Page 54 - Print21 March-April 2022

Branding & Design
IMAGES © Kurz
Labels drive brands forward
Stephen Pratt, MD of Kurz Australia and New Zealand, tells Labels21 how brand owners can move their labels into the fast lane with the help of advanced, sustainable decoration solutions.
MAKING MAGIC
Labels can also be enchanting. Mysterious effects can be achieved with the semi-transparent and high- gloss Lumafin stamping film from Kurz. It can make distinctive print motifs appear as though they are behind glass.
Designers can play with delicate depth effects, with additional colours and metallic effects. Rough or matte substrates can create particularly appealing contrasts.
Of interest to the food industry, Lumafin does not contain aluminium. Spot effects can then be achieved without the use of UV lacquers as part of the embossing process.
LIGHT UP
The cheerful play of light can also be captured on a label. The Light Line cold transfer products from Kurz shimmer in all the colours of the rainbow. Their diffractive elements reflect light in varying strengths. They tempt customers to play with the label and constantly discover new shimmering effects.
Taste experiences such as freshness and refreshing character can be conveyed via the label.
If brand owners want further
design effects, the substrate
finished by cold transfer can be overprinted. Kurz cold transfer products demonstrate their technical advantages, especially at high speeds. They are process-stable and offer good adhesion. Even the smallest design details are depicted with good edge definition.
Incidentally, the wide range of designs from the Light Line series can also be precisely applied using the hot stamping process.
GO FOR GLAMOUR
Metal-look labels tailored to the customer’s needs are on trend. They signal ‘We see you, you are important’. However, the marketing message does not only work on the customer. Brand owners can also be distinguished by labels in bright metallic designs.
Digital printing is key. Customised labels or special editions can be produced from quantities of just one. Metallisation combined with individualisation is a competitive advantage.
Kurz offers converters and printers complete digital solutions for finishing. The package includes a digital finishing unit with matching
The design of many brand labels is still not making the most of all the possibilities available – labels are
often inconspicuous, do not appeal to the senses and fail to
reflect current design trends. All of this would be easy to fix and is less expensive than brand owners may realise.
TOUCH TEMPTATION
Labels with visual and haptic stimuli attract more consumers. In research carried out by Kurz, together with
a German brand manufacturer, test subjects were offered two identical containers with different labels, one with a 3D effect, the other without. When the 3D label was touched, the holder could feel that the appearance was a visual illusion. Consumers
Special editions: Labels can be produced quickly with digital printing
overwhelmingly chose the products with the eye-catching label.
The container tested in the Kurz research had been finished with the Trustseal SFX single image effect from Kurz. It creates 3D looks on
a variety of surfaces. The visual effect can be achieved for almost any conceivable shape, up to a
size of 10 by 10 centimeters. It
can be created in any colour or metallisation, on paper or plastic, with hot or cold stamping processes.
So far, Kurz is the only company that offers this finishing effect. The deceptively real haptic effect on labels tempts customers to touch the product, and it also can protect the product and brand, because the surface can be equipped with intelligent security functions. So, counterfeiters have no chance.
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