Terms of Use

Terms of use.

Plain terms covering what COLACheck is, what happens to the artwork you upload, and the limits of what we promise.

Last updated August 2026

1. Who we are

COLACheck is operated by Almaden Studio (“we”, “us”). By using this site you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

2. What the service is

COLACheck is a pre-screening tool. It examines beverage alcohol label artwork against federal labeling requirements in 27 CFR Parts 4, 5, 7 and 16, and returns a report. It does not submit anything to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, has no affiliation with TTB, and is not connected to COLAs Online.

COLACheck is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. A clean report is not an approval and does not predict how TTB will treat your submission. Please read the limitations before relying on any result.

2a. TTB applies judgment we cannot model

Label approval is not a purely mechanical match against the regulation. TTB reviewers apply internal policy, precedent, and case-by-case judgment — about whether a brand name is misleading, whether imagery is appropriate, whether a label’s overall presentation passes. Labels are also sometimes rejected for reasons not clearly codified in the published regulations, based on an individual reviewer’s interpretation.

No tool can predict those determinations, and COLACheck does not attempt to. It reports on the requirements that are written down and visible on your artwork. Everything beyond that is TTB’s to decide.

3. The artwork you upload

You keep ownership of everything you upload. We claim no rights in your label designs, brands, or artwork.

By uploading, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to:

  • Process your images in order to produce your report. This involves sending them to Anthropic, our AI provider, which performs the analysis.
  • Retain your images and the resulting report so we can review the tool’s accuracy and improve it.
  • Analyse aggregate patterns across many checks — for example how often a given requirement is missed.

We will not publish your artwork, sell or licence it to anyone, use it in marketing, portfolio work, or case studies, or show it as an example — whether or not it is identifiable. Retained material is used to check and improve COLACheck and for nothing else.

4. You must have the right to upload it

You confirm that you own the artwork you upload, or have permission from whoever does. Do not upload material you are not entitled to share. Do not upload personal data, confidential information unrelated to the label, or anything unlawful.

5. Your email address

If you give us an email address, we use it to send you your report and to contact you about that check. We do not sell or rent it. If we ever want to send you anything else, we will ask first.

6. Deletion

You can ask us to delete your uploaded artwork, your report, and your email address at any time by writing to studio@almadengroup.com. We will delete every copy we hold, including copies held in our own email records, and confirm when it is done. Aggregate statistics that do not identify you or your product may remain.

7. Beta, and no warranty

COLACheck is in beta and provided free of charge, as is and as available, with no warranty of any kind — express or implied — including as to accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, or availability. Findings may be incomplete or wrong. Verify anything you intend to act on.

8. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any loss arising from your use of COLACheck — including rejected applications, delays, re-printing costs, lost sales, or any indirect or consequential loss. You remain responsible for the accuracy of your own label and your own submission to TTB.

9. Acceptable use

  • Do not attempt to disrupt, overload, or reverse-engineer the service.
  • Do not use automated means to submit checks at scale without asking us first.
  • Do not present COLACheck results as an official determination, or imply endorsement by TTB or by us.

10. Changes

We may change these terms as the service develops. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated. Material changes affecting how we handle uploaded artwork will be reflected here before they take effect.

11. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, and any dispute will be handled in the courts of Santa Clara County, California.

12. Contact

Questions about these terms, or about anything COLACheck did with your label: studio@almadengroup.com.