This paper refers to new areas of a graphic designer‚s activities in creating printouts and special protection on packaging material.
Today there is a growing need for product individualization and product protection. Besides it‚s visual design, each product can have on packaging material the following elements:
1. hologram (only for that product, special in form and place where it is positioned)
2. special screening element (created to that product only)
3. additionally pressed elements on the packaging
material of each agent and distributor
1 Introduction
A hologram is important for a product in two ways: it is a unique form of
product protection and gives the product a new additional value as a marketing
element. A hologram opens many possibilities in the development of many-layer
visual messages, messages in motion, and spatial 3D display. It is possible
to print holograms on packaging material additionally, in modified series,
for each product series and distributor separately.
Holograms may be positioned at specific points, such as the place of opening,
in order to prevent replacement of the original product with a fake one in
well protected and marked packaging material.
Holographic marking is not widely applied because the knowledge about the
whole process (from design to production) is not sufficient. Therefore, this
paper has the goal to encourage entering the world of holography.
We are anticipating a period of large-scale hologram application on packaging
material, because we would like to be new. Holography is a new means that
is not an unknown or foggy area today and there is no market-oriented packaging
material that does not have holograms
2 Hologram individualization on packaging materials
By using some other especially protected techniques (metal, glass) and not
printing techniques, a hologram may be adapted to the product size, prepress
temperature, various prepress printers (laser printers, ink jet), large surfaces
of holographic, geometrical interpretations of the same hologram, various
cutting blocks.
All of these are designer and marketing effects.
Packaging material for one product may have several holograms. A 3D hologram
may be individualized by using various techniques in breaking up the picture
in stages.
3 Advantages of holography
Holography is considered to be the quickest recognizable marking in comparison
to all other printing techniques. For instance, there is a technique where
it is necessary to illuminate colors with special equipment in order to be
able to see them (for instance UV colors). This is all right, but it is not
to be expected in practice for each user to have such equipment at hand in
order to determine a productís authenticity.
This is why holography is so great. It is noticeable and recognizable even
in broad daylight. Therefore, holography is a good protection not only because
it is difficult to copy, but also because it is quickly and easily recognized.
Holography also has great advantages because it is not necessary to intervene
with postpress under various temperatures, cutting with various blocks, block
on block, hologram over hologram, color on hologram, year and month of publishing,
metal-like colors. A holographic band may be stamped in such a way that the
stamp form is noticed only after opening the product. Thus there may be new
forms and new messages when the product is opened.
For instance OPEN or the chance game YOU HAVE WON. A product may also acquire
a new value at opening: for instance, when a perfume box is opened there may
be a new message in the hologram. After it is once opened, it is impossible
to return the hologram to its original form. This is especially important
if certain parts of a productís packaging material must not be opened because
of the product warranty. A hologram may thus be not only a visual, but a physical
means of protection as well. In other words, a holographic mark gives new
information only when it is physically shattered.
4 Screening element
Besides creating the visual design for a product‚s packaging material, it
is necessary to design a special screening element to be for this product
only. The proposal is that each pixel and vector design, i.e. printed matter
both in digital and conventional printing may have their individual screenings.
Screening is controlled with a very simple mathematical function that represents
a special configuration in it‚s 2D or 3D format. The configuration may be
a completely abstract one, but may also be figurative ˆ descriptive. Thus
instead of a screening dot we may create a propeller, a grain of coffee or
something abstract. This abstract element may be a product‚s serial number,
a producer‚s personal identification number, a product‚s name. Each producer
may have his own screening as a signature, each printing house may have it‚s
own screenings. The mo! st important use of screening is in the interpretation
of the printed matter‚s visual message. It may be visible if the lpi is low
or hidden if the lpi is high. All vector and pixel graphics may be interpreted
with completely new screening elements.
5 Hologram application
As an enclosure to this paper I would like to give the example of holography
application on wine labels. When we are labeling a product, we need to have
superior design and marketing performance. For this reason it is quite adequate
to use holography as a media. The user will have a feeling that he has purchased
not only a product in modern packaging material, but also the wine that is
described by the label text. The small number of top quality printed labels
may be made with the use of digital printing. Such small editions are not
expensive and may be practical for special purposes: celebrations, business
gifts, and even for printing single-bottle labels for special occasions.
Labels for gallery Sv. Ivan Zelina / design: Ivana Žiljak
Vine Label / design: Jana Žiljak Vujić