Exceptional and tailor-made prints
The institution has grown at the same pace as the fashion and luxury industry, whose demand for packaging, paper artifacts and other editions of gifting (personalized gifts) has grown significantly and sophisticated over the years. Moreover, the videos ofunboxing (or unboxing) have gradually invaded social networks. The practice, very widespread among influencers, consists of filming the opening of the package of a product received – generally, a gift from a brand. This is a form of highly dramatized ritual which reinforces the sacred character of the object and, ultimately, that of the brand.
Thus, the company specializes in the production of exceptional and tailor-made prints: invitations for fashion shows, brand booksluxurious boxes, boutique labels, magazines, menus, various brochures, etc. Objects in their own right. Its clients include houses and entrepreneurs in the luxury sector (fashion, jewelry, spirits, beauty, hospitality), design studios and institutions in the world of art and culture.
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Crossing the threshold of the Printing House is like entering a buzzing hive in which more than a dozen craftsmen are busy. Its eight workshops – from photoengraving to eco-design, including prototyping and packaging, embossing and stamping, gilding, offset printing, screen printing and shaping – are interconnected. “This unique configuration makes it possible to combine techniques, colors, materials and finishes in an innovative way. This approach promotes synergies and allows us to support our clients in all phases of research and development, explains Louise Le Moan, communications and events manager at the Imprimerie. We are looking for the creative and technical solution that will enhance the most complex projects.”
The rule is no limit
Here the rule is no limit. The archives are full of collector projects and exceptional artifacts, collected like rare specimens. “We are a living library, we archive and reveal our projects to inspire our customers and show the extent of our exceptional craftsmanship,” underlines Mélody Maby-Przedborski, director of development and communications.
Some of these creations are exhibited in the very heart of the Printing House: delicate brochure with chiseled gilding, laser-cut booklet, box lit by LEDs, box with fluorescent gradients and moires of offset printing, embossed invitation decorated with ‘varnished lettering, etc. All printed on creative papers, colored or not, opaque or translucent, with matte, pearly or satin effects, bound in an artisanal way (Swiss, Japanese, Singer couture, etc.) or encapsulated in carefully marked boxes hot. On a delicate pamphlet, one must observe the infinitesimal details of a multi-level embossing combined with microstructural gilding which brings a truer-than-life bee back to life.
On site, a prototyping workshop also allows you to develop objects print in three dimensions: shopping bags, special cases, tailor-made boxes, etc. Screen printing allows combinations and superpositions of colors and textures, all in nuances and gradients of relief, metallic, lacquered, matte, iridescent, glittery, phosphorescent effects… In April 2023, a photoengraver joined the team in order to put developed an even more precise calibration of color profiles as well as their perfect reproduction on paper.
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Sensory qualities
In a world where communications are digital, the tangible qualities of the printed object, both optical and haptic, are sought by many luxury houses – a way to support their digital strategies. It was also during the pandemic that orders experienced a strong boom. “The houses wanted to maintain a link with their customers and influencers: they then developed their practice of gifting in order to recreate events at home. They imagined surprise boxes to accompany the viewing of a fashion show or boxes to taste spirits. This more targeted customer relationship has remained the norm,” says Mélody Maby-Przedborski.
Furthermore, packaging and signature boxes are revalued, even overvalued, by brands as part of their digital strategy as being one of the few still tangible elements of the shopping experience. Packaging is now an integral part of the product and it must match the expertise of the brands.
180 francs for a Rolex case
Printed objects then gained in sophistication. And, the houses do everything they can to ensure that customers keep them carefully. It’s up to them to recycle them into decorative or storage objects, for example. This great enthusiasm for paper is reflected in the second-hand market. On Vinted, Grailed and even eBay, reselling packaging has become common practice. Boxes and shopping bags branded Gucci, Louis Vuitton or Balenciaga can be exchanged like any other object.
In April 2021, a study carried out by the British site Money identified the most sought-after luxury product packaging on eBay, by estimating their average resale price. Empty boxes from watchmaking companies topped the ranking: count 180 francs on average for a Rolex case, 165 francs for a TAG Heuer equivalent. As for shopping bags, here again the prices leave one wondering. You will have to pay 75 francs on average to acquire a Louis Vuitton or Gucci paper bag, 60 francs for a Louboutin model. “We have an intimate relationship with paper. The exceptional print offers a unique sensory experience,” explains Louise Le Moan, also a copywriter at the printing house.
Eco-responsible material library
For around ten years now, the Printing Company has focused on responsible innovation in its printing techniques and its supply of eco-designed, sustainable papers. It has a material library which contains a plethora of supports, each more original than the other: recycled compositions with the addition of herbs, flax, hemp or algae sourced in Europe to reduce the environmental impact (cellulose coming from Amazonia or Canada generates a large carbon footprint). There are also panels of hay or plants agglomerated with flour and water, bark, inclusions of coffee, chocolate beans or honey plant seeds, banana leaves but also recycled leather. or vegetable like cactus leather etc.
This year, the English hotel group Soho House distributed somewhat unusual postcards to its customers: these were made from a material made to measure and in short supply from used linen sheets from the group’s hotels located in the United Kingdom. United. The textile fibers were thus transformed into “paper pulp”. “Today, each brand is developing its own paper language and rituals, and this also involves the use of eco-designed materials. Printed objects reflect the know-how of a house just like its storytelling,” notes Louise Le Moan. The paper has therefore not said its last word.
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