Looking to add that punch, that stunning addition to your product’s package to make it jump off the shelf? There’s a variety of options to consider. And these competing ideas need to fit in with the right look for your brand. In the crucial few seconds of package sell time, making the right impression is crucial.
Holographic films have helped many companies become super successful in the shelf wars. Other articles have documented that success. This piece wants to walk you through the essential thinking behind considering a holographic package. It’s sort of a review of the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of holographic packaging.
Who uses holographic packaging? Many package designers are familiar with holographic treatments, either as a laminate film, or transfer films. As a result, holography is incorporated into their package design. And many large packaging printers/converters will also know the product, but what is sometimes less understood by them are the most economical ways to provide these holographic packaging solutions to you, the brand owner.
Holographic solutions are sometimes considered to be pricey solutions, but this is not the case. So what does one have to keep in mind when choosing holography? First, the economic print widths of the whole package layout needs to be considered—not only what is the optimal width for your processing plant; but also the optimal widths of your printer, your converter, your laminator, and finally what your holographic film supplier’s optimal widths are too. They all need to be considered in total.
Holography could adjust your economics elsewhere, but remember what the overall economics can be. If sales increase 30 to 50 percent as a result of a modest increase in the package cost, wouldn’t you consider that a relatively small investment that brings a much greater return? It’s really about product line growth and total margin contribution dollars, not about measuring the incremental cost increase per box—the classic pitfall of penny wise; dollar foolish.
When should you consider holography? The answer is simply whenever consideration is given to giving a package a different look — a new bottle shape, a can with spot colors, or a package that includes embossed effects, etc. Brand owners who have taken the plunge with new ideas are frequently rewarded with the eye catching attention, and increased sales and profits that result from new package looks.
Sometimes spot holography, serving as an accent, will suffice to provide some eye catching appeal. But other times, the whole package is dramatically improved by the addition of an overall holographic lift that a laminate or total transfer holographic foil can provide. And to make this investment wisely, some things need to be reviewed.
Where do you begin? From experience, one of the economies that’s too frequently overlooked is how wide to design your layout for converting stock. For instance, laminator costs and holographic film supplier costs are lower if you choose a “double up” layout. If you can make use of 28” X 40” sheets, the cost drops substantially. This sheet size, laminated double wide in one pass, drops the cost of holographic film by as much as 35 percent. And while laminated wider, it can still be sheeted to fit a wide variety of presses and converting equipment. These examples identify just how important layout selection criteria can be.
Second, let’s look at film types. There are laminates, which are generally polyester (PET) based, but sometimes polypropylene is also used. These films are glued — laminated — to board stock, typically SBS, which is then sheeted and sent to a converter for printing and die cutting into final packages. Additionally, biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) is also used in some applications. This film can be holographically effective, but many laminators prefer to work with PET, as its web handling properties tend to be more consistent. The end result though can be achieved with either film type.
The third item is the type of holographic pattern to use on a package. Within the holographic film “idea” world, there are three areas that are often considered when designing a package – standard holographic patterns, custom patterns and Rainbow. Standard patterns are holographic patterns that are sold to any number of users. These patterns include Pillars of Light (a.k.a. Double Rainbow), or Shards (a.k.a. Cracked Ice), or Aurora (a.k.a. Sparkles), to name just a few. These patterns are commonly used on various products, and you’d instantly recognize them. They also tend to show up regularly on an assortment of promotional packaging. In addition to these holographic patterns, there are literally dozens of other less widely used stock patterns that can be selected to provide a different dimensional effect. After approval of the artwork process, films are generally available in three weeks for stock patterns, to five weeks for new designs.
Custom holographic patterns are designed to work with, or reflect a particular image for your product. CFC International employs its own design and in-house holographic groups that can work with your designers and integrate artwork and holography together. The results of this approach can be a truly unified look to the package design, not always possible by use of available stock patterns.
Lastly, the biggest and most versatile idea in the holographic packaging world is Rainbow, an un-patterned holographic grating which provides a bright and colorful overall background effect that works well with a wide variety of translucent inks. In the case of all holographic films, ink selection makes a package go from colorful and fun, to subdued or very sophisticated.
So, why use holography? Holography can provide that differentiation and shelf appeal that brings your package to the forefront on the shelf. Holography has found good acceptance in the world of rigid and flexible packaging. Film laminates can be sandwiched in between printed film layers and provide dazzling effects. A recent project in Japan found an established candy manufacturer increase their sales by 150 percent after they added a 3D-Sleet holographic design to an already brightly colored package. Again, remember that using widths greater than 30-inches wide (single up) will affect the economics of using holographic film. Thirty inch patterns can be made double wide, increasing the utilization factor a lot, at both the laminator and the holographic film manufacturer.
How else is holography used on packaging? An increasingly popular alternative to hot stamp foils are cold transfer foils. These come in two types – Cold Selective Transfer Foils and Cold Total Transfer Foils.
Cold selective transfer foils act much like hot stamp foil, except that no special stamping equipment is needed. The foil transfers to a selected area by printing glue on to the selected area (versus printing an ink in that space). To accomplish this, you will need one station on a press for an adhesive (sometimes UV based adhesives are used), and then the spot transfer is accomplished easily and economically, by saving the laminator step entirely.
Cold total transfer foils transfer the holographic image to the board or film substrate. It doesn’t apply the film itself, and it is immediately printable. Unlike selective transfer that can be done by a printer, total transfer can be done by both printers and increasingly by more and more laminators. There are also some additional benefits to cold total transfer foils. Because no film is included, there is no film memory issue. This means, you can move more product per truck load, reducing transport costs. What’s more, it has an environmental edge vis-à-vis package recycling, and it has very attractive dead fold qualities when making light weight boxes (such as golf ball boxes or similar packages).
Remembering the who, what, when, where, why and how’s of holographic packaging can allow you to design and create the next unique and memorable package and gain market share. The bottom line on holographic packaging is that its economies and effectiveness merit serious consideration as you consider your next move in the shelf space wars. |
