Materials: Creating a splash with special ink

Andy Warhol, the American pop artist who famously painted cans of Campbell’s soup along with celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, put glitter on some of his later portraits. It was a neat, and simple, trick – suddenly, an otherwise standard portrait showed off a spadeful of bling.

Most of all, the effect was a form of premium branding. And while Warhol and the so-called Factory, where he produced his portraits of the rich and famous, were brands in their own right, the glitter portraits were the top-of-the-range products.

Modern brands are after that standout bling too and, like Warhol, many are turning to inventive uses of inks and coatings to make their packaging seem that little bit more exciting than everyone else’s. In fact, where inks were once seen as a basic consumable in the packaging production process, they are now often at the very heart of the brand experience. An unusual texture or a pack that changes colour could make all the difference in that critical first visual or physical interaction between brand and consumer.

The more senses you can appeal to, the more likely the success of the pack, says Ann Bonner, marketing manager at beverage can giant Rexam. Sight, touch and even smell are all being used in inks and coatings to enhance brand credentials.

Classy cans
The drinks market has cottoned on to the possibilities of inks and coatings more than most, and one brand that has recently taken the plunge is brewer Amstel. It has just launched a 500ml beer can, produced by Rexam, featuring a matt varnish that is designed to make the can look classier than its competitors. Natalia Agafonova, Amstel brand manager, says: We wanted to design the can with a premium look and chose matt varnish to give the can maximum shelf appeal.

But Amstel is just the latest in a number of drinks companies exploring the possibilities of ink effects. Last November, Nestea launched a limited edition can in Spain with a tactile varnish, while another Rexam customer, energy drink Relentless, has made its matt can a key part of its on-shelf presence.

Colour-changing inks have also been a hit in the drinks sector, not least because of the temperature-sensitive nature of the product inside. US beer brand Coors, for instance, introduced thermochromic inks when it relaunched the packaging for its Coors Light beer in the UK last September.

The technology, which had been used in Coors products in the US since 2007, turns part of the image on the Ball Packaging-made cans blue when it reaches its optimal drinking temperature of two degrees. Andy Cray, Coors director of customer marketing, says that the effect is a key part of the pack’s great shelf and fridge standout.

There is plenty of action in special effect coatings away from the world of drinks, too. Scented inks, for instance, can give a unique appeal to certain products. But one company, cosmetics brand Urban Decay, has taken the concept a little bit further by adding pheromones – the chemicals given off by the body to attract a mate – to the inks on its newly-launched lipgloss packs.

Customers are expected to take the so-called Pocket Rocket with them on nights out and rub it to release the pheromones in the ink, thereby upping the sexual tension, when they meet someone they are attracted to. Whether it works is unclear, but in this case it probably doesn’t matter – the ink becomes a playful marketing ploy that matches the brand completely.

Boosting brands
Strengthening a brand’s identity is a key element of choosing whether to use a special effect ink, says Dan Einzig, managing director of London-based design agency Mystery. The effects have to translate and fit with the whole brand design, he says.

Einzig cites the example of packaging that Mystery created for a USB memory stick, which used a silver metallic ink to convey that the product was designed for real techies. But he adds: Inks and coatings are a part of the design process but a special ink alone won’t make the packaging amazing.

One effect of a special ink can is to change the perception of a material. Barry Ferne, business development manager for ink manufacturer Sun Chemical’s packaging division, says that a major area of growth in recent years has been tactile coatings in the bakery sector. The brands are trying to take the emphasis away from plastic packaging so that it has a nicer soft touch and a paper-fibre look. he says. When people think of inks, they generally think of the colour bases. The difference is that you can get an overall effect rather than just colours in a pattern.

Another important consideration is cost. The exact cost of using a special ink or coating depends on a range of factors, but one thing is certain: it costs more than standard printing. What’s more, the current proliferation of value ranges is putting the brakes on extra investment in special ink effects. Ferne says that most of his customers are currently spending more time printing those ranges, with their simple two- or three-colour patterns, than anything else.

David Ward, managing director of ink manufacturer Stehlin Hostag’s UK business, adds that the credit crunch has forced brands to re-evaluate their spend on ink effects, even though special ink effects are beginning to make their way from the top-end ranges to the mid-range supermarket products. The clear trend at the moment is that people are looking to achieve the effect they already have in a cheaper way. But once people have explored that area, I’m sure it will come back, he says.

Rexam’s Bonner says, however, that changing the inks on packaging can be the most cost-effective way to spruce it up – for packer-fillers, for instance, it is cheaper to revamp the designs and ink effects than to re-tool a packing line to accommodate a new packaging format.

There is an environmental aspect to some of these effects, too. Sun Chemical’s Ferne says that pearlescent finishes, for instance, are becoming popular as an alternative to metalised polyester board, or metpol, that can be hard to recycle. Metpol is not very good for recycling. One thing to compensate is to use a pearlescent. It may not look exactly the same but it’s an ordinary ink, so it can be recycled, he says.

Inks are no longer a basic consumable, then, but a gateway to a stronger brand. If packaging buyers are holding back now, perhaps they are missing a trick: as the recession bites and the value ranges become kings of the supermarket shelves, there has perhaps never been a better time to invest in shelf standout. A bit of glitz could be the way forward. Just ask Andy Warhol.

CUTTING COLOURS
It’s one thing to use special inks, but there is also a financial benefit to reducing the number of base colours used, writes Emma Rink.

Last year, FMCG giant Unilever’s Food division rolled out a new system that reduced the number of colours of ink used in its spread and cooking packaging from more than 100 to just six.

The Anglo-Dutch group achieved the reduction as part of its Rainbow project, launched in partnership with branding and design group LFH.

Rainbow is based on LFH’s own colour harmonisation system, Chapter 1. LFH managing director Graham Hawkins explains the company’s objective of the best repro-duction in the minimum number of colours.

The process is different from generic systems, as it is carefully tailored to the reproduction of the brand colours. This enables the reduction of the number of colours used. We’re now working with 4.7 base colours on average, he says.

Hawkins says the process can be applied to most print techniques. As well as cost and environmental benefits, the production of press-accurate proofs from the outset ensures that the printed result is entirely predictable. Once a printer prints it is possible to measure results, not just visually, but now also mathematically, he adds.

The cost savings involved are significant. As well as its involvement with Unilever, Chapter 1 is attracting interest from other companies, which Hawkins hopes will eventually make it industry standard.

At this time, when people are counting their pennies, we can introduce Chapter 1 into businesses without affecting quality, while delivering substantial cost savings.

KEY EFFECTS
Phosphorescent
These glow-in-the-dark inks absorb UV light from daylight or artificial light and then glow for up to eight hours.

Thermochromic
The inks change colour as the temperature around them changes.

Pearlescent
A shiny effect similar to a pearl. Metallic pearlescents also exist that combine a metal effect with the pearl finish.

Metallics
Inks actually made with metal pigments that give a metallic finish. High-end products can give an almost mirror-like effect when printed on certain materials.

Tactile
These lacquers change the physical feel of a pack and can give a range of finishes from coarse to silky. They can also enhance colour effects.

Aroma
Popularly known as scratch’n’sniff, these inks release an odour or fragrance when rubbed or scratched.

Fluorescent
These are strong, bright and clean colours that fluoresce in daylight conditions. Invisible fluorescents also exist that become visible under UV light.

Sparkle
The inks glitter to recreate, for instance, a starry night sky.

Source: Sun Chemical

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