Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel spoke with Marika Knorr of CCL Label to unpack what is quietly becoming one of the most influential forces in packaging today. What emerged from the conversation was not just a discussion about printing techniques or decorative effects. It was a deeper look at how embellishment is reshaping the way brands compete, communicate, and convert at the shelf. Read More
Label converters facing margin pressure can shift from price competition to value creation through digital embellishment. By enabling premium finishes on short runs without complex setup, these technologies help differentiate products, enhance brand impact, and create more profitable opportunities in an increasingly competitive and demanding market. Read More
In this article, provided courtesy of PostPress magazine, Liz Stevens looks at a collaborative promotional project by Neenah, Glenmore Custom Print + Packaging, and Print Design Academy that combines small packages, evocative decoration, creative copy and more. Read More
True print and color quality are not only determined on the print engine but on the finishing line as well, where tension, folding, cutting, and binding can make or break registration, color stability, and overall consistency. Automated imposition, real?time image correction, barcode-driven control, and robotic trimming eliminate cumulative errors, color drift, and mechanical damage, enabling short?run and variable?data books to maintain perfect registration and color fidelity, proving print quality cannot truly be judged until the product is fully finished. Read More
As production inkjet has advanced, a new primary factor limiting productivity has emerged: finishing. How are PSPs adapting their investment and automation strategies? New research shows many can gain a competitive advantage by focusing on finishing. Learn More
Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel spoke with Marika Knorr of CCL Label to unpack what is quietly becoming one of the most influential forces in packaging today. What emerged from the conversation was not just a discussion about printing techniques or decorative effects. It was a deeper look at how embellishment is reshaping the way brands compete, communicate, and convert at the shelf. Read More
Label converters facing margin pressure can shift from price competition to value creation through digital embellishment. By enabling premium finishes on short runs without complex setup, these technologies help differentiate products, enhance brand impact, and create more profitable opportunities in an increasingly competitive and demanding market. Read More
In this article, provided courtesy of PostPress magazine, Liz Stevens looks at a collaborative promotional project by Neenah, Glenmore Custom Print + Packaging, and Print Design Academy that combines small packages, evocative decoration, creative copy and more. Read More
True print and color quality are not only determined on the print engine but on the finishing line as well, where tension, folding, cutting, and binding can make or break registration, color stability, and overall consistency. Automated imposition, real?time image correction, barcode-driven control, and robotic trimming eliminate cumulative errors, color drift, and mechanical damage, enabling short?run and variable?data books to maintain perfect registration and color fidelity, proving print quality cannot truly be judged until the product is fully finished. Read More
The new Printing Outlook 2026–27 Report describes a year of single-digit growth. At the same time, standards adoption around the growing topic of “appearance management” is becoming more and more necessary. Don Carli explains how 2026 is the right window for brand and OEM product managers to fund credible glTF and iccMAX standard pilot programs. Read More
For years, the spotlight has been fixed on presses, speeds, substrates, and finishing capabilities. But as digital embellishment technology matures, a new truth is emerging. Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel explains how the real differentiator is no longer just what the machines can do, but what designers choose to do with them. Read More
In part 2 of this two-part feature, Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel talks with Sean Roberts, National Director of Digital Embellishment at Konica Minolta, about the kinds of applications that are seeing the most traction with digital embellishment. Read More
In part 1 of this two-part feature, Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel talks with Sean Roberts, National Director of Digital Embellishment at Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) about the latest trends driving this market, from the rise of embellished direct mail to innovations on the horizon. Read More
In this article, provided courtesy of PostPress magazine, Erin Judge looks at how and why companies increasingly are investing in anti-counterfeit packaging technologies—including embellishment technologies like foils and films. Read More
In this article, provided courtesy of PostPress magazine, Erin Judge explores how the increasing demand for environmentally conscious packaging solutions is making waves across the entire supply chain—raising critical questions about responsibility, collaboration and clarity. Read More
In this two-part feature, Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel takes a deep dive into the complex psychological underpinnings of how and why tactile experiences such as print embellishments are so effective. In Part 2, Kevin delves into the brain’s reward circuitry, and explores how we can design materials to take advantage of the brain’s desires. Read More
Print embellishments work. Not just because they look nice, but because they trigger the same behavioral principles that have been driving retail sales for decades. Read More
In this two-part feature, Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel takes a deep dive into the complex psychological underpinnings of how and why tactile experiences such as print embellishments are so effective. In Part 1, the attraction to the shiny is a product of human evolution. Read More
Heidi Tolliver-Walker reports from a Digital Embellishment Designer Meetup, sponsored by Taktiful, in which designers come together to learn both from the presenter and from each other. Read More
In this article, provided courtesy of PostPress magazine, Jeff Peterson looks at the current state of greeting cards—and how specialty finishing effects and embellishments are helping keeping this segment of the industry resilient despite the rise of the internet and digital communication. Read More
As the apparel manufacturing industry left the United States in the 70s and 80s in search of cheaper labor, it left the sewing talent we had in search of new careers, or moving on to retirement. Now we are trying to reclaim that talent pool in order to bring at least some of that manufacturing back here. Michael McDonald, President of SPESA, shares his thoughts on this challenge from the perspective of the suppliers to the industry. Read More
The edges of bound books can be decorated, and publishers are finding plenty of good reasons to ask their printers and binders to add this extra dimension of visual appeal. Patrick Henry talks with several providers of edge printing services. Read More
On December 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel explains what this specifically means, as well as its potential impact on cannabis packaging. Read More
In August 2025, the U.S. paper and packaging industry voted to end the Paper & Packaging Board’s (P+PB) national marketing program, after more than a decade of advertising campaigns, sustainability messaging, and third-party evaluations. Senior consulting editor Don Carli takes a close look at the cessation of this initiative. In part 2 of this two-part article, category marketing cooperation: a framework for digital embellishment growth and profitability. Read More
Gone are the days when special effects like print embellishments were treated as gimmicks or luxury add-ons. They are now a strategic tool for business growth. Taktiful’s Kevin Abergel recaps the overwhelming interest in embellishment at last week’s PRINTING United. Read More
Whether operating inline or offline, digitally controlled postpress systems are coming into their own as linchpins of automated print manufacturing. Patrick Henry explains. Read More
The newly released 2025 Taktiful/WhatTheyThink Digital Embellishment Study, the most comprehensive research to date on this growing market, shows that when print is enhanced with texture, shine, and tactile effects, it changes the way people engage, and that shift has powerful business implications. Kevin Abergel provides some highlights from the report. Read More
Taktiful president and WhatTheyThink contributor Kevin Abergel takes a deep dive into the psychology of texture and how it applies to print and packaging. Read More
This success story, written and sponsored by Duplo, highlights how the Texas-based company created new opportunities by integrating the DDC-810 Raised Spot UV Coater into their workflow. Read More
Strategies for OEMs and brands to support the growth of the digital embellishment category and the expansion of the profit pool available to print service providers and the brands they serve. Read More
New book “Empire of Ink” is a look at the history and mythology of the American newspaper. A hacked smart lightbulb provides access to banned books. A digital archive reassembles Leonardo da Vinci’s long-cut-apart notebooks. Michelangelo’s secret underground hiding place—complete with the artist’s graffiti. Marie Antoinette may have been history’s first influencer. A worn copy of a 1912 pulp magazine featuring Tarzan sold at auction for $58,560. New book, “The Graphene Handbook - Making Sense of Graphene at Its Inflection Point.” Visa is integrating its payment network into ChatGPT, which should be fun. A humanoid robot plans to climb Everest. A designer who specializes in chairs without legs. Did a flying monk see Halley’s Comet…twice? The British geologist whose goal was to eat as many different animals as he possibly could. Welcome to WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More
