NARS Cosmetics is an excellent example of packaging innovation from think4D Inc. We leveraged our patented technology to manufacture this folding carton with sculptured detail in the wood grain effects and won Silver at the Canadian Printing Awards.
think4D wins Silver at the Canadian Printing Awards
Here’s the story behind the NARS formed folding carton. The existing design was a solid black carton with white text and graphics; in the early design planning sessions we discovered the customer wanted to maintain a dark black concept while incorporating a stylized, yet realistic wood grain effect. think4D creative utilized an oak wood grain and maintained the dark black look to deliver a new design while keeping true to the existing NARS brand. Fine solid black outlines were added to the black line separation to make the white POP and to maintain sharp legibility in the ultra fine 4-point reversed text – substantially finer than current FTA recommendations for flexo printing. The end results are exceptional print quality combined with think4D sculptured detail for an award winning project that is visually striking, tactile and has tons of shelf appeal.
Printing for the fashion and fragrance industry requires cutting edge printing technology and excellent quality control standards. think4D offers a wide range of printing technologies including offset, digital and HD flexo.
We print all our flexo projects with Kodak NX – HD flexo – flat top dot plate technology and our our formed folding cartons are printed up to 200 LPI with digicap and advanced screening options. Careful process control was required to achieve and maintain minimum dots in the highlights and a full range of detail throughout the image. The NARS project was printed on our OMET X-Flex 430 – 8 Colour Flexo – 17” wide web with turnbar setup for printing 2 sides in one pass. Although the NARS project appears black only it was printed 3 over 2 – Outside: black UV ink (halftone separation), black UV ink (line separation), UV clear semi-matte coating. Inside: two hits of black UV ink. The patented think4D process was then applied for the wood grain effects; creating a tactile, multisensory consumer experience with increased shelf appeal.
Other technical details: Kodak Prinergy workflow, OMET X-Flex Press, UV inks, Harper Anilox, 3M Tapes and .045” Kodak Flexcel NX plates.
think4D Inc. 