CURSES, Foiled Again!
Consumers walk the aisles quickly. Sooner or later, you’ll be called upon to provide the eye-catching effects best afforded by foil.
September 2007 by Chris Mc Loone
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In the words of John Giusto, senior vice president of manufacturing, Curtis Packaging, foil decorating “is still probably the most significant enhancement that can be made to a package.” That’s a pretty strong choice of words, but not entirely out of line. Foil decorating is a very useful way to differentiate one package of graham crackers from another as they stand side by side on a supermarket shelf. It permeates high-end cosmetic packaging. “A high-end cosmetic package is not a high-end cosmetic package unless it has foil stamping on it,” says Giusto. “It just exudes quality or upper end.”
High quality means higher value, and using foil can help achieve both. “Foil decorating primarily is used not only to attract attention to a product in a competitive retail environment, but also to indicate that the product has a higher value,” says Stewart Glazer, vice president of sales and marketing, Crown Roll Leaf.
But, according to Myron Werner, area sales manager, Kurz USA, the reason to use foil is “to significantly differentiate your product on the shelf and drive more sales.” He adds, “foil can deliver an upscale image or create a significant eye-catching graphic with creative diffractive patterns and colors.” He adds that foil decorating techniques also can offer brand recognition, brand protection, and brand authenticating features. Dave Carlson, principal, creative director, The Vyant Group, concurs. “I see a lot of brands vying for [the consumer's eye], and the use of foil stamping to capture their attention seems to be apparent today,” he says.
The same, yet different
As foil decorating has become more pervasive, techniques have improved and options have increased. But to a certain extent, foil decorating is what it is. “The only newer things are the more significant types of patterns and the effects they’re [creating],” says Giusto. He adds that technology has gotten to the point that much more intricate patterns are possible. “But pretty much, leaf is leaf,” he says.
At Crown Roll Leaf, a new technique is producing packaging that is environmentally friendly, profitable, and aesthetically attractive. “We are deeply involved in transfer laminating for a variety of packaging applications,” says Glazer. “The foil products that are transferred are generally holographic by category and leave no polyester on the substrate.”
Werner points to cold foil transfer as a driver for change and expansion of foil usage. “Cold foil has become a fairly common, and certainly [a] fully commercial process for many narrow-web label and carton converters that apply cold foil inline on typical roll-to-roll printing presses,” he says. “The newest commercial cold foiling technique is now the inline foiling units available on offset, sheetfed presses. Since both of these processes are inline on printing presses, converters are able to create their own foil colors using transparent inks to let the metallic look show through.” He adds that this technology has opened up new applications and design concepts previously unavailable.
High quality means higher value, and using foil can help achieve both. “Foil decorating primarily is used not only to attract attention to a product in a competitive retail environment, but also to indicate that the product has a higher value,” says Stewart Glazer, vice president of sales and marketing, Crown Roll Leaf.
But, according to Myron Werner, area sales manager, Kurz USA, the reason to use foil is “to significantly differentiate your product on the shelf and drive more sales.” He adds, “foil can deliver an upscale image or create a significant eye-catching graphic with creative diffractive patterns and colors.” He adds that foil decorating techniques also can offer brand recognition, brand protection, and brand authenticating features. Dave Carlson, principal, creative director, The Vyant Group, concurs. “I see a lot of brands vying for [the consumer's eye], and the use of foil stamping to capture their attention seems to be apparent today,” he says.
The same, yet different
As foil decorating has become more pervasive, techniques have improved and options have increased. But to a certain extent, foil decorating is what it is. “The only newer things are the more significant types of patterns and the effects they’re [creating],” says Giusto. He adds that technology has gotten to the point that much more intricate patterns are possible. “But pretty much, leaf is leaf,” he says.
At Crown Roll Leaf, a new technique is producing packaging that is environmentally friendly, profitable, and aesthetically attractive. “We are deeply involved in transfer laminating for a variety of packaging applications,” says Glazer. “The foil products that are transferred are generally holographic by category and leave no polyester on the substrate.”
Werner points to cold foil transfer as a driver for change and expansion of foil usage. “Cold foil has become a fairly common, and certainly [a] fully commercial process for many narrow-web label and carton converters that apply cold foil inline on typical roll-to-roll printing presses,” he says. “The newest commercial cold foiling technique is now the inline foiling units available on offset, sheetfed presses. Since both of these processes are inline on printing presses, converters are able to create their own foil colors using transparent inks to let the metallic look show through.” He adds that this technology has opened up new applications and design concepts previously unavailable.
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