What are metallized papers?
While printers and converters are often familiar with metallized paper, designers and end-users may not have come into contact with our products before.
Explaining 'metallized papers' to anyone who doesn't already know what they are can be challenging. It's easy to imagine a very thick product with a dense metallic layer or something similar to kitchen foil. To brands or designers, this can seem like a far step away from the packaging or label materials they currently use, and of course, it isn't the case.
In real-world terms, then, what are metallized papers?
"The simplest way to understand our metallized and holographic papers is to think about them as coated papers."
Simone Málaga, Commercial Director
'The metallized layer and lacquer are very thin - less than 5% of the paper weight., Our metallized paper can be printed and converted like any one side coated papers, by using the same printing process and converting, printer can achieve exceptional results in finished products' adds Rosa Lin, Sales Manager.
For designers and brands, this is also an important detail: paper is a material they are familiar with. In design terms, a metallized paper offers more creative opportunities, without having to understand a whole new material.
Design
Metallized paper comes into its own when designers use its silver shine to maximize shelf appeal.
The metallized finishes of our papers add high end and luxurious looks to labels and packaging, but they also offer a lot of flexibility. Designers and brands can keep things relatively simple, leveraging the vibrant, natural silver color of our papers as a feature of the package or label. Alternatively, printing over the top of the metallized paper with different colors and with transparent or opaque inks can add bold looks and maximize the shelf appeal of packaging and labels. 'Practically, the most exciting thing about metallized labels is that they offer significant visual flexibility for brands in terms of design and branding,' explains Simone.
Functionality
We often talk about the functionality and barrier properties of our papers, especially for food packaging where metallized paper is increasingly sought-after.
'AR Metallizing has a strong presence in label industry'
'While packaging application has grown significantly. Metallized paper can provide more than just aesthetic and decorative purposes but also a proven functional advantage.' says Rosa.
By changing the composition of the lacquers and coatings, AR Metallizing's Research and Development team can adapt some of the technical aspects of our products. 'We can make a butter and margarine wrap which is a paper-based, recyclable mono-material. Importantly, our product has a high grease resistance, and won't spoil, even when in direct contact with butter. It's features like this, particularly in the context of being a recyclable material that is increasingly putting metallized paper on the map,' concludes Simone.