By Cassandra Balentine
Part two of two
The continued adoption of digital print as well as the intense desire for unique solutions is evolving the print finishing and embellishment space, allowing many to bring these processes in house cost effectively for the first time.
The notion of making print more noticeable, engaging, interactive, and sensory is gaining traction. “Print service providers understand this more each day, and realize it provides a huge differentiator for their services. And, if the output is priced correctly, it allows them to achieve higher profit margins,” says John Dembia, manager, product marketing – Industrial Print Products, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.
Further, as education continues, print buyers and brand owners also understand the value of embellishment on their brands. “They want to develop ongoing and long-lasting relationships with their customer base. Embellished print can be an important and cost-effective tool for getting and keeping people’s attention on their products,” he adds.
“Manufacturers, book sellers, and marketing companies are enhancing their products with different types of embellishments to capture the consumers’ attention,” says Bob Massa, national production finishing director, Duplo USA, Corp. “In many industries there is not a clear leader, so companies are trying to standout by adding foils, raised spot UV, and lamination such as soft touch. The foil and the shimmer of the raised spot UV captures the eye of the consumer and that product is viewed as having greater value. The embellishment market is growing and the print industry is the driving force.”
Product packaging is evolving at an extraordinary pace. “Consumers following the pandemic are more inclined to choose a version of a product that best suits them, because they’ve become familiar with personal online purchasing. This has had a tremendous effect on increasing versions and available SKUs. To grab shelf attention and provide a product experience for online shopping, unique packaging is now a primary requirement of the product itself. This is where the power of foiling and spot varnish plays an essential role as it adds to the experience of luxury, beauty, and value enhancing of the product,” comments Mark Nixon, VP sales and marketing, Scodix.
Digital printing has dramatically shortened production times. “It once took sometimes weeks to print a job that required specialty printing, such as holography, foils, or specialty coatings,” shares Tim Cain, president, Breit Technologies. He says this is because after the inks were applied, the sheets had to be shipped to a special finishing house, placed on press again so the effects could be applied, and then shipped back to the printer to complete the job—folding, gluing, kitting, etc. With the advent of digital embellishments, printers can now apply the specialty finishing inline and in house, thereby cutting production times down to sometimes just days or even hours.”
Moreover, now that digital presses can achieve the same effects without costly embellishment tools, short-run projects can now be printed—and finished—for approximately the same price as more traditional long-run jobs. “This has allowed designers to view specialty finishing as not an expensive luxury reserved only for large customers with deep pockets and long print runs but as a viable option for almost any customer. As such—in a relatively short amount of time—the digital print and finishing market has gone from a niche offering to a cornerstone service,” adds Cain.
“The savings of producing the work in house delivers a quick return on investment for those currently sending it out. Further, users gain control of quality, and turn time. Most digital print shops could not afford the time to send this work outside, so the technology opens this market. Many more shops are able to offer the finish, and it has reduced dependence,” comments Oran Gilmore, director of sales and business development, Autobond Laminating, Spot UV, and Foiling Machinery.
There is still a lot of education that needs to happen to bring these tools to the masses.
“While brand owners know about spot varnish, embossing, and foiling, they see this as a solution only for larger run quantities. TheEpson L-6534VW UV digital label press comes with CMYK + White and a clear ink called Digital Varnish (Dv). Dv can do spot varnish, some embossing, and simulated foiling all in the same process as printing the colors on the label, making it a solution that is now available for shorter label runs,” notes Mike Pruitt, senior product manager, Epson America, Inc.
He says all-in-one digital printing solutions that can deliver Dv labels cost effectively are suitable for brand owners considering cost, quality, and flexible run lengths. “The technology available today allows converters and commercial printers to bring an added value solution to their customers—perhaps even being the first to offer Dv to their market and bringing new opportunities for growth and profit.”
Stepping it Up
Increasingly, finishing solutions are about adding value to a printed piece. From traditional hot and cold foiling and cast and cure options through to UV spot coating and varnishing and full-on digital embellishment systems, print providers have options to enter and master the art of embellishment.
“As more digital embellishment tools become available, the awareness of the process is becoming mainstream, driving the uptick of short-run, high-end print. It offers agencies, designers, and brands more flexibility with what they can accomplish, giving print the extra pop that it deserves. For printers, it de-commoditizes regular print on paper, adding the extra margin that is not always easy to find,” adds Neil Drever, product consultant, Skandacor.
Read part one, Embellishment and Enhancement
Nov2022, Industrial Print Magazine