Nicole Rivera, director of administration and operations, K Laser Technology, has recently been traveling the country to promote the company’s newest products. L&NW caught up with her to discuss how K Laser is providing solutions for label converters’ most common challenges.

L&NW: With an emphasis on catching the consumer’s eye, how does K Laser’s technology position brands to stand out on crowded shelves? 
NR: Simply put, who doesn’t love something shiny?! With over 20 years in the cold foil game, K Laser Technology’s cold foil embellishment has become synonymous with attention-grabbing and second looks.

Of course, we have cold foil embellishment substrates, but it comes with added values for printers, converters, and brands. KOLDfoil ONE delivers more operational efficiencies and cost savings, as well as a cohesive brand image across the board without regard to printing application and cold foil patterns for brands and brand owners.

L&NW: How has your technology been optimized for printers increasingly investing in digital printing capabilities? 
NR: There’s been a dynamic shift in the market for the last several years with brands demanding shorter runs and customized labels at competitive pricing. Enter digital printing, the next phase of this ever-changing industry. We developed KOLDfoil ONE with this in mind. Finally shown at Labelexpo Americas 2022, KOLDfoil ONE is the industry’s only specially formulated cold foil embellishment substrate that can be used for three printing applications – flexo, digital, and offset.

KOLDfoil ONE from K Laser Technology gives printers and converters the ability to optimize their inventory management. Gone are the days of differentiating rolls, extra SKUs, and multiple rolls sitting on shelves waiting to be used on their compatible printing application. With KOLDfoil ONE, each roll’s usability is maximized.

L&NW: What differentiates KOLDfoil ONE from other products on the market, and what feedback have you seen from converters recently? 
NR: KOLDfoil ONE was developed with ease in mind. It is the industry’s only multi-application cold foil embellishment substrate. A common setback with foil embellishments throughout the industry is the availability of colors and patterns within formulas. K Laser Technology eliminates that entirely with KOLDfoil ONE. Every pattern and color can be used for any application. This provides printers and converters with the creative advantage for their customers.

Feedback from printers and converters has been nothing but positive, especially those utilizing both flexo and digital applications. They order as needed regardless of cold foil embellishment-equipped technology.

L&NW: With the advantages cold foil provides in giving labels a luxurious look, how has K Laser prioritized collaboration and education around this topic?
NR: K Laser Technology launched the Design Lab in 2018 to great success in our Taiwan headquarters. Following the same model, we opened a Design Lab for the Americas in June 2022 in Sarasota, FL, USA. It is a dedicated space designed for collaborating and educating creatives, designers, students, printers, and converters. The Design Lab provides the opportunity to work with our creative team to learn how cold foil can be used to catch the consumer’s eye and to be inspired with our selection of foils.

Our hope is to foster a relationship with students and recent graduates to provide them with real world applications for cold foil embellishments and spark their ideas and prospective projects.

In addition to education, we also offer a preliminary cold foil embellishment print proof, a first in the industry. With this complimentary service, we can apply a prospective foil embellishment to the design in question – an extremely important service to creatives, designers, and printers alike. Many times, we’ve seen a stunning pattern in our pattern guide, only for the pattern to fall flat once printed with the design. Our goal is to maximize cold foil embellishments through education, trial, and error.

L&NW: What can we expect from K Laser in the future?
NR: K Laser Technology continues to innovate based on the industry’s trends. As mentioned, one of the biggest trends in labels are short, customized runs. This can be more easily achieved through digital printing. How do we help printers and converters invest in digital printing in a cost-effective way? This is the question we continue to ask ourselves in R&D with some great options coming through the pipeline. Stick around to find out.