New business opportunities for label printer
The beauty of multi-foil flat bed design
There is probably no product where the label is as important as for spirits or wine bottles. A large proportion of spirits buyers make their decision as to whether to buy a particular brandy, wine or sparkling wine based on what the label looks like.
Therefore a spirits or wine label must be an eye-catcher, as it is an important part of the purchase decision. But the quality of the labels has meanwhile reached a high level in general, what makes it difficult to differentiate. Noble designs, mostly finished with hot foil, dominate today's shelves. But the more complex the embellishment become, the higher the costs involved.
To stay ahead in this battle for customer attention, manufacturers are interested in new design options without driving packaging costs to immeasurable levels.
Creative designs and novel embellishments attract the attention of potential buyers
The answer to these requirements is flat bed embossing with multi-foiling. Flatbed embossing offers sophisticated embellishment techniques and the multi-foiling makes the process very efficient, as it allows single pass manufacturing of high end labels with more than one foil.
Flat bed multi-foiling: design meets efficiency
Foil stamping is a popular and effective method of refinement in the wine and spirits sector. Traditionally the in-line foiling is made in rotary systems. The disadvantage is that is needs several machine runs to apply more than one foil. Furthermore rotary foiling is perfect for closed materials but has several problems with open substrates.
Flat bed technologies overcomes these disadvantages. Systems with multistroke like the Pantec RHINO™ series allow several different foils to be applied to one label in one production run. For example, several foil colors can be used to emphasize individual text modules. With Multistroke also additional accentuation of graphic elements with transparent foil can be applied.
3D microembossed gold foil for essential elements , holographic foil for accentuation and transparent foil for a spatial impression of the backgroud level make this tequila label a unique piece of art.
Design effects with high end flat bed equipment
High end equipment provides the following design features:
1. Multistroke on single tool: Different foils in perfect register
2. High crisp relief
3. Microembossing
4. Foil in register (lenses, spatial fx ..)
Let´s have a closer look.
1. Multistroke on single tool: Different foils in perfect register
Multifoil systems with a revolvable foil head allow the application of several foils in one machine pass. Assuming a tool length of 410 mm and a label width of 10 cm, for example, up to 4 foils can be applied.
Single pass label production with 3-stroke foil decoration. The font is perfectly surrounded with a golden line, the font itself decorated with an embossed transparent foil. The 3rd foil attached is a holographic foil in the lower part of the label.
The special thing about it: since all embossing steps are on one and the same tool, there is no register deviation. This application precision results in completely new design possibilities in the use of hot foil as the adjacent example shows. In this way, specific borders can be placed around fonts or a wide variety of foil elements can be placed with the highest precision in relation to one another.
2. High, crisp relief
The flat embossing process is technically and economically the only way to apply relief structures, especially with uncoated substrates. The production of rotary foil embossing tools is very complex and the set-up on the machine is complicated and time-consuming.
The look of a hotfoil embossing pattern is mainly determined by contact time and temperature (heat transfer) and pressure. The better the combination of these parameters, the higher the resulting quality.
The flatbed process has a much higher contact time compared to rotary. This allows better transfer quality, cheaper foils and cheaper tools.
Flat bed embossing means long dwell time, zero register and high processing temperature resulting in outstanding 3D reliefs
In terms of pressure and temperature, the range of flatbed embossing equipment available on the market differs greatly. The Pantec RHINO™ for example combines a high embossing force of 60 tons and a process temperature of 180° C (356° F). This permits the creation of inimitable relief structures.
Flatbed equipment has established a fixed place for itself in the finishing of labels. With its RHINO™ system, Pantec was the first company to provide high quality embellishment with multi-foiling . To this day, their systems define the standard in label finishing.
With a perfect temperature/pressure/embossing time constellation during the embossing process, it´s even possible to change the structure of the substrate in such a way, that the relief structure remains unchanged and stable during subsequent overprinting.
"Flat bed embellishment - in our case with the Pantec RHINO™ - is a central factor in our range of services. With the results we inspire customers from all industries. "
Andreas Larcher,
Production Manager, Carini Etiketten, Austria
3. Microembossing - additional hot foil refinement for exceptional effect
Simple foil embossing has become the standard finish for high-quality labels. With micro and nano-embossing patterns such ordinary foil embossing can be enhanced with extraordinary optical effects. For example, the look of foiled frames can be extended by roughened nanostructure. Or foiled letters of brand or product names receive a bevel shape (partly) microembossed structure.
A bevel shape and partly microembossed structure makes this lettering a real eye-catcher
Further microembossing applications are holographic looking structures, micro texts for security purpose or individual paper structures. Buyers do not consciously see this kind of embellishment, but these effects make labels stand out from the crowd.
A roughened nanostructure gives a distinguished look to a label frame
Micro and nanoembossing is the upper class in embellishment, which requires high standards in the mechanical design of the machine. Furhtermore it needs perfect alignment between stamping tool and counterpart. But not just that: Only in combination with a high, uniform embossing pressure and a long dwell time these extraordinary effects can be achieved.
Get your multifoil label design inspiration!
At Labelexpo booth 1847, Pantec will be showing many outstanding multifoil designs and their production.
Don't miss it!
4. Foil insetting in perfect register
Fairly new effects available in the market are the so called lenses, which generate a spatial depth with an optical effect that's hard to look away from. The lenses are available in round or angular shapes, coloured in silver, gold, or transparent.
A view down onto a sealed rum bottle: the closure is printed with a compass, embellished with a lens perfectly fitting to the round shape, giving a spatial depth impression
With the right equipment, the lenses can be applied onto a pre-printed element as shown in the example above. This makes the effect of these lenses even more impressive. However, the prerequisite is a perfect application of the lens in register.
Stay tuned!
Any questions?
Do you have ideas for the implementation with multifoil equipment but are not sure if it works?
Just drop us an email, we are happy to support you
Watch it - touch it!
Flat bed embellishment can transfer a label to a piece of art standing out of the shelves. Convince yourself with a pack of samples:
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Tequila Label - 3-foil design: Microembossing | transparent foil / holographic foil
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Rum Label - 3-foil design: Microembossing | transparent foil | lens in register
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Chocolate packing: 3D hot foil embossing
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Various other samples from the areas of wine and spirits
And now? Read on and experience ..
.. more about the technical background of Multistroking
.. what you absolutely need to know about flat bed equipment
