Receiving a card around the holidays can certainly be a moving experience, but how often do you receive a holiday card that actually appears to be moving?
That’s just the effect my good friends at highresolution printing [projects / website] achieved with this card for the law firm of Greenspun Shapiro. Their secret? The use of the latest digital printing and finishing technologies to enhance the simple-but-effective vision of design studio Hagopian Ink [projects / website].
The Printing Process and Paper Details
“In matters of style, swim with the current,” the Thomas Jefferson quote, which inspired this card, begins.
Uninterrupted lines of Gold Foil are arranged in a square, spiraling pattern to simulate the current. By moving the card, the reflective pattern dances like an ocean in flowing movement.
The printer digitally printed the Blue in CMYK. The quote and law firm name were knocked out to reveal the White of the 18 pt. WestRock Tango C1S paper underneath.
“…in matters of principle, stand like a rock,” the quote concludes, that rock nicely represented here by a small Digital Die Cut square at the pattern’s center.
To give it a glittering look, the printer first applied a Soft Touch laminate. This made the Dark Blue take on a dull yet intriguing appearance. Afterward, they added Gold Foil to the front cover using the Scodix foiling system.
Innovative Use of Digital Foiling
Remember, digital foiling systems apply a polymer to the paper before adding the actual Foil. This technique allows us to raise each foil detail to the same or varying heights.
Had they used traditional Hot Foil Stamping, the Foil would have been pressed into the paper’s surface. This would have reduced its reflective qualities.
While they could have achieved this look by embossing the pattern and adding Hot Foil to the emboss, this method would require a die.
It would also leave a Deboss on the inside, making it difficult to write on half of the card’s interior. Digital Foiling leaves the card perfectly flat inside, offering a smoother writing surface.
With all due respect to Thomas Jefferson, as this intelligent use of digital printing and finishing techniques clearly shows, sometimes it’s best to swim against the current.
