Instant Attention Grabber
Adding stamping or embossing effects provides instant cost-effective value to any package.
August 2008 by Chris Mc Loone
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This month and next month, packagePRINTING will cover two types of packaging enhancements closely linked together: stamping and embossing, and next month, foil decorating.
According to Steve Lee, vice president and director of technical support with RotoMetrics, “Stamping and embossing have quickly become recognized as value enhancements.” It’s well known that consumers experience a tremendous amount of visual noise as they peruse store shelves. “In the competitive retail world,” says Christopher Raney, vice president, folding carton, Bobst, “you need a package to stand out on the shelf. Whether it is foil or embossing, they will both make a difference.”
Jim Kingsby, technical service manger, ITW Foilmark adds, “Foil stamping and embossing give a package eye-popping appeal a the point of purchase. The content in the package is only as good or unique as the label it bares.”
Steady progress
There have been several notable enhancements to stamping and embossing equipment during the last 10 years. The most recognizable improvements have been in speed and efficiency.
Lee states that equipment speeds have increased and foil stamping and embossing have kept pace by introducing high-speed foils, quick changeover foil stamping and embossing dies/tools, and improvements in product performance.
Frank La Croix, vice president, Matik North America, says, “In the last 10 years, we have seen the ability to run sheetfed foil stamping presses faster. This is brought about by new foil formulations that transfer at these higher speeds, and foil tension controls that allow for quick transfer of the foil onto the sheet without creating any slack in the foil web that results in web breaks.”
Raney adds that key improvements have been the speed of foil stamping, which is possible because of accurate foil advances. “Register systems are either conventional (foil effectively registered to the sheet edge) or dynamic (allowing the foil image to be positioned to the print for much higher register accuracy),” he says.
Some advances in stamping and embossing machinery have taken the process out of the finishing room and back to the press room. In the case of cold-foil application, “This gives converters and printers enhanced capabilities including the ability to produce a product in a single-pass process,” says Mark Rasmussen, product manager, postpress packaging, Heidelberg USA.
Rasmussen also lists technology improvements that greatly reduce waste and increase productivity as improvements during the last 10 years. He cites better web tension control systems that allow optimal control of foiling materials as the impetus for waste reduction and increased productivity. “With computer-assisted manufacturing, more intricate designs can be created less expensively. Specialty embossing and foil stamping is more widely accessible now—not just the exclusive domain of the trade finishers,” he says.
According to Steve Lee, vice president and director of technical support with RotoMetrics, “Stamping and embossing have quickly become recognized as value enhancements.” It’s well known that consumers experience a tremendous amount of visual noise as they peruse store shelves. “In the competitive retail world,” says Christopher Raney, vice president, folding carton, Bobst, “you need a package to stand out on the shelf. Whether it is foil or embossing, they will both make a difference.”
Jim Kingsby, technical service manger, ITW Foilmark adds, “Foil stamping and embossing give a package eye-popping appeal a the point of purchase. The content in the package is only as good or unique as the label it bares.”
Steady progress
There have been several notable enhancements to stamping and embossing equipment during the last 10 years. The most recognizable improvements have been in speed and efficiency.
Lee states that equipment speeds have increased and foil stamping and embossing have kept pace by introducing high-speed foils, quick changeover foil stamping and embossing dies/tools, and improvements in product performance.
Frank La Croix, vice president, Matik North America, says, “In the last 10 years, we have seen the ability to run sheetfed foil stamping presses faster. This is brought about by new foil formulations that transfer at these higher speeds, and foil tension controls that allow for quick transfer of the foil onto the sheet without creating any slack in the foil web that results in web breaks.”
Raney adds that key improvements have been the speed of foil stamping, which is possible because of accurate foil advances. “Register systems are either conventional (foil effectively registered to the sheet edge) or dynamic (allowing the foil image to be positioned to the print for much higher register accuracy),” he says.
Some advances in stamping and embossing machinery have taken the process out of the finishing room and back to the press room. In the case of cold-foil application, “This gives converters and printers enhanced capabilities including the ability to produce a product in a single-pass process,” says Mark Rasmussen, product manager, postpress packaging, Heidelberg USA.
Rasmussen also lists technology improvements that greatly reduce waste and increase productivity as improvements during the last 10 years. He cites better web tension control systems that allow optimal control of foiling materials as the impetus for waste reduction and increased productivity. “With computer-assisted manufacturing, more intricate designs can be created less expensively. Specialty embossing and foil stamping is more widely accessible now—not just the exclusive domain of the trade finishers,” he says.
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Package Printing, Second Edition
