Finish demos · stand-up pouch

Six pouches. Six industries. One press engine.

Every pouch below is generated, not photographed. The artwork is drawn in dieline-web space, the geometry is the parametric stand-up pouch PackOS quotes against, and the finishes are rendered by the same composePBR pass that decides what the decoration costs. Drag to turn one — most of these effects only exist off-axis.

Drag to rotate · turn it into the light

Hero technique 01Soft touch + foil stamping

A soft-touch laminate is the matte-est ground in the catalogue; foil is the most specular element available. Put them on the same panel and the pouch carries a highlight the eye reads as expensive before it reads a single word. The trade is real: foil is a struck die, so it wants mass. Under about 0.5 mm the leaf tears off the carrier instead of transferring.

See it on: AURA (coffee), SOLSTICE (tea)
Min feature: ≈0.5 mm stroke; 1–8 mm used here
Cold vs hot: SOLSTICE prints over its foil — metal beneath color, which a hot stamp cannot do

Hero technique 02Soft touch + spot varnish

A second image that only exists in raking light. The print is flat and matte; the varnish carries a graphic the ink does not contain at all, so the pouch has one appearance face-on and another when it turns. It only works on a matte ground — measured across this engine, spot UV gives a 214-point roughness contrast on a soft-touch film and −5.6 on gloss. On a glossy bag you have paid for a station that does nothing.

See it on: MERIDIAN (cannabis), PROTOCOL (sports nutrition)
Min feature: ≈0.4 mm to hold an edge; 1.8 mm used here
Knockout: MERIDIAN knocks the gloss out of its wordmark, so the type stays matte inside a glossed landscape

Compare how the finishes behave.

Rotate each pouch to compare a face-on view with light moving across its surface. Look at the same area on the front panel, then compare the folds and edges. A foil accent, a glossy varnish, and a matte background can appear similar from one angle but separate as the pouch turns. Use the examples to discuss which parts of a design should catch attention.

Use the preview to frame a supplier discussion.

These demonstrations illustrate appearance, not a production approval. Screen brightness, lighting, film structure, ink coverage, and the finishing process can change the physical result. Ask your supplier to confirm achievable line widths, registration, finish compatibility, and cost for your artwork. Review a physical sample or proof before signing off on a production specification.

For the next planning step, explore the pouch size calculator and the guide to specialty print finishes.