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Design of the Month – Great Potential for Aluminum Tubes

April 7, 2021

As an ongoing feature, Velox will spotlight a Design of the Month that exemplifies the capabilities that exist today in digital direct-to-shape printing. The goal is to inspire and educate designers and brand owners to think beyond analog decoration to an exciting spectrum of colors, textures, finishes, and precise detail never before achieved. Enjoy!

Did you know?

About 25 percent of all tubes sold are made of aluminum. It makes perfect sense when you consider the advantages this substrate has to offer:

  • Aluminum tubes are 100% recyclable
  • They provide an impermeable barrier, which makes them best suited for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food
  • The material guarantees a long shelf-life by protecting the contents from moisture, air and other external conditions
  • Aluminum is lightweight

Combining the substrate’s advantages with high-quality decoration and unique capabilities results in a powerful packaging solution. Let’s examine the beautiful design of the Salmon Paste tube featured here.

The aluminum tube is printed top-to-bottom with white ink except for where the fish tail and product text appear. The ability to selectively print white ink makes it possible to take advantage of the metallic substrate to upgrade the tube appearance and reach higher decoration levels without the need for additional processes. In this example, the fish image printed on the aluminum tube comes to life with silver scales, allowing the tube natural color to provide foil-like silver in this area. Likewise, the gold sheen in the product name “Salmon” is enhanced by the aluminum’s natural gleam. Using Velox’s translucent inks of yellow and light magenta on the metallic substrate creates a metallic gold using only process colors – a nice complement to the silver color of the fish.

The fine detail of the fish image, down to a single scale, is highly realistic thanks to the accurate color registration and high printing resolution achieved with Velox technology. In a closer look, one can notice that the fish image extends all the way to the shoulder area, a decoration feature that is unique to Velox. Printing on the shoulder as well as the cap of the tube allows a more holistic and high-end decoration, which makes the product stand out on the shelf and increases brand power.

 

Read more from "Design of the Month":
Design of the Month - Metallic Effects for Eye-Popping Beverage Cans

When it comes to craft beer, seltzer, iced coffee, or any other beverage in aluminum cans, metallic printing effects can be a powerful visibility-booster – drawing the eyes of curious consumers and creating an easily identifiable brand that is easier to spot the next time round. Velox direct-to-can digital printing allows you to fashion stunning designs and metallic effects, achieving the exact “wow” factor you’re after.

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.

Design of the Month – Digital Makes Customization Easy

Customized products are perceived as luxurious and special. They grab consumers’ attention while giving them the sense that extra thought was invested in them as individuals. It's a powerful and effective marketing tool, though not often used due to the limitations of most current printing technologies

Design of the Month – Seize the Potential of Digital Can Decoration

New and innovative direct-to-shape digital solutions for beverage can decoration open up new possibilities for brands and the design options become plentiful for mass production or high-volume short runs.

Design of the Month – The Benefits of Transparent Tubes are Clear

Transparent containers in the cosmetic industry are an interesting medium for design-material interaction. They are both functional (show the exact amount of material left inside the tube), and a beautiful container design can be enhanced by what’s inside.

Design of the Month – Aluminum Canvas for Aerosol

In conventional printing technologies when the design requires decoupling the metallic effect of the substrate, the entire container is coated with white ink. Setting aside the additional step, this process doesn’t utilize the entire design possibilities that lay within this type of container. In this Design of the Month feature, we are focusing on design possibilities for aluminum aerosol decoration.

Design of the Month – The Finishing Touch

What does it take to get someone to reach for a product on the shelf? Most consumers make purchasing decisions based on packaging design alone, so it’s important to have an attractive design produced using a quality printing process.

Design of the Month – Shades of Grey

This plastic tube design is a striking example of how black and white photography can be used to draw consumers to a brand. In this particular example, you can see very fine shifts between white, grey and black, from the subtle shading of the model’s cheek to the bold eye and eyebrow.

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