Prepress design of the hottest carton printing and

Carton printing and packaging: Fantastic prepress design (Part 1)

although the basic carton packaging elements have remained the same in recent years, today's high demand for packaging has promoted the design of paper bags and made efforts to differentiate products on shelves. The latest cardboard and plastic boxes use unusual materials, special decorative techniques and clever shapes to highlight the packaging. The boundary between mass products and high-end products has also become blurred, and more and more products are sold in secondary packaging

main trends

although no innovation has impacted the secondary packaging market in recent years, brand marketers and their suppliers are making smart use of existing resources. The following will introduce several main trends that affect the structure of cardboard and plastic packaging boxes:

◆ unusual shapes

"we have more and more companies that require different shapes. They will say, 'this is a gift box. Let's make some changes that break through tradition, rather than a conventional flat shape'," said Patrick McGee, marketing manager of agi/klearfold in New York, USA. A relatively new change in this field is the use of injection molded plastic end caps. Agi/kleafold has recently applied this technology to P & G's Olay Regenerist brand. The final completion testing machine is a precision testing instrument that measures the mechanical properties, process properties, internal defects of metal materials, non-metallic materials, mechanical parts, engineering structures, etc. under various conditions and environments, and verifies the dynamic imbalance of rotating parts. The carton of the instrument looks more like a cylinder than a cube

even without plastic end caps, cardboard can still be used to produce cartons with distinctive shapes. For example, arkay packaging produces a kind of packaging inspired by origami craftsmanship for curious by Britney Spears cartons

◆ textured materials

"textured materials have become very popular," said Dennis bacchetta, marketing manager of diamond packaging in New York, USA. "Texture is often produced by embossing flowers on a whole sheet of paper. When people pick it up, they find that it gives a different touch than standard or smooth cardboard. Although we can use the final effect of smooth or matte, most customers prefer a matte effect combined with textured materials."

other suppliers also agree. Many manufacturers and packagers of nursing products are looking for materials with different types of texture. They are looking for cardboard with a rough effect of gravel grain, a pile feeling, etc. Texture can also be produced by using coatings

◆ the importance of displaying the main packaging

has been increasing for consumers to have a glimpse of the inner packaging. "A considerable amount of money is invested in some aspects of design, development, molding and inner packaging, which can make them become carved and collector's items," Norman Kay, President of IBC shell packaging in the United States, said. "More and more, with the right products, packaging boxes are showing you an internal and visual hint you can get."

although this effect can be achieved through the opening of cardboard, other brand marketers are choosing to achieve this goal through a combination of packaging - a plastic window embedded in a cardboard structure. Some experts believe that many businesses have noticed that cardboard and plastic are a very effective combination in the future

◆ flashing dazzling

the use of flashing and eye-catching materials is also emerging. Special effect inks, coatings and metal materials have also joined this trend

"customers are increasingly pursuing to make themselves different, but at the same time (1) cement injection costs. This is why ink manufacturers are more recommending innovative products for litho offset press, such as metal ink or pearlescent oil with larger sheets," said the sales and marketing director of Wilco, Canada. Many people are looking for the next level of differentiation, and this is a different material, which may be holographic or silver foil

some people in the industry also believe that this year will focus on color. The industry will see many dazzling cardboard with many decorations. In addition to the trends in carton construction, suppliers are also aware of trends in the secondary packaging market. The most noticeable change is the number of mass market product categories contained in secondary carton packaging

a generally accepted trend is that mass market marketers are using more secondary packaging. Marketers who are traditionally restricted to department store grade products, or who traditionally strictly follow the sales level of department stores, are beginning to develop brands for the mass market itself. Traditional mass marketers are also adopting or encouraging higher value mass brands in their markets. They gradually established their brand to the level of department store products

novel carton structure

the excellent works of 2005 selected by the national paperboard packaging competition in the United States reflect the popular trend of many carton packaging. Here are some award-winning carton packaging in detail

carton packaging inspired by origami

traditional by Britney Spears

gold medal winner of cosmetics

manufacturer: arkay packaging

User: Elizabeth Arden

detailed introduction: this packaging is characterized by an origami inspired carton, which involves the development trend of packaging towards unusual shapes. This carton package is assembled from three cardboard end products and two internal vacuum forming discs that secure the perfume bottle. The packaging cover is opened with half of a vacuum forming disc to show the internal packaging

another feature of this package is its dazzling glitter - another trend recognized by suppliers. The cover of the packing box is flat and hot, and the machine will stop immediately in case of abnormal conditions; The experimental report: (according to the needs of customers) is printed with three separate entrances: pink, blue and silver foil. High gloss UV coating is also applied

promotional packaging using a variety of printing technologies

gravure boxes

gold medal winner for self promotion

manufacturer: Wilco Inc.

detailed introduction: this packaging box is rich in color, through the use of five color gravure printing, four printing colors and a milky white ink. In addition, the three hot printing colors give the packaging box some flicker and luster, following today's trend

this packaging is a challenge for manufacturers. "What makes this package unusual is that we use offset printing in the second process and then use gravure printing. Moreover, this carton is hot stamped many times in perfect order," the relevant person said

packaging of enamel care products

enamel care cartons

Gold Award for innovative products, printing and marketing/promotional packaging for Chinese manufacturing winner

manufacturer: F.M. Howell company

User: Ferrara company

detailed introduction: as part of the publicity campaign of enamel care (enamel care products) launched arm hammer, this product is flat mailed, An opening with a molar pattern that pops out when opened. According to the manufacturer, "the challenge here is to accurately cut and match the irregular patterns of molars to obtain the maximum three-dimensional effect."