Design of the Month – Operational Flexibility Makes Last Minute Changes Simple

How often does a brand manager or designer envision a finished product with their carefully designed artwork on it, only to discover that the design and messaging misses the mark. Designers constantly face this challenge as once they view the printed prototype, they pick up on flaws and tend to want to make tweaks to their design. Let’s face it – most designers are perfectionists and want to go the extra mile to achieve the latest and greatest in their designs. The Harvard Business Review mentions that prototyping is used as a process of fine-tuning a product or service that has already largely been developed. But in design thinking, prototyping is carried out on far-from-finished products and often quite radical changes—including complete redesigns—can occur along the way.

Direct-to-shape digital decoration gives brands and designers the flexibility to make last-minute changes on the spot for final design optimization. By viewing and comparing several printed samples, designers have more freedom to experiment with various print options and ultimately make a more accurate and targeted cost-effective decision before mass production occurs.

As digital printing is highly flexible it is so simple to make changes to a package design even at the last minute before starting production. When using conventional printing, changes require new plates and setup process which are lengthy and costly to create and therefore practically impossible. When it comes to digital printing, a pdf file is all that is needed – it’s as simple as that.

The can below demonstrates an example of how quickly changes can be smoothly implemented. A key change was made to the product name which was initially positioned in the centre and upon reflection was shifted to the left. Additionally, the mint leaves element was moved and the graphic stamp ‘No Sugar’ has been added.

Selective printing, Endless design possibilities

Having the ability to selectively print digital colours provides untold design freedom offering a multitude of options. In this sample, the blue background of the can was printed on a white layer to block the metallic effect of the can.

Alternatively, the neon-like colours and the text ‘mint power’ were printed without the white layer using Velox’s translucent inks on the aluminium substrate creating a beautiful metallic effect.By printing the white colour in selected areas such as below the image of the mint leaves we allow a vivid photorealistic imagery by decoupling the metallic effect of the can.

The Velox logo, a knockout of the background, becomes silver in colour. Note that the decoration extends up to the chime and necked area for higher shelf appeal and end-to-end appearance. An additional decoration feature is the 360-degree decoration without seam or overlap, wide colour gamut of over 95% of the Panton plus colour book and smooth gradients.

All-in-one solution

Velox’s industrial digital decoration system can accomplish the benefits of all the traditional printing technologies using a single technology. With Velox’s proprietary direct-to-shape digital printing and ink series, there is no need to combine multiple printing technologies to reach the desired design. The company’s technology provides a photorealistic quality and wider colour gamut for graphics, the ability to quickly produce an accurate print proof of a package and, in the case of small to medium brands like craft beer, seltzer, Kombucha and other new edge drinks, improved sustainability over traditional plastic shrink wrap and labels that significantly hinder the aluminium can recycling process.

The flexibility of digital printing makes it possible for designers to adjust their ideas and designs to tap into consumer trends that will make a difference once the product hits the store shelves.