Metallic Effects On Your Pouch: How To Add A Touch Of Sparkle To Your Design

How white ink works on metallic materials

Gold, silver, copper or a subtle sheen – metallic effects instantly turn packaging on the shelf into a real eye-catcher. But to ensure your design shines just as brightly as you’d like it to, it all comes down to one printing step that many underestimate: how the white ink layer is applied to the metallic material.

Why white is so important in metallic pouches

Our metallic material, a PP film with a silver finish, has a natural sheen. However, to ensure your colours are visible and don’t show through everywhere, you need a white underprint layer.

It sounds technical at first, but it’s easy to explain: wherever white is printed, your CMYK colours will show up as normal. Wherever you leave out the white, the silver film shines through and creates the desired metallic look.

In short: white = normal colour. No white = metallic effect.

Different metallic effects? The choice is yours!

The best part? Metallic doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing affair. With white content ranging from 10% to 100%, you can precisely control how strong the effect will ultimately be.

Here are a few examples of how this can look:

• 100% white beneath the colour: no metallic effect; your colour looks just like it would on standard stand-up pouch material
• Reduced white content: subtle shimmering transitions and softer colour gradients
• Completely without white: full metallic look – bold, shiny and super eye-catching

So you decide for yourself whether you want to add just small accents, for example on your logo, lettering or a detail, or whether you’d rather have entire areas shimmering. This offers huge creative freedom for your brand identity.

Experience metallic effects in person

Theory is good, but hands-on experience is better. That’s exactly why we’ve included metallic pouches in our sample pack. This way, you can get a feel for how different colours behave on the silver foil – and just how varied the results can be.

We’ve also printed the CMYK values directly onto the sample design. Why? So that you (and your design team) can see exactly which values produce a particular metallic shade. If you want to recreate a colour like this later on, you’ll have the right template right at your fingertips.

And if you want to be on the safe side before going to print: you can order a proof from us and test your design in advance.

How to create a white colour in Adobe Illustrator

Now things are going to get a bit nerdy – but don’t worry, it’s not rocket science. In Adobe Illustrator, create the white layer as a separate spot colour named “White”. Important: The name must be spelled exactly like that, otherwise our printing press won’t recognise later on that white ink is to be printed in that spot.

By the way, it doesn’t matter which display colour you choose to work with. In our workflow, we like to use 30% cyan – not because cyan is printed, but simply because it makes the white area easier to see in the file.

And then there’s one crucial step you mustn’t forget under any circumstances: enable overprint fill.

This ensures that the white ends up exactly where it’s supposed to in the print – namely beneath your CMYK layer. Without this setting, the print file may not behave as intended during production.

Need help with your file?

Metallic effects look brilliant – but only if the white background is cleanly defined. If you’re unsure about your design, just take another look at our downloads section or give us a call. We’ll be happy to go through your file with you and make sure your stand-up pouch comes out of the printer exactly as you imagined it.