Landa Brings the Colors of the World to Life

The job called for twenty-four spot colors on one 8.5x11" sheet, and the customer — Crayola — needed 230,000 within a couple of weeks. A tall order, and one that Jordan Patterson, president at Virtual Packaging in Grapevine, TX, might have politely declined a couple of years ago. 

All 24 colors, by the way, are skin tones.

“No one else can print it,” is how an associate of Patterson’s put it when she broached him about the Crayola “Colors of the World” job, and Patterson thought that she was probably right. Since 2019, Virtual Packaging — a full-service packaging prototype and package printing house — has been equipped with a Landa (Booth N2533) S10 Nanographic Printing Press, delivering high speed, quality on par with offset, B1 format, and — especially meaningful for the Crayola job — the ability to print 96% of Pantone colors.

The Landa hit 18 of the 24 skin tones perfectly in the first attempt. Three of the remaining six colors were approved a subsequent time, and the last three after that. Each of the three times took about 90 minutes, and then the full 230,000 run took a day. (A few months later, Crayola ordered 400,000 more.) 

Engineered for packaging and converting applications, the B1 (41") format Landa S10 Nanographic Printing Press delivers mainstream packaging productivity with plate-free, offset print quality. The Landa S10 prints 96% of Pantone colors, and delivers 6,500 sph on any off-the-shelf substrate from 2.4-32 pt. 

“It took two or three weeks to do the job, start to finish, and most of the time was spent shipping proofs back and forth,” Patterson says. “They were shocked.”

Crayola Colors of the World crayons are 24 specially formulated crayons designed to mirror and represent more than 40 global skin tones across the world. The crayon colors step down from light to deep shades across rose, almond, and golden undertones, resulting in a 24 global shade palette that authentically reflects the full spectrum of human complexions.

With Colors of the World crayons, Crayola says it hopes to cultivate a more inclusive world for children of all ages, races, cultures, and ethnicities. For his part, Patterson says it is gratifying to work on projects like this one, where Virtual Packaging’s 24 color skin tone “swatch” sheet is provided as an index for the Crayola Colors of the World project paper pack. 

“It was a privilege to be part of the Colors of the World project,” Patterson says. “Being able to say ‘yes’ to the job, not just because we could get it done so quickly and with amazing color, but also because we could do it on a press that was engineered for maximum eco-friendliness and sustainability, makes the work that much more rewarding. I’m proud of our team, and grateful for the opportunity.”

Virtual Packaging’s focus on superior quality, speed, and sustainability has made it a package printer and package prototype creator of choice among hundreds of customers throughout North America. Patterson’s often bold approach attracts like-minded talent, and the result is a company culture that’s comfortable being on the cutting edge of package printing technology. In addition to being one of the first 100% digital production plants for folding cartons, Virtual Printing is now among a small number of package printers able to offer 100% recyclable packaging production.