to client to ensure that their designer has all the tools and knowhow to apply our report guidance. If relevant we may send additional info to assist the client designer, but this is at the discretion of DLC.
    12. Corrected artwork by DLC or guidance for 3rd party designers is submitted as deemed correct by DLC, but we acknowledge that, although rare, mistakes can be made.
      • Note clause 16i) above regarding 3rd party designers.
      • Clients are required to examine artwork within 3 days and DLC will immediately make corrections if an error has been identified. All clients should request additional information if they have a question or think that they may have identified a potential error.
      • After 5 days from submission, DLC takes no responsibility for revised artwork submitted to a client, however.
      • Within a 21-day period DLC will review artwork if there is substantial evidence that a mistake has been identified. A request for review should be communicated in writing and DLC will respond in writing, accordingly, making clear revisions required (if required.) If the revision identifies that there is no mistake, then DLC reserves the right to charge for time taken to examine previous audit work and charges are at our standard hourly rate.
      • After 21 days DLC reserves the right to charge for time taken to examine previous audit work and artwork amendments. Charges are at our standard hourly rate.

  18. strong>General

    These Terms and Conditions supersede any previous Terms and Conditions distributed in any form. DLC reserves the right to change any rates and any of the Terms and Conditions at any time and without prior notice.

  19. Key Definitions

    1. Free Pre-Assessment when conducted means that there is no cost for the check and no commitment from either party. The feedback provided from DLC is not audit or technical notes and should not be used for label alterations. DLC does not warrant feedback provided from the ‘Free Check.’
    2. Audit / Audit + Artwork changes, Consultancy does not include any compliance training and is not advice for designers to conduct label compliance advice applications to artwork. We only provide info about identified issues with reference to relevant law/regulations.
    3. All our work including FREE checks allows us the right to use the identified issues and reports for marketing purposes. We do not however disclose brand information, company names or addresses; these are kept confidential. No specific issues will be highlighted in reference to a brand or company. Only a general overview of potential issues and risks will be described.
    4. ‘Key Information’ is defined as information of any sort that DLC requires to progress work requested by you. This is not limited solely to an audit.

  20. Acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Quotation

    The placement of an order for design and/or any other services offered by DLC, by email, verbally or in writing, is deemed to be acceptance of these terms and conditions.

    A quote validated by the customer’s signature on the estimate or quotation form, or by email, constitutes acceptance of the estimate or quotation and agreement to comply fully with all the Terms and Conditions and forms a Contract for Business between the signatory and DLC.

    Making a payment of a DLC invoice constitutes acceptance of DLC terms and conditions.