Looking for high-quality labels with distinctive effects, but want to avoid hot foil? Our metallic labels offer an alternative to the more time-consuming and costly hot foil stamping process. Discover our striking metallic effects at competitive prices and give your products a stylish, premium look.
Metallic labels as an alternative to hot foil stamping
Compared with traditional labels featuring hot foil, metallic labels offer several advantages:
- Lower production costs
- Ideal for multiple varieties
- Flexible colour options
Hot foil labels vs metallic labels
Hot foil labels: hot foil is applied after the digital printing process. During stamping, a finishing machine uses special tools, pressure and heat to transfer the foil onto the label. This results in a multi-stage production process. We offer a wide selection of matt and gloss hot foils in a range of colours.
Metallic labels: our metallic labels, by contrast, are produced entirely using digital printing, with no special tools required. Different effects are created by combining a metallic base material with printed inks, giving you flexible and virtually unlimited colour options. A gloss or matt finish can then be achieved through lamination.
Why choose metallic labels?
Lower production costs: benefit from the time- and cost-efficient digital printing process, which requires no additional tools. A protective laminate is then applied in a separate finishing step.
Ideal for multiple varieties: do you have lots of different products or varieties in your range? No problem. As long as the label size remains the same, we can produce all your metallic labels in a single print run.
Flexible colour options: for labels with a metallic effect, we start with a metallic base material, such as paper or film, and print onto it using the CMYK colour model. For example, to simulate gold, yellow ink is printed onto a silver metallic material. Looking for a metallic red? We simply print red ink onto the metallic base.
Please note: metallic labels are always finished with a protective laminate to preserve the metallic effect. You can choose between a gloss or matt finish.
How the metallic effect works
Metallic labels are printed on a shimmering base material, so the metallic effect is naturally visible across the entire surface. White ink is then applied selectively to mask the metallic sheen wherever a non-metallic appearance is required. This gives you precise control over which elements retain the metallic effect and which areas appear opaque.
Tip: Want particularly rich, intense colours? As an optional extra, we can print white or black twice. This is known as a double hit.
Metallic labels for water bottles
Green ink printed onto the metallic material creates an intense metallic effect across the label. The brand name, product name and other minimalist elements are then printed in white, before a gloss protective laminate is applied. The result is a clean, minimalist design with a striking metallic finish.
Metallic lemonade labels with a gold effect
Want the most important elements of a complex design to stand out straight away? Selected details can be highlighted with a matt gold metallic effect. We use metallic-coated paper and apply yellow ink only to specific areas, creating gold tones reminiscent of traditional gold hot foil. The entire label is then protected with a matt laminate.
Gold hot foil vs a gold metallic effect
See for yourself how labels with gold hot foil compare with labels featuring a gold metallic effect.
Metallic labels for premium products
Special-effect finishes are particularly popular with premium and luxury brands where product presentation plays an important role. Typical applications include wine, cosmetics and premium products packaged in high-end jars and bottles.
Thanks to digital printing and our metallic materials, these distinctive effects are accessible to a much wider range of products and brands. Compared with hot foil stamping, our metallic labels are easier and more flexible to produce, while also offering lower production costs.
Discover our metallic effects for yourself and explore the different colour options in our free sample book.
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