Printing Techniques Create Sense of Luxury

SpiderMan

We’ve all heard the old rumor that print has been dying for years now, but some interesting things have surfaced over the last few years that challenge that sentiment.

Aside from numerous print magazines moving digital, only to return to print a few years later, print has begun a major shift towards a luxurious medium.

Covers of magazines have begun to leap off the page with special effects like raised UV and embosses.

Packages are captivating attention with contrasting textures and intricate foil designs.

The same design on a computer screen simply can’t compete with this element of luxury that the printed piece can provide.

You can’t scratch and sniff a pixel. You can’t make design elements seemingly jump off the screen with raised textures as you scroll from top to bottom. You can’t convey your particular message by selecting a high-quality paper that feels as soft as the leather your products are made of.

Print is the doorway to so much opportunity, and brands everywhere are looking to create a luxury appeal in their communications.  The key challenge up until now has been finding a short-run solution that can provide that extra pop.

We recognize this at Scodix and are committed to helping commercial printers provide in-house special effects solutions that will help their customers bring the luxury feel to their brand. What’s more, we’re helping them do it with digital technology.

Infusing Luxury into Print

Designers looking to add a luxurious touch to their projects have a wide range of options available.

Embossing helps to create a sense of solidity and can raise the perceived value of printed collateral and packaging. Traditionally, embossing can be expensive. You’ve got to cover the cost of two dies (one for the front of the sheet, one for the back of the sheet), and it also requires a separate pass through equipment.

Not to mention, you also end up with a dent on the backside of the sheet that should be carefully designed around. Our Scodix SENSE™ application takes that nuisance out of the equation by simulating the emboss on a single side of the sheet.

High Gloss is everywhere you look these days. The contrast between matte and gloss captures the reader’s attention, and captivates them into learning more about your offering.

And just like the color black, gloss doesn’t just come in a one size fits all shininess. The highest gloss available for printed materials is 99 Gloss Units (GU), and can also be applied in varying heights and densities. Scodix SENSE™ technology makes it possible to build gloss up to 250 microns in polymer height (double that of selective varnish) while also adjusting the density from 1% to 100% to make any design standout. Our gloss has a “lens effect” that also helps colors pop right off the page.

Metallics are also an excellent way to add a little jazz to your printed piece. Traditionally, metallic ink is laid down in the offset printing process, requiring volume to justify the use of metallics. Scodix set out to change that.

With our digital enhancement technologies, you can lay metallic down for shorter run projects. Utilizing the CMYK process combined with Scodix SENSE™, printers can now lay down an unlimited number of metallic colors in a single pass. Talk about a cost-effective solution!

And we didn’t even talk about the variable capabilities of these special effects. Tune in to our next post, where we’ll discuss creating variable special effects that can enable you to personalize a luxurious approach.

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