How White Ink Works on Metallic Material
Metallic effects can give your pouch design a very special look. Whether you want a gold appearance, colored metallic details, or subtle shimmering effects, the result depends on how the white ink layer is set up on metallic material.
To understand how this works, it helps to think of the design in layers. On our metallic material, all areas that should appear in their regular printed color need a white layer underneath them. This white layer is printed first, underneath the CMYK colors. Wherever no white ink is placed, the color is printed directly onto the silver film. That is exactly what creates the metallic effect.
Why White Ink Matters on Metallic Pouches
If you want golden or colored metallic effects in your pouch design, everything that should not appear metallic needs to be backed with white ink. This white layer acts as a base underneath the printed colors.
Wherever white ink is missing, the CMYK colors are printed directly on the silver film. Because of that, the PP Film Metallic shines through and creates the final metallic look.
Different White Ink Levels Create Different Effects
Metallic effects do not always have to be fully visible or fully covered. By working with white ink levels from 10% up to 100%, different levels of metallic transparency are possible.
This gives you more flexibility in your design. You can create subtle metallic transitions, softer effects, or stronger contrast depending on how much white ink is placed underneath the artwork.
See Metallic Effects in Real Life
This metallic sample is included in our Sample Pack, so you can see the effect in real life and get a better feeling for how different colors behave on metallic material.
For these metallic effects, the CMYK values play a big role in the final look. That is why we intentionally include the CMYK values in our metallic sample design. This helps you and your designer understand exactly which color values were used to create a certain effect.
If you want to recreate a specific metallic tone later, this makes the design process much easier.
And if you want to test your own artwork before placing a full order, we also offer Print Proof Options.
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From Small Highlights to Full Metallic Designs
You can use metallic effects very selectively by leaving only small elements out of the white layer. This works especially well for accents, logos, or typography. Or you can go much further and leave larger areas without white ink to create a more dominant metallic look. It all depends on how bold you want your pouch design to feel.
How to Set Up White Ink in Adobe Illustrator
In Adobe Illustrator, the white layer is usually created as a separate spot color named White. The display color used inside the file does not matter for the print result. Even if the layer appears blue on screen, that is only for visibility while designing.
What really matters is that the color is set up as a spot color and named exactly White. That is how our printing press recognizes that white ink needs to be printed in that area.
In our workflow, we usually show this layer in 30% cyan. Not because cyan is printed, but simply because it is practical and easy to recognize in the file.
Do Not Forget Overprint Fill
Another important step is to assign the Overprint Fill attribute to the white layer. This ensures that the white ink is processed correctly in the print file and printed underneath the design as intended.
Without this setting, the artwork may not behave the way it should in production.
Need Help With Your Metallic Pouch Design?
Metallic effects can look amazing, but the white ink setup needs to be done correctly. If you need support with your file or want to order a print proof before production, we are happy to help.
