Countdown to Drupa: Holography to be a major trend in 2016
Packaging featuring holographic images has been identified as one of the major trends for 2016. Advances in film coating and manufacturing technology continually push back the boundaries for the use of holographic materials in packaging, allowing for eye-catching visual effects. While holographic images serve as a tool to distinguish one’s brand, it can also help with regulatory compliance and anti-counterfeit efforts.
08 Feb 2016 | 3258 Views | By PrintWeek India
Holography is a technique that allows three dimensional effects or images to be displayed. In packaging, holographic effects often result from the use of special embossed materials combined, in some cases, with special inks and printing techniques.
The holographic effects are often created by metalising the substrate’s surface with a thin layer of silver aluminum. The holographic patterns are then embossed onto the aluminum surface. The surface structure diffracts the light, resulting in different colors and a three-dimensional appearance.
While this is a common method, there are different print providers with their own processes, involving special inks, substrates, or methods.
Viva Healthcare Packaging used diamond-patterned holographic print to illustrate the premium quality of beauty products, such as creams, gels, lotions or viscous liquids. Elif, a global supplier of flexible packaging solutions, with headquarters in Turkey, also provides holographic printing to add a three-dimensional quality to its customers’ packaging solutions. The metallic images also help against possible counterfeit, Elif states on its website, which is especially important for health care products.
For Dixie Toga, a leading manufacturer of packaging materials in Latin America, the efforts to use holographic printing in packaging production came with a special challenge. Because it was the first company to produce holographic packaging locally, it needed to find a way to communicate its capabilities to potential customers.
The big question was which product should Dixie Toga select to showcase its abilities? Because holographic printing can be used in many different industries and for a variety of consumer goods, Dixie Toga was reluctant to choose one over the other to avoid alienating potential clients. But how could the company showcase its capabilities if it didn’t have a product or at least a theme?
What seemed like the biggest weakness of the campaign, the lack of a product, turned out to be its greatest strength. Dixie Toga played with the concept ‘nothing inside’, ‘empty’ and created kits, which enabled Dixie Toga to explore the potential for holographic requirements within the various market sectors that they service. While the packaging is tongue in cheek to start with, the text changes depending on the angle at which the packaging is viewed, adding a humorous twist to the package.