Diamond Packaging recently completed production of a new green promo kit. The kit is an extension of Diamond’s greenbox initiative, the company’s commitment to research, design, and implement packaging solutions that are innovative and sustainable.

The green promo kit is designed as a tool for brand managers and designers when developing their own eco-friendly packaging concepts.

It includes printed samples of several different paperboard options and their environmental attributes, all enclosed within a green-themed folder and shipper.

The samples were printed from virgin, recycled, and mixed sources paperboard. One sample is printed with an optional MiraFoil® coating which adds environmentally friendly metallic effects in-line. All materials were produced using 100% wind energy.

Also included in the kit are green-themed press releases, case studies, and production samples.

Click here to request a free green promo kit and get started on a path towards greener packaging.

The Diamond greenbox initiative is one more way we plan to surpass our customers’ expectations today, tomorrow, and into a greener future. For more information visit www.diamondpackaging.com/green.

There will come a time when you need to show how foil can enhance a design, but don’t want to go through the process of producing a die and then foil stamping the sample or mock-up.

You can avoid these steps, however, by reproducing a foil effect in Photoshop that may sell your design without the cost and time involved to produce an actual stamped sample:

1. Select the area that will have the foil effect. Create a new layer and title it “Foil”.
2. Select a gradient from the pre-set gradients list. The Copper pre-set is a good one to start out with. Choose either the Linear or the Reflected gradient effect and set the mode to Difference.
3. Fill the selection with the gradient. Now fill it again utilizing a different angle. Repeat a few times, starting at different locations and using different angles to fill it. The end result should be an area that has random-looking highlights and shadows. If the highlights/shadows have too much contrast, use Gaussian Blur to smooth out the area (locking the transparency on the layer will help keep the edges of the selection sharp). Use the Curves command or the Levels command to bring out the mid-tone areas a little more, since this is where the color will show up the most.
4. Use Hue/Saturation to adjust the color of the foil effect. Select Colorize in the dialog box to get a uniform color. Increase the Saturation amount to make the color more intense. You may also use the Hue/Saturation command to adjust the color of the foil until it matches the foil you’ve chosen from a sample book.

Experiment

This tutorial is just to get you started. Try applying a Bevel/Emboss Layer Style effect with a very high softening amount and a low Shadow Mode percentage to give the area a slight embossed effect. Use a very small Drop Shadow (set the light source to the lower left or right) to give the effect of the die leaving a slight impression in the paper. For a holographic look, use the Rainbow gradient pre-set and change the mode to color as your last gradient fill, and don’t Colorize during your Hue/Saturation adjustments. The most helpful tip, though, is to have some foil sample books from foil manufacturers on hand; first, so that you can match your colors to what’s available, and second, so you can see if the effect you’ve created on-screen is a close match to the foil you see in real life.