With a new year underway, marketers and businesses alike are looking for new ways to capture people’s attention. Advances in data mining give marketers the ability to personalize a business’ message. So the shift in marketing dollars towards digital printing should come as no surprise. For suppliers looking to increase their market share, that means investing in and expanding their digital printing capabilities. And that’s great news for all of us. Here’s a look at a few digital print trends to delight designers and marketers this year.
In recent years we’ve seen the introduction of digital metallic inks, most notably in the dry-toner category. And the good news is that the demand is driving adoption and new innovations in digital metallic effects. Designers now have options beyond gold and silver metallic inks. A new production capability called Sleeking allows for digital finishing effects similar to foil stamping. This technology uses lamination to apply a metalized foil or film to the print area. Unlike traditional hot foil stamping which requires a die, digital Sleeking does not, making it a cost effective option for high production value print in smaller quantities. This opens up tons design options, just imagine the possibilities for a brand identity of a new businesses/startup!
In addition to new digital metallic production capabilities, designers shouldn’t forget about all the metallic digital paper options. And there are digital metallic paper options for both toner and inkjet applications. In terms of the digital printing budget, paper selection offers designers some of the biggest production bang for your buck.
As is the case with innovations in metallic inks and finishes, the same holds true when talking about expanded color gamut with digital printing. For example, HP has partnered with color trend leader, Pantone, to offer Pantone 6 -and 7- color on press solutions for HP Indigo. By using CMYK plus orange, violet, green, reflex blue, bright yellow, rhodamine red and transparent inks it extends the spot color offerings to 3,000+!
And just like metallics, you can add exponential pop to your digital print design by pairing ink color to a bright substrate. The digital substrate offerings have increased as much if not more than the ink offerings – with bright, snappy colors in paper and synthetics in a range of calipers/gsm options certified to perform on digital presses.
With the increase in demand for digital printing – and packaging, comes the innovation including haptic finishing. After all, studies show consumers actions are driven by feelings. Haptic print leads the way for getting consumers to interact with a brand, resulting in emotional connections that drives results. So it stands to reason that as demand for digital print increases, so does the tactile finishing offered with the technology. Digital print production offers 3D effects with raised and clear dimensional inks. Multiple passes can mimic the results of spot UV or clear foil.
Of course paper was the original haptic digital production option. With a host of certified digital papers in finishes that has expanded to include felt, linen, stipple, eggshell, cotton, woodgrain, gloss and matte just to name a few.
To find hundreds of inspiring digital substrate options, request a copy of our Digital Substrate Guide.