It’s always been important to have proofs that are as close as possible to the final product. After all, an accurate proof allows important decisions and corrections to be made before going to press and reduces the risk of unpleasant surprises in the final print.
While accurate colour reproduction is often considered the most important facet of a proof, there is another aspect that is sometimes underlooked: touch. The feel of a particular substrate is crucial when assessing a proof, and customers are increasingly keen to experience the tangible quality of different finishes, or even to be able to hold a real 3D prototype.
In practice, packaging proofs are often created on paper-like substrates. While there is the option of using UV inkjet systems or water-based inkjet printers for simulations on materials other than paper, the colour spaces of UV inkjets can be limited, while water-based printers offer a restricted substrate choice. Both options can also struggle to maintain print quality on transparent foil, as well as suffering from longer drying times on non-absorbent substrates.
One solution, according to GMG Color, is using eco-solvent inkjets, which are suitable for a wider range of substrates than water-based inkjets and can also use white and metallic inks.
Jens Zehnder, print engineer at GMG, claims this flexibility improves prototype proofs. “Even if the original substrate cannot be used for proofing due to certain surface properties,” says Zehnder, “our solution offers the option of using transfer foils. These are laminated onto the desired material after printing. Even complex challenges, such as reproducing metallic colors, can be achieved because metalized foils avoid the difficulties that metallic pigments present.”
GMG’s substrate portfolio is extensive, running from shrink foils for shrink sleeves and cardboards for folding boxes to various self-adhesive foils for corresponding label designs. They also offer customers who have only used paper proofs previously a simple transition to prototype proofing. Ultimately, GMG’s hope is that by presenting more realistic simulations of final products, either as flat proofs or 3D prototypes, they will speed up assessment and approval times and diminish the possibility of unexpected outcomes.