design
The packaging of the product represents the image and appearance of your brand and influences the customers’ perception. Good packaging design is not just about aesthetics, it is also about the customers’ experience getting into the product, the materials they interact with, the warnings they must read before use and even the steps they should take after depleting their supply.
possibilities
Labeling
The best option for getting the design onto your packaging is the use of labels. A label is very versatile, no matter what your design is. Whether the design is clean and simple or completely over the top with lots of different colours, a label can handle it easily. All the labels are digitally printed in full colour. The materials used for our labels are polyethylene and polypropylene. You can also opt for metallic base material or a non-label look. These options are available on request at additional costs.
Direct printing
A different option for a more clean look of your design is to print directly onto the packaging. This is usually done by screenprint (bottles and tubes) or offset (tubes and sachets). Screenprint can be used when the bottle or tube is dark and the artwork is light, or a specific look and feel is needed. For example, you can have a matte background, with a shiny screenprint.
Effects
To make your design stand out more, or give the design an exclusive look there is the possibility to use metallic colours. This can be done in several ways; by using coloured foils or a metallic base material. Another example of effects you can use is a matte look or a shiny look, depending on the look and feel you want for your product.
Boxes
You can opt to leave your bottle, tube, or sachet as it is, or you can add extra packaging (secondary packaging) by the use of boxes. The advantage of using a box to hold your product is that there is more space for your design, legal texts, and of course to expand the look of the product. For the design of boxes, metallics, gloss and matte effects are also possible.
printing techniques
For all our products we use a number of different printing techniques: Digital / Offset / Screenprint / Flexoprint. It depends on the packaging and design which technique will be used. Here is a short overview of the printing techniques per packaging:
Labels
All labels are printed with the digital printing technique in full colour. The materials used for the labels are polyethylene and polypropylene. The option for metallic base material or a non-label look is available on request at additional costs.
Boxes
The printing technique for boxes is offset. Offset printing is a technique in which the ink is transferred from the image plate onto the cardboard. The boxes are also printed in full colour, which requires you to work within the CMYK range. The material used for the boxes is a one-side coated sulfate board. This means that the boxes on the outside have a smooth surface, and the inside is a more ‘open’ (slightly rougher) surface.
Tubes
For tubes, there are a couple of possibilities regarding the printing technique.
- Offset printing (default): requires the use of PMS colours. Make sure that all the artwork is made in PMS.
- Screen printing: also requires the use of PMS colours. Screenprint is used when the tube is dark and the artwork is light, or a specific look and feel is needed. For example, you can have a matte tube, with a shiny screenprint.
- Flexo printing: When you want to use a full colour design or a design with lots of different gradients, the use of Flexoprinting is required. Note that this is a more expensive technique with a longer lead time.
The correct printing technique will be determined after reviewing the artwork.
Bottles, directly printed
Screenprinting is used to print directly onto bottles (vs. using a label). This technique requires PMS colours, which means for every colour you wish to use, a matching PMS number must be chosen. For example: green PMS355 C, or blue PMS 2915 C, etc.
Sachets:
The printing technique for sachets requires PMS colours. Likewise, a matching PMS number must be chosen for each colour. Please be aware that due to the nature of the printing technique and the small size of the product, small details can be problematic regarding colour registration, meaning that colours can shift slightly from each other.
design service
To support you during the design process, Cobeco Pharma has an in-house DTP and graphic design team who can help you with all design-related matters.
For the last adjustments of the packaging, including the placement of the barcode or label on the packaging or advice on the measurements of the final document, the specialized DTP team can help you to make sure everything is correct. Additional charges apply.
The specialized graphic design team can assist you when you have no design ready for the packaging or need help to visualise your concept. This way, you are able to create your perfect brand label. Additional charges apply.