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If you’re sold on the idea of extending your brand reach with customized void fill, it’s time to take the next step…making your branded fill look its absolute best. This is the fun part! To ensure that the final product matches your vision, it’s worth thinking through a few key design and printing considerations before you begin. Here are some custom void fill design tips and printing essentials to help guide your purchase:
Printing Process
Be in the know about the printing process that will be used for your branded void fill. DECOfill uses flexographic printing to customize our void fill products for customers. Flexographic printing is a high-speed printing method that uses flexible relief plates to transfer quick-drying ink onto each void fill material option, from paper to plastic. The benefit’s right in the name – it’s flexible!
Pro Tip: Flexo printing is like a big stamp, so you want your lines to be thick enough to grab the ink. No fine lines here. Use fonts with some heft and easy readability.
Pro Tip: Each color is an additional plate, so think about using the base color to give you the pop you need.
Color Choices
Trust us. When it comes to the unboxing experience, a splash of color makes all the difference. Reinforce your brand colors with a mix of colored crinkle cut paper or any of our other colored fill options, depending on your packaging needs. Or choose custom printing of your logo or other design elements on the fill of your choice. Whatever you have in mind, this is the place to start. Listed below are DECOfill’s base color and printing options for each type of void fill product we offer. Check out our PRODUCTS page for more detail on our wide spectrum of color options:
Pro Tip: If you choose a color substrate, it is opaque, so your ink will stand out. Use the negative space to your advantage.
Pro Tip: Be mindful of colors that don’t contrast enough. Colors that are too close won’t have the brand impact.
Placement & Readability
Your logo and other design elements should be simple, bold, and easy to recognize even in small print. If you’re using brand logos or other elements in a repeating pattern, for example, a clean design without tiny details works best. When choosing void fill options such as crumple paper or fan fold paper, consider how your design will look once the paper folds and overlaps. Pro Tip: Try to make your art fit within the “live” space of the product you are choosing, rolling across dividing section could make words more challenging to read.
Substrate Material
Not all inks work on all substrates. For instance, air pillows require printing inks that adhere well to plastic without smudging. With paper fill options, it’s critical to choose ink and substrate combinations that keep your brand colors consistent. At DECOfill, we’ve preselected inks that work well across our product lineup, and we fine-tune our printing process to your chosen void fill material and color to ensure crisp, clear, accurate results. For instance, we may:
- Use a white ink underlay (spot white) to keep your brand colors from being muted or distorted by the base color.
- Adjust ink formulation to account for the base color.
- Generate online proofs so you can review how the ink appears on your chosen material before giving the go-ahead to print your full order.
Customized void fill is an extension of your brand identity, so it’s important to get it right. Balancing design creativity with practical printing and material choices will give your packaging the high-quality “extra touch” your customers won’t soon forget. If you’d like to talk to the experts at DECOfill upfront about your packaging needs and custom void fill design goals, we invite you to CONTACT US anytime.
