Top 9 Printing Effects to Amplify Your Packaging

Remember your first Apple product? What made Apple stand out from all the other gadget manufacturers was its unique and aesthetically pleasing packaging. For the majority of businesses, packaging is a cost, but for Apple, it was an opportunity.

According to an IPSOS study, 74% of customers claim that their purchase is influenced by packaging design. Still sceptical? Results from a Datacom Distribution survey reported that 61% of people will repeat the purchase if the product comes in premium packaging. That's the power of packaging.

So, that begs the question, "What can you do to supercharge your packaging?" We highlight nine printing effects or processes that can make your packaging stand out from the rest (and possibly even fly off the shelves).

9 Printing Effects

Implement the following procedures into the visual design of your packaging to distinguish the brand and offer excellent shelf appeal.

1. Hot Foil Stamping

Hot foil stamping is a printing technique that involves the use of hot dyes. These heated dyes press a metallic print or "foil" onto the boxes. The advantage of using this technique is that it can be applied to any material — so your box can have a matte or glossy finish and the foil will work on it. Foils are also available in a variety of colour options, including gold, silver, copper, brass, and red.

The shiny foil material exudes luxury and elegance and therefore is a hot favourite for consumer packaged goods like jewellery, perfumes, liquor, premium chocolates, and skin-care products.

2. Holographic Foiling Effect

You might be wondering, "What is holographic foiling effect in packaging?" Let us break it down for you. Holographic foiling creates a reflective or "rainbow" effect in packaging where the logo or text looks different from various angles due to the reflection of the light. This effect is excellent for giving a subtle pop of colour to your box.

This effect is dominantly used in the cosmetics industry, but doesn't mean it can be used in other markets. If you want to present exclusivity and quality to your brand, then this is the effect to opt for.

3. Die-Cut Print Effect

Cut-outs aren't only popular when it comes to dresses and fashion. Nowadays, it's one of the most popular ways to enhance your packaging. Seeking to elevate your look with distinctive cut-outs? You can, thanks to die-cut print effect. Die-cut is a post-press finishing effect that uses steel cutting die; it allows you to create simple or intricate artwork out of shapes and letters. The die-cut element draws attention to the 3D nature of paper. Die cutting finishing is frequently used in greeting cards, wedding cards, business cards, and chocolate packaging.

4. Blind Embossing Effect

Blind embossing, much like its name, is an embossing effect that allows you to capture depth and volume. It is one of the oldest finishing techniques used to grab attention to your packaging because it not only appeals to one's sense of sight, but also touch. Traditionally, blind embossing doesn't use any ink or foil, the effect is achieved only through altering the dimension of the material.

Our recommendation — to get the best finish, use a paper with natural fibres and a percentage of cotton. This gives the effect a good height.

5. Gold Foil Debossing Effect

Want to bring a touch of class and timeless elegance to your packaging? Look no further than gold foil debossing effect. With this effect, the image or text is imprinted onto the paper to make an indentation. A custom die is created to achieve this effect which adds depth and texture to design. The use of gold foil adds a chic and classic touch — one that can be used in a variety of industries.

6. Metallic Paper Effect

One of the fastest and most affordable ways to elevate your packaging is by using metallic paper. This effect requires no custom dies and can be created without the use of heat or pressure. The process uses the regular print flow and the material used is basically a silver-film laminated white paperboard — thus providing you with endless colour possibilities. And if you are desire to create a metallic effect for just a portion of the box, that too is possible. This effect works for any sort of product, event, and industry — from CPG to wedding and festive occasions.

7. Electroplated Sticker Effect

Electroplated stickers are the new rage in packaging embellishments! They come in gold, silver, copper or black and a very high level of sophistication to the overall packaging design.

These are used for premium product packaging and are very popular in the Alcohol, perfume and cosmetics industries.

8. Micro Embossing Print Effect

Want to add the illusion of movement to your packaging design? Try Micro Embossing, an innovative printing technique that is widely used in luxury markets like liquor, cosmetics and premium gift boxes. How does this work? Let us explain. The Micro Embossing effect creates the appearance of movement and motion by adding a pattern of extremely small lines to the foil's surface without changing the substrate itself.

9. Spot UV Effect

This effect, which actually is a more of a coating effect, involves the application of a shiny and clear coat to certain sections or "spots" of artwork (could be graphic or text) that creates a contrast to the rest of the design. A UV light is then used to cure those spots. This effect is heavily used in business, wedding, and other forms of invitation cards. This method is quite popular because it's environmentally friendly, affordable, and smudge resistant, and yet excluded high clarity and precision. Although printers are able to use this technique on white paper or card stock, it works best on products that have been coloured.

Create Your Next Packaging with Oye Boxes

So there you have it: nine finishing techniques that are both easy to do and can have a big influence on your brand and package. There is no one way to go about packaging; choose the design finish that works for your product and brand.

We at Oye Boxes have the design and production tools necessary to carry out any of the aforementioned effects. Oye Boxes has earned the trust of over 150 clients as their packaging and design partner, and we look forward to doing the same for you.

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