Glossy Coating on Custom Boxes: Types, Benefits & Applications

Brand visibility plays an important role in grabbing customers' attention and increasing sales. It’s not only about durable packaging; it’s all about how attractive and stylish your brand packaging is. Glossy coating on custom boxes gives your packaging a luxury and elegant touch.

Nowadays, customers normally get attracted by reflective and shiny packaging. 72% of customers say packaging design significantly influences buying decisions. 81 % are driven to try new products because the packaging grabs their attention.

This blog post is all about types, benefits and applications of glossy coating.

What is Glossy Coating on Custom Boxes?

Glossy coating is one of the most demanding techniques used for custom-printed boxes. This coating is a shiny finish applied to the surface of the box, not only enhancing visual appeal but also providing better protection. This coating can be done through varnish or lamination and is popular for a standout look.

Gloss coating is ideal for highlighting brand elements like brand name, logo, and tagline. Also, it conveys a sense of luxury, enhanced appeal, and sophistication. Let’s see what the different types, benefits, and applications of this are?

Major Types of Glossy Coatings

Aqueous Coating

For medium to high-grade shine level, aqueous or water-based coating is applied during the print process. Ideal for food packaging and catalogues where medium to higher level shine matters. Benefits of aqueous coating are quick drying, eco-friendly finish and fingerprint-resistant surface.

Varnish Gloss Coating

Comes with a pocket-friendly budget and a big shiny impact on custom packaging. A clear liquid finish like ink is applied when the printing of the box is in process. Due to its cost-effective nature, it offers low to medium shine but enough for durability, protection and overall appeal.

UV Gloss Coating

By name, it suggests that this coating is done with ultraviolet light. With UV gloss coating, you will achieve quality prints, customised accuracy and fine results. Applied to custom packaging boxes designed for premium & tech-related items, book covers, business cards and greeting flyers.

Spot UV Gloss

A guaranteed way to give your simple box a wow look. It is recommended to apply it on specific parts of packaging like logos or unique graphics, with no need to apply it on other parts. When you apply spot UV gloss, particularly to targeted areas, the look of the overall packaging ultimately increases.

Benefits of Glossy Coating

Enhance Visual Appeal

The first impression counts, so try to make it memorable, especially when you launch any product for the first time. Glossy coating elements get noticed faster than matte alternatives. It swiftly enhances the overall look and gives your brand packaging a premium feel.

Sleek Appearance

The shiny and reflective appearance of glossy coating creates a polished look, enhancing the perceived value of the inside items. Matte doesn’t come with a sleek appearance that makes it difficult to attain customers’ attention on the shelves.

Colour Depth & Contrast

Maintaining colour depth and contrast on a custom-printed box is somehow difficult due to ink smudging issues. But with gloss coating, it becomes too easy to maintain colour depth and contrast. This type of clarity boosts brand recognition and improves readability/ understanding for customers.

Ensure Versatility

Highly suitable for almost all types of industries, whether it’s custom cosmetic boxes or custom printed food box packaging. Yes, there might be some differences between various types of material, so be sure to check this. In short, gloss finish is a packaging solution that fits many industries.

How to Apply Gloss Coatings on Custom-Printed Packaging?

There are numerous ways to apply glossy coatings, but only the top ones are listed below.

Spray Coating

Spray coating on packaging is done by applying a thin layer of liquid coating with the help of a spray gun or nozzle. This method is widely used to enhance overall appeal and thus enhance durability and functionality. Ideally best suited for 3D custom packaging elements and irregular shapes.

Varnish Coating

This application of gloss coating is done with a varnish unit in a printing press. In this process, the varnish layer is rolled onto the sheet like ink or sprayed professionally. It normally dries through oxidation or evaporation, leading to finer results.

UV Gloss Coating

Applied through a screen process or roller. Once applied, it passes under a UV curing lamp where the coating is swiftly hardened. This is best suitable for both spot and flood coatings. So, there’s no need to worry about versatility.

Aqueous Gloss Coating

This method involves flood coating via offset print. In this, the coating is applied over the printed sheet through a flood coater or an inline coating unit. It gets dried with the help of hot-air dryers or infrared rays because aqueous coating takes time to dry due to water effects.

Conclusion!

Glossy coating on custom boxes is one of the latest and most used finishing techniques for enhanced appeal, protection and durability. It enhances your product packaging visibility in the crowded market and helps you stand out from the competition.

Have any queries regarding gloss finishes in your mind? Feel free to contact us. Our professional and dedicated team of packaging experts are 24/7 available to assist you. Just tell them your requirements, and they will be ready to give you sincere suggestions.