What Coating To Use For What Type of Packaging

There are lots of options for standard and specialty finishes available today for packaging box designs.

And the truth is it can be confusing, overly technical and overwhelming, especially for startups and new entrepreneurs.

Luckily, in this guide, you will learn how to choose the right coatings based on the compatibility with your overall packaging specifications (material, design, and cost).

We’re here to arm you with all the information you need before you make your decision!

So before you decide on a coating for your packaging, we suggest you read these tips below.

Paperboard (Retail) Coatings

Since paperboard is flexible, versatile, and usually used for packaging products in retail stores, designers tend to be a little more creative with the finishing to create strong shelf impact.

Here are the popular coatings for paperboard packaging:

Lamination

Laminated paperboard boxes are widely regarded to have the best quality, but are typically more expensive due to its highly protective properties.

Custom packaging with gloss lamination and Spot UV.

Compared to other coating types, lamination provides the best protection from moisture.

Long-run projects also typically prefer to use lamination due to their longevity and dust resistance.

It makes sense since you’ll be storing thousands of boxes that may not be used instantly.

Another advantage of lamination is its artwork output.

When you see that beautiful matte box in Sephora, the chances of it being laminated is quite high.

Luxury packaging tends to use matte lamination to achieve a simple yet elegant look and use gloss lamination to produce a vibrant and striking appearance.

What is Gloss Lamination?

In contrast to matte lamination, the gloss has a lustrous quality as light bounces off the surface. Therefore the effect is that of vibrancy, better image contrast, and more vibrant depth of color.

Gloss laminated bags and magazines draw attention to themselves; in this respect, they can be viewed as flashy to their subdued matte counterparts.

For this reason, they may lend themselves well to brochures, cover photos, perfume boxes, and book spines.

Gloss lamination can refine a product differently from matte lamination.

If your brand is trying to communicate a brighter and more youthful feel, gloss lamination is probably your ideal choice.

Gloss lamination enhances and brightens your colors making them come across much more defined and detailed.

Which one is right for you?

The answer to ‘which one is better’ must be prefaced by ‘what will the lamination be used for?’ to make an informed choice.

As discussed above, each has its pros and cons; depending on the application, the drawbacks may not matter or be minor for you.

In fact, you can consider the ‘best of both worlds’ scenario.

For instance, applying a matte laminate over a glossy label can make barcode scanning easier and allow users to handwrite over it when such a need arises.

Some may view matte lamination as being boring. However,

adding glossy laminate over a matte label can provide a lustrous patina and a more intricate look to your packaging.