Effects to feel

 
Finishing The value and attractiveness of printed matter can be visibly enhanced by embossing. With its embossing techniques, Prävag offers tangible and visible experiences. 
High-quality products are in demand and the market for premium products is developing into a growth market. It therefore comes as no surprise that print products and packaging are being finished to an ever greater extent. Embossing techniques are one way of making motifs tangible and thus achieving haptic effects. Prävag Prägedruck + Veredelung AG, based in Köniz-Bern, has been offering a comprehensive range of embossing services for more than 15 years. "We see ourselves as an embossing specialist that can offer its customers the various embossing techniques and has the corresponding technology and comprehensive expertise," says Managing Director Walter Giger. Typical embossing processes include classic blind embossing. The result is a colorless, very lifelike relief.
This is characterized by the raised and recessed areas on the printed material. "Blind embossing can be used to produce simple, but also very complex and large-format subjects," explains Giger. Blind embossing is often used to depict coats of arms, logos and logotypes, whether on business cards, business stationery or the front page of annual reports.
Attractive embossed foil printingAnother process that is increasingly being used in the packaging sector is embossed foil printing. New developments and improvements in the foil sector have contributed to the attractiveness of embossed foil printing. A typical feature of the process is the metallic sheen, which can be achieved not only with gold and silver, but also with many other predetermined colors.
The use of non-metallized matt foil also enables special effects. A mechanically or chemically processed 7 mm magnesium or brass plate is used for the engraving. The print image and print run are decisive for the choice of material. The raised part of the engraving heated to 100 to 200 degrees detaches the foil film from the carrier material and simultaneously presses it onto the printed material. It is also possible to add a relief to the embossed foil print to further enhance the tactile effect.
The finest form of deformation is microembossing, which is also embossed foil printing. However, this does not require a counter-mold as with a relief, as only the surface of the foil is deformed. The special effect of this process is the cybernetic effect caused by the light refraction of the surface structure when the viewing angle is changed.
Security solutions in demandPrevag also has special expertise in the field of holograms. Holographic effects are created by using different embossing stamps and diffraction foils or by combining different types of holograms. "Today, holograms are mainly used for high-quality branded goods, in the pharmaceutical sector and for securities to protect against counterfeiting, or as an eye-catcher," says Giger. Because more and more products are being counterfeited today, efficient hologram-based security solutions are an increasingly important issue.
Prävag's expertise is used by advertising agencies, marketing specialists, graphics studios and, above all, the graphics industry. "As a contract finisher, we very often take on orders from print shops and packaging companies that are unable to carry them out themselves," says Giger. "That makes sense for everyone involved. Many companies that stamped their own printed matter just a few years ago now rely on us."
The reasons for this vary. On the one hand, such companies do not have the embossing systems required for these orders. Another is the complexity of the subject matter, which very often requires comprehensive embossing expertise in order to meet the customer's quality requirements. This requires not only knowledge of production, but also of materials technology. "We have to be able to handle the pre-printed products supplied by the customer and also have knowledge of foils. We therefore see ourselves as a problem solver for complicated and demanding individual orders," says Giger. "In addition, thanks to the available technology, such as an FBR 104 film printing sheet-fed rotary control foil jet, we are also able to produce large orders in the range of 500,000 to 1 million sheets quickly and cost-effectively. The system can emboss up to 10,000 sheets per hour in 72 x 104 cm format."
Growing food sectorHighly refined products are in vogue. Prävag is also benefiting from this. More and more premium lines are being launched in the food sector in particular, which need to present themselves with a high-quality appearance at the POS, says Giger. In addition to cosmetics packaging, embossed foil printing is primarily used for packaging for coffee, tobacco products, confectionery and labels for alcoholic beverages. However, the possibilities of these finishing techniques are also used in the print sector, for catalogs for luxury items and for magazines.
The securities sector is a growing area. While little has changed in terms of embossing printing processes, it is above all faster embossing printing machines, more precise tool production thanks to CNC technology and improvements in the area of foils that now enable the cost-effective production of large print runs and thus the development of new market segments.
Sabine Flaxman
Quality CircleThe Embossing Foil Printing Working Group e. V.
is an association of efficient process users and suppliers in the field of embossing printing. The objectives include the development of comprehensive knowledge, information and communication of the process, quality and innovation community as a general concern, promotion of the finishing process with its formative concerns, consulting competence, process technology, environmental protection topics, specialist lectures, seminars, workshops for designers and marketing or training of junior staff. Interested parties can obtain an overview of the individual embossing processes at . (sf)