Holographic packaging has been a staple in luxury labels and cartons since the mid-1900’s.
From expensive hot foil stamping to the economic cold foil printing process, holographic packaging has evolved to meet the demands of the market today. According to the Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA), “environmental sustainability and responsibility continue to be hot topics in the graphic arts arena,” leading K Laser Technology to formulate a new holographic substrate option for eco-conscious offset printers and packaging designers. Meet Viridian™ Eco-Paper and Eco-Paperboard® – the newest sustainable holographic substrate to come to the market.
A New Way To Foil In Offset
To achieve stunning holographic packaging in the past, offset printers needed to invest in a cold foil rail system, specialty adhesives, printing plates, and other foiling supplies and inventory space. Even more, achieving proper registration, mastering cold foil release, and reducing waste have been the source of production downtime for many offset printers today. Due to expensive investments and lack of experienced foil printing operators, many converters have unfortunately shied away from foil printing altogether. This has left designers in a creative stall with their printers and caused offset converters to lose premium customers to their foil printing competitors.
Thankfully, there is now an easy-to-use, sustainable solution in the market. Viridian™ Eco-Paper and Eco-Paperboard® from K Laser Technology was formulated to solve the modern-day issues plaguing both printers and designers. Available in sheets or full rolls, Viridian™ is available as a sustainable paper or paperboard substrate that is pre-printed with a flood coat foil pattern or registered hologram. With the specialty effects pre-printed, you can create premium designs by overprinting the substrate with white ink using various screens of opacity to cover, reveal, and colorize the holographic underlayer in a single pass. Now, offset printers can remain competitive in the holographic packaging marketing without investing in additional equipment and supplies or the specialized operator skills for foil printing. Additionally, Designers have the opportunity to enhance product packaging designs using the offset printer of their choice, regardless of foiling capabilities. Add in the sustainable properties of Viridian™ and it’s a win-win-WIN for all!
The Beauty Of Sustainability
Creating sustainable packaging and supply solutions should be the number one goal for every industry supplier and manufacturer. Consumers are growing more concerned for the future of earth and have placed a large responsibility on brands to become more eco-friendly. For products to be truly green, the substrates, supplies, processes, and technologies used to create them must also be green. At K Laser Technology, we believe sustainability is a beautiful thing and printers/designers shouldn’t have to choose between green packaging and holographic packaging – you can have both!
As a manufacturer of holographic substrates for over 20 years, K Laser Technology is leading the charge for sustainability in metallic and holographic specialty materials. Formulated to be eco-friendly, Viridian™ Eco-Paper and Eco-Paperboard® eliminates the laminating film previously required to print metallic effects on paper and paperboard. By eliminating the plastic film, packaging produced with Viridian™ can now be 100% recycled. Rest assured, there is minimal metal transferred to the paper or paperboard, which does not affect the re-pulping process, making it a fully renewable solution.
Viridian™ Eco-Paper and Eco-Paperboard® can be used to create green folding cartons, mailers, hangtags, postcards, labels, and many other luxury paper and paperboard products. K Laser customers have access to the largest selection of holographic patterns in the industry – over 150+ patterns! With assistance from the K Laser Cold Foil Design Lab, both designers and printers can collaborate with our experienced foil designers to create holographic packaging that is both stunning and sustainable. Located in Sarasota, FL, the 1,500 square foot Design Lab is equipped with premium A/V technology and an animated environment to spark creativity and collaboration. With a digital embellishment unit on site, visitors can receive holographic print proofs to finalize their designs before the full production run. Learn about the importance of print proofs in our blog on The Power of Specialty Print Proofs for Cold Foil Printing.
Holographic Packaging For Our World
There is one thing every single human has in common – Earth – and it is our responsibility to create solutions that keep our world healthy for the generations after us. With Viridian™ Eco-Paper and Eco-Paperboard®, it’s now easier than ever for printers and designers to make the shift to sustainable packaging solutions without losing the luster of specialty design. No more excuses. The time is now to consider the impact of packaging design and create a future focused on green solutions.
Contact the K Laser Technology team at https://www.coldfoil.com or call 941-500-1370. Our experienced designers and customer service team is ready to assist you with FREE product samples, FREE print mock ups and design assistance, and/or a FREE cold foil pattern guide. Through collaboration and innovative solutions, we can all build a better world through beautiful, holographic packaging and design. Contact our team today!
