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Packaging appeal matters a lot for both brands and consumers. For the tactile experience and the high-end visual appeal of the packaging boxes, different types of finishing are applied. Two of them are highly important because of their premium touch, such as soft touch coating and soft touch lamination. You can achieve the velvety texture with the help of these finishing options. Most people think they provide the same results after application.
After an excellent research and debate with our packaging experts, I am going to break down the main differences between soft touch coating vs. soft touch lamination and their benefits. And also you will get the details about which is more suitable for your product packaging.
What is Soft Touch Coating?
Soft touch coatings are transparent liquid-based finishes that are applied on the outer surface of materials with the help of offset printing technology. After the application, the coatings are cured using aqueous coatings or UV methods. In this case, you can provide a cool, velvety, and matte surface to your product packaging.
The soft touch coatings are applied on the surface in a short time and provide an elegant sensory experience. Apart from maintaining the appeal and grace of the packaging, they also add more durability to the surface. It’s thinner than the lamination film and you can apply it on various lightweight products packaging for retail showcase. Spot UV in printing is also ideal for soft-touch coated materials to provide outstanding visual appeal to packaging at a low cost.
What is Soft Touch Lamination?
Soft touch lamination is a matte film that is applied on the printed material with the help of heat and pressure. It provides a napped finish texture like leather and feels soft to the touch. It’s not like soft touch coatings, and is applied on any surface for extra durability of the packaging, bestowing more thickness.
You have noticed the soft touch lamination on the premium quality packaging of retail items, such as rigid gift boxes, book covers, jewelry boxes, and luxury labels. They provide more strength to the soft touch lamination packaging for the complete protection of products and add more value to branding. Soft touch lamination makes the product safe from moisture, scuffs, and scratches to maintain its quality. You can opt for this premium finishing to provide a luxurious visual appeal to your high-end products.
It’s available in various types, such as:
- Soft Touch Matte Lamination
- Soft Touch Velvet Lamination
You can choose the one that best suits your products to get soft touch laminate packaging.
We have defined soft touch coating and lamination in detail to help you get an idea of which is best for your product packaging.
Benefits of Soft Touch Coating
This is one of the affordable soft touch finishes, providing a range of benefits at the same time, such as:
- Fast Application: It has a quick turnaround time, helping brands to get desired results in less time. With the help of soft touch printing, you can save your valuable time for other business tasks.
- Appropriate with Other Effects: Soft touch aqueous coating is an ideal option to be applied with spot UV, embossing, debossing, and foil stamping (gold, silver, holographic). It works with other premium finishes very well without any conflict. You can also choose other customization options for your personalized product packaging with soft touch coating.
- Lightweight and Flexible: This coating is applied on the folded cartons or mailer boxes because of its lightweight. So, the brand chose it for the portable packaging of their products. This option is also effective for short printing runs.
- Luxurious Appeal at Low Cost: It’s a great option for brands that are looking for affordable yet luxurious packaging. With the help of soft touch coatings, you can enhance the overall appeal of your packaging without spending more.
- Eco-Friendly Option: This is a thin film on the surface of on recyclable stock and can never create any difficulty during the recycling process. With the help of soft-touch coated boxes, you can claim that your packaging is 100% recyclable.
Benefits of Soft Touch Lamination
On the other hand, soft touch lamination also provides plentiful benefits, including:
- Enhance Brand Perceived Value: Custom printed boxes applied with soft touch lamination increase the premium brand perception and look more appealing on the shelves to attract customers at first sight.
- Ultimate Protection: Lamination provides superior durability against moisture, fingerprints, scratches, and other physical damage for fragile and high-end products during showcase and shipping.
- Tactile Experience: To win the hearts of customers, soft touch lamination with premium finishes provides an excellent tactile experience to customers. Therefore, it’s the best option for jewelry packaging, cosmetics, gifts, and subscription boxes.
- Best for Premium Products: It’s highly important for the packaging of high-end products, such as electronics, cosmetics, jewelry, gifts, and corporate gifts.
Industries That Can Benefit From Soft Touch Coating and Lamination
Because of their multiple benefits and appropriateness with the other customization options, soft touch coatings and soft touch lamination are popular in various industries.
- Cosmetic
- Jewelry
- Personal Care
- Subscription
- Gift Shops
- Electronics
- Publications
- And More.
What is the Difference Between Soft Touch Coating & Lamination?
After learning about the benefits of both soft touch coating and lamination, let’s know the difference between them with the help of the given table:
| Feature | Soft Touch Coating | Soft Touch Lamination |
| Application | Liquid coating cured with UV or AQ | Matte film applied via heat & pressure |
| Thickness | Thin, flexible layer | Thicker, protective film layer |
| Durability | Moderate resistance to wear | Highly durable and scuff-resistant |
| Cost | More cost-effective | Typically more expensive |
| Finish Feel | Smooth and soft | Ultra-soft and velvet-like |
| Best For | Short-term use, folding cartons | Premium, long-lasting packaging |
Conclusion
The choice between soft touch lamination and soft touch coating depends on the preferences of any brand and their product packaging standards. If any brand wants to give its products an elegant feel at a low cost, it should choose the soft touch coating. On the other hand, soft touch lamination is a more expensive and luxurious option for premium quality products. Whatever your printing needs, The Box Zilla has its in-house printing press, helping brands to get promptly and premium quality printing for the product packaging.
