Prime Time for Packaging

During the last few months, packagePRINTING has explored various finishing effects converters can employ to give their customers’ packages the necessary zing to draw and hold the attention of consumers as they walk down the aisles. The holidays are approaching fast, and not only are consumers shopping for good old Aunt Joan, but if the packaging does a good enough job, they may pick out something for themselves. And it’s not only textiles, electronics, or toys—many people enjoy foil-wrapped candies around the holidays. How will consumers find them if they don’t jump out at them from the jam-packed shelves?

Stamping/embossing avenue

Like anything else, going down the stamping-and-embossing road largely depends on the applications and customer expectations. But, why do it? With only seconds available to catch a consumer’s eye, it is one very viable avenue to take. “In the store, the package is the salesperson for the product so it has to be able to speak for itself and grab the consumer’s attention,” says Gary Smith, vice president of sales, RotoMetrics. “Attention-grabbing packaging is vital to attracting consumers as well as providing inherent value, which ultimately provides a better financial return for the customer.”

Rich Zeller, senior product manager, ITW Foils, adds, “Stamping and embossing can reinvent any package and increase appearance and shelf visibility. By combining stamping with embossing, you can create a more striking 3D image, adding more visual impact to your design.”

Laying it down

According to Smith, the hot stamping process consists of three elements: heat, time, and pressure. “The correct combination of these three elements allows processes, including printing, to reach speeds of 100 meters/minute,” he says, adding that a quality set of engineered embossing cylinders allows the embossing process to typically run at the same speeds as other printing processes.

The highest-quality foil stamping, according to Dave Stollenwerk, executive vice president, American Die Technology, “is done with a heated brass cylinder applied to heat-sensitive foil, which transfers the engraved image to the label substrate.” He adds that embossing processes create a raised image such as the product name, company logo, or other lettering or designs to make the product even more eye-catching and improve visibility from different viewing angles.

Alternatives? Not many

Stamping and embossing do affect the overall printing process. “The impact on the overall printing process is that they generally require slower run speeds and more experience from operators,” says Stollenwerk. “Obviously tooling costs also increase, but the resulting high-end look of the package yields higher profits to the printer, as well as the producer of the product being sold.”

For customers who want the job a little faster, and maybe for a lower price, there are alternatives, but not many. “Cold foil and metallic inks are options that the graphics arts industry uses to add more metallic looks and shine to the printed world,” says Larry Hutchison, UEI Group, a manufacturer of rotary hot stamping and embossing equipment exclusively distributed by RotoMetrics. Zeller adds, “Metallic ink is another process used, but clearly does not offer the same quality and visual pop of traditional hot foil stamping. Metallic inks do not offer the same reflective mirror finish as foil does. Diffraction foils can build depth and movement into the design, which is not possible with metallic inks.”

“There is no true substitute for hot-foil stamping,” says Stollenwerk. “There are other processes attempting to substitute for foil stamping, such as simple metallic looking inks and some cold-foiling processes, but neither can match the luster, clarity, and sharpness of a hot-foil stamped image, especially with higher detail images.” He adds that compared to cold-foil methods, hot foil offers a wider range of choices, and is generally easer to run on the press with fewer registration issues and more reliable end results.

Regarding alternatives within the hot-stamping realm, the current debate, according to Mike See, Precision Hot Stamp, Inc., is between manufacturers of solid brass tools and the magnetic plates and sleeve stamping. “No technique will truly rival a CNC-engraved solid in registration and definition,” he says. “A brass solid has no equal in long-run jobs, as it has a fairly endless lifespan. An acid-etched plate or sleeve on the other hand does well enough for short runs, particularly if registration is not an issue.”

Suitable for the short run?

Stamping and embossing can be done at relatively high speeds. For example, embossing using a die will run at a higher speed than screen-printed emboss, though, using the screen printing process will be less expensive. The converter also saves time on waiting for die or mag plate delivery when using screen printing. Stollenwek contends that methods such as cold-foil stamping and embossing with polymer plates can make stamping/embossing suitable for shorter runs, “but a lower image quality will have to be accepted [as well as] less detailed designs,” he says.

Cost is obviously an issue, and longer runs may help justify the cost of embossing tooling. However, the answer is “yes” when asking whether or not stamping/embossing is suitable for shorter runs.

“Through the use of digital processes and a variety of low-cost solid and flexible stamping/embossing tools, the use of foil stamping can be very economical on shorter runs,” says Smith. “Short runs are not only affordable, but the turn time is faster today than in years past, again due to improvements in the tooling and foil in recent years.”

Sustainable effects

Converters can rest assured that foil stamping and embossing are completely eco-friendly and there should be no concerns regarding negative long-term environmental effects of the end design, according to Zeller. “Foil stamping offers no harm to the environment because it is a dry process and does not utilize solvents or inks with the technique. Foil-stamped paper can also be recycled,” he says.

Hutchison adds, “On the final decorated product, both foil-stamped and embossed packaging can be recyclableand biodegreadeable. However, during both hot and cold foiling processes, the polyester film carrier that the foil is built on is not recyclable or biodegradeable.”

Advantage...the application

If there is one thing clear after reading packagePRINTING’s coverage of these types of finishing effects, it’s that one size does not fit all, and which process to use will depend on the application and how much a customer is willing to spend. Stamping and embossing, like various other finishing processes, will continue to improve in quality and price. As such, it continues to see growth in the packaging industry, particularly in wine, beverage, cosmetics, and other consumer applications.

According to Hutchison, continued investment in research and development by equipment manufacturers has allowed for greater speeds and versatility, which in turn, has lowered the packaging manufacturer’s costs.

“The printing industry will continue to drive development of improved, but cost-effective methods to fill this need with the highest possible quality packaging,” Stollenwerk concludes. pP