By Lara Copeland, contributing writer, PostPress
Gold Leaf Print & Packaging is a premier cannabis printing company located in Pelham, Alabama, that specializes in creating custom collateral, packaging and branding. With the ability to embellish packaging with digital foil and varnish (eliminating the need for custom dies), Gold Leaf can save its customers money and time in creating pieces that stand out – especially for short- to medium-sized applications. Recently, the company created a guide to showcase the range of technological and decorative capabilities that it brings to its clients.
“The brochure is a visual representation of some of the embellishments we can accomplish in-house, as well as a sampling of products and services that we offer,” Stephanie Salvago, digital marketing manager for Gold Leaf Print & Packaging, explained. “The booklet also showcases the Gold Leaf brand and allows potential customers to really feel the difference that specialty embellishments can make on a product.”
The graphics were created in-house by Gold Leaf’s award-winning graphic designers. Assembled with wire binding, the 11-page brochure features a front cover with dark-green trees scattered across it. The trees have been digitally printed and then highlighted with a raised spot UV coating. The company name and symbol on the cover also are embellished with a raised gold foil. Using 120# Opus Dull Cover, the piece was printed on a Konica C1100 with a soft-touch laminate added to the front and back cover pages. The soft-touch aqueous coating also was applied to the majority of the inside pages before being finished with raised spot coatings and foil accents using the MGI JETvarnish 3DS.
The JETvarnish 3DS utilizes UV LED curing as a solution to the type of environment in which these smaller units often are used. In comparison to their bigger brothers that need higher speeds and outputs due to larger formats and segment profiles, the JETvarnish has advantages in lower electrical consumption and a lack of generated ozone, making it ideal for printers who produce mostly on digital presses.
Gold Leaf Print & Packaging appreciates that the machine offers its clients a total solution for raised spot varnish and foil. Its website explains: “Most people have seen packaging or stationery with some form of foil embellishments. Usually, it’s gold or silver and has been debossed using a method of hot foil stamping. This method requires the purchase of a die and creates indentions on the reverse side of the page… Working hand-in-hand with our raised foil is raised varnish. Raised varnish is similar to spot UV in that it accents elements of a printed piece to give it a bit of shine. However, one of the key ways it differs is our raised varnish is raised. This allows us to create textures and truly unique cannabis packaging options.”
The guide created by Gold Leaf provides specific details on how these embellishments can be used on eye-catching examples, using spot varnish, foil, 4-color overprinting and a final run of spot varnish to provide detail and texture on one example – all in perfect registration. In addition to the spot varnish and foil samples, the guide also provides information on the different types of standard boxes available, including straight tuck, snap-lock bottom and auto-lock bottom. It also showcases samples of how labels can be produced with digital coatings and foils and provides information on how to order.
“The biggest challenges in printing this project were the multiple steps and runs on multiple machines that had to happen to create the embellishments for this print,” Salvago emphasized. “We had to make sure that the tolerance of all of the machines was perfect in order to ensure that the prints would be correctly lined up.” Through many trial runs and the expertise of Gold Leaf’s master printers, the print and finishing runs were successful and “an amazing product was created,” she said.
Gold Leaf Print & Packaging entered its brochure into the FSEA Gold Leaf Awards and received a bronze for Best Foil/UV Coating Selection Guide. Customers also responded favorably to the project. “They enjoyed being able to see and feel the different types of embellishments, and we received many compliments on it, with many commenting on the high quality of the print,” Salvago stated. “We bring this level of quality to all our products and pride ourselves on being a one-stop shop for our clients.”
