We have all seen the rise of E-Commerce in the past few years, and if you followed close enough, you might have noticed the work companies put into their packaging. And you might be wondering why all this hassle even when you have a platinum product on your hand? The answer to that is simple, competition. The rise of e-commerce means more competition, and there are millions of copycats out there waiting to pounce on your product and start their brand unless you have a patent on that product.
Well, that is a topic for another day; today, let’s stay on the packaging. The product and its quality are important, but what about the first impression. The way you present your product to the public means a lot in modern business because no matter how many people say “don’t judge a book by its cover,” sometimes people do, and there is nothing you can do about that except bettering your packaging.
There are many ways to design creative and appealing packaging, but the final touches are the most vital ones. This is where Varnish comes in. Before we talk about how varnish is being used, you need to know what exactly varnish is? So, let’s talk about that first.
What Is Varnish?
If put into simple words, the varnish is a transparent sheet that is applied to the packaging after the printing is done. You might have seen this on some shampoo bottles in the grocery store. The main purpose of varnish is to protect the real product packaging from smudges and fingerprints so that your customer can have a great experience while unboxing. It is also used to make packaging colors pop compared to the other products.
Now that you have read about varnish and its importance, it’s about time that we move on to the part where we will discuss different types of varnish for packaging.
In the packaging world, there are uncountable ways in which varnish is being used, and hopefully, this blog will help you decide better while using it for your custom printed boxes.
Gloss
Don’t tell me you didn’t see this one coming. You might have heard the word gloss being mentioned in car colors like gloss black, gloss blue, and also in makeup. But, don’t be wronged because varnish can also be gloss. The purpose of gloss is to make the colors pop out, and this is what you need to beat your competitors.
This type of varnish contrasts well with colors and makes them look appealing to the naked eye. There is one thing you need to keep in mind, and that is if you have your product on the aisle in stores, you might want to keep them where the light is not too bright because light reflects sharply on gloss, making it hard for your potential buyer to read the text.
Matte
Unlike gloss, the matte varnish is not as reflective or shiny, but there is something in that varnish that looks so pleasing to the eye. Matte varnish is way better when put under the light because the beauty of the product enhances and releases some sort of luxury vibes from the product. Though this varnish may not make your product pop out, it attracts consumers to it in other ways.
This might happen to you all the time that you get attracted to something elegant and pleasing to the eyes rather than some sharp-colored product. This varnish is the way to go for you if your original packaging has a lot of text on it. Still, if you want your product to pop out in the market, you might want to take a better look at gloss varnish.
Strike-Through Matte
You might be wondering what this type of varnish is? Well, you can say this type of varnish is a combination of matte and gloss, and it works superbly for distinction purposes in the packaging. Different material is used on different parts of the packaging, and mostly the ratio of matte is bigger than that of gloss. Matte varnish is used on the whole packaging to create a calm, soft, and luxurious effect, except for the part where you need the colors to pop out.
It can be anywhere from your brand name, logo, or some kind of text that is important to read. The best part of this varnish is that you can choose what part of the packaging is going to be popping out and what part is going to create a luxury effect. This is probably the best varnish out of this list, but it all depends on you.
Satin
Like strike-through matte varnish, this varnish also uses both matte and gloss varnish to create a superb alternative, but in this varnish, both the varnishes are mixed, and you can’t use two types of varnishes on one product. This varnish is soft and yet allows for great resistance against fingerprints and smudges. This means you get a subtle effect and a popping packaging in one varnish.
Now that you have read about types of varnishes let’s briefly discuss the pros and cons of varnishes.
Advantages Of Varnish
There are many advantages of using varnishes in your packaging, but let’s discuss the prominent ones.
- Creates an extra layer of protection for your product packaging so that your consumer gets the best experience while unboxing.
- It can help you in attracting customers compared to the products that aren’t using varnishes.
- It is flexible, which means you get to decide how it will be wrapped in your original packaging.
Disadvantages Of Varnish
Just like everything in this world, varnish also possesses some cons. There aren’t many disadvantages regarding your packaging, but there are some things you need to know about.
- Varnish is not as effective as other coatings like UV coating or aqueous coating regarding the protection of your packaging.
- Probably the biggest disadvantage any packaging can have in today’s market is not being eco-friendly, and sadly varnishes aren’t eco-friendly.
So, will you choose varnish for your product packaging?
