Holographicoat label embellishment catches the eye of the ginger beer

Challenge

The 4 Pines Brewing Company has been making good beer since 2008. Its first brewpub was opened in Manly, home to Sydney’s famed surf spots. In 2011 the craft beer powerhouse relocated to a new establishment in Brookvale, featuring a bar, bottling and a brewhouse boasting a 50 hectolitre capacity. 4 Pines has since made tastebuds dance across the country with its core range of eight brews, plus some tantalising special editions, whilst also establishing a group of branded hospitality venues up and down the east coast.

The brewery has also been busy expanding its range to include a series of ready to drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages under its Brookvale Union brand.

The Brookvale Union team, self-professed lovers of ginger beer, pride themselves on creating quality nonsense; that is a quality beverage on the inside and a bit of nonsense in the form of some eccentric exterior packaging, created by Western Australian designer Tim Waters.

We were delighted to print the unique label for Brookvale Union’s Ginger Beer.

Solution

Craig Stephenson, our NSW Business Development Manager and craft beer aficionado, worked with fellow lover of beer, 4 Pines’ Packaging Leader, Alex Smith, to create a beautifully printed label for the refreshalicious beverage.

The label was printed on silver film material and coated with a gloss lamination. The synthetic film is highly conformable to curved surfaces, such as beer bottles. It is also moisture resistant making it an ideal substrate for applications where condensation is a key consideration. The shiny nature of the silver material creates a foil-like effect for the label design, which was used to enhance elements of the ginger beer design.

We used a high build screen to provide a raised tactile effect to certain elements of the label design including the wording Brookvale Union and Ginger Beer, plus the moon illustration. This premium embellishment uses a silk screen process to lay down a smooth gloss coating that sits above the label surface.

The label design was further accentuated with the use of Holographicoat. Holographicoat is a decorative coating process that transfers a transparent holographic effect onto the surface of the label material. This results in the chosen design elements being covered with the holographic effect whilst still being able to see the printed design underneath.

Holographicoat is available in a wide range of patterns including the powder-like effect chosen by 4 Pines. The effect differs from a holographic lamination as it can be applied to certain areas of the label design, whereas a lamination is placed over the entire material surface. Holographicoat is also an environmentally friendly embellishment as the same roll can be reused up to five times in the same print run.

We printed the labels in Brisbane using our flexographic (flexo) printing technology. Flexo requires the use of plates for each colour that carry a raised image to accept the ink. When the plate is pressed against the material the ink transfers from the plate to the material. In most cases, once the colours have been printed, the same machine will have stations to apply coatings, add any embellishments and die-cut the labels. Our flexo presses achieve world-class quality print and are well set up for medium to long label runs.

Result

The result is a great looking label that matches the great tasting ginger beer inside.

The use of Holographicoat adds some serious visual appeal to the RTD’s shelf presence, ensuring it stands out from the crowd.

The holographic effect, combined with the high build, provides a unique tactile experience that is bound to catch the eye of the ginger beer holder.

Case Studies

Holographicoat label embellishment catches the eye of the ginger beer holder