See Me, Feel Me
You don’t have to be a pinball wizard to make the product connection.
August 2006 by Jean-Marie Hershey
|
Give a present to a child of a certain age and she’ll likely be more interested in the box than its contents. Well, maybe she’s onto something. Secondary cosmetic packaging does more than hold a glass, plastic, or metal container. It carries and promotes the brand. Ideally, it also should carry enough shelf appeal to catch the eye and sufficient emotional content to capture a consumer’s heart—without incurring additional manufacturing costs. That’s a heroic order for any substrate.
Across product categories, customer requests for innovative printed products have grown dramatically in recent years, in keeping with a broad-based change in print purchasing behaviors that has positioned more and more products in the luxury end of the market. In the consumer goods market in particular, brand-sensitive customers are discovering what cosmetic manufacturers have known all along: that high-quality printing and finishing can increase the value of their products.
The production of special printed effects depends on a precise combination of factors, including the printing or coating application (metallic, matte, or gloss, etc.), the mode of application (spot, flood, dispersion, or fine detail) and the substrate, (coated or uncoated, compound or synthetic). Bringing all of these elements together is a complex process. However, when the print discipline, application, and substrate align as they should, the stage is set for a perfect marriage of form, function, and aesthetic appeal. In terms of the print discipline, offset lithography is typically the method used for the printing of cosmetic paperboard packaging and labels.
Differentiation is the name of the game
Most secondary or exterior packaging is made of paperboard—in sheets, tubes, and an endless variety of custom shapes and sizes. In terms of package design, printing, and converting, paperboard brings several advantages to the table. According to Clare Mateo, European sales and packaging manager for MeadWestvaco, the printing possibilities for paperboard are many and varied; colors turn out crisp and bright, and a variety of basis weights and finishes enable end users to execute complex designs without compromising quality or violating budget constraints. For intimate care applications especially, user-friendly paperboard tends to reassure with soft or softly textured finishes, especially when compared with synthetic alternatives.
“Aesthetic features designed to create visual impact or surface enhancements (e.g., textures) designed to produce a unique tactile experience can help a brand owner break through the clutter,” says Andy Luke, senior marketing director for MeadWestvaco’s Packaging Resources Group. “The approach, however, must fit the brand. In some cases, where a clean look is more in keeping with the brand image, less is more.”
Across product categories, customer requests for innovative printed products have grown dramatically in recent years, in keeping with a broad-based change in print purchasing behaviors that has positioned more and more products in the luxury end of the market. In the consumer goods market in particular, brand-sensitive customers are discovering what cosmetic manufacturers have known all along: that high-quality printing and finishing can increase the value of their products.
The production of special printed effects depends on a precise combination of factors, including the printing or coating application (metallic, matte, or gloss, etc.), the mode of application (spot, flood, dispersion, or fine detail) and the substrate, (coated or uncoated, compound or synthetic). Bringing all of these elements together is a complex process. However, when the print discipline, application, and substrate align as they should, the stage is set for a perfect marriage of form, function, and aesthetic appeal. In terms of the print discipline, offset lithography is typically the method used for the printing of cosmetic paperboard packaging and labels.
Differentiation is the name of the game
Most secondary or exterior packaging is made of paperboard—in sheets, tubes, and an endless variety of custom shapes and sizes. In terms of package design, printing, and converting, paperboard brings several advantages to the table. According to Clare Mateo, European sales and packaging manager for MeadWestvaco, the printing possibilities for paperboard are many and varied; colors turn out crisp and bright, and a variety of basis weights and finishes enable end users to execute complex designs without compromising quality or violating budget constraints. For intimate care applications especially, user-friendly paperboard tends to reassure with soft or softly textured finishes, especially when compared with synthetic alternatives.
“Aesthetic features designed to create visual impact or surface enhancements (e.g., textures) designed to produce a unique tactile experience can help a brand owner break through the clutter,” says Andy Luke, senior marketing director for MeadWestvaco’s Packaging Resources Group. “The approach, however, must fit the brand. In some cases, where a clean look is more in keeping with the brand image, less is more.”
Companies Mentioned:
 |
|
