Design, Print, and Paper Trends in 2020 with Kelly and Laura

Earlier this month, our WCP Paper Specification Consultant, Laura Luethje, hosted a Valentine’s Day event for designers at Woodblock Chocolate in Portland, co-hosted with Kelly Chrey from Neenah Paper.  The event served as a great opportunity for WCP and Neenah Paper to talk to the local creative design community about the latest trends in the print and paper industry as well as celebrating their loved ones by making Valentine’s Day cards and other paper-inspired gifts. 

Some Trends We’re Currently Seeing in the Design Community Right Now:

• Gold and Copper Foils in Printed Pieces – We’re noticing that many designers are using Gold and Copper foils to enhance a print piece and make it worthwhile for the end-user to keep instead of just recycling or throwing away after its use. This thought process allows for the printed piece to function as more than just a one-use product.
• Customers Want Sustainable Products – Customers are looking for paper products that both look and feel from a glance like they are sustainable, but also products that go beyond the “usual” standards for sustainability. Take a look at many sustainable Neenah paper options in The Power of Green guide to help pick a sustainable paper option for your next project that your client will love!
• Hemp Fiber Folding Board from Neenah Paper – This new product from Neenah is made from Hemp Fiber, which is one of the strongest plants that paper can be made from, creating a very strong product that is perfect for packaging. As an eco-friendly option, Hemp Board packaging papers from Neenah come in a Vellum finish in 3 different choices of color: New PC White Hemp, New Desert Storm Hemp, and New Deep Black Hemp.

All About the Exciting New Neenah Swatch Pro!

We’re also excited to share the launch of the Neenah Swatch Pro, the first-ever paper extension for Adobe Illustrator. Designers using Adobe Illustrator can now download the Swatch Pro from the Adobe Exchange for free and use it while designing, to pull in hundreds of Neenah paper colors and textures and layer them in the design file itself. This will allow designers to really see how their graphics will look on textured papers and how that design effect will alter the design itself. To make things even easier, designers and creators can actually order paper samples through the Swatch Pro as well, all from within Adobe Illustrator.

There is also a tutorial available to help explain the process of using the Neenah Swatch Pro and walk designers through the steps to utilize this amazing new design tool. For more information on the Neenah Swatch Pro, take a look at Neenah’s website or reach out to our WCP Solutions team for more information.

Have questions about what’s new in the paper industry?

Feel free to reach out to your Account Manager or any of the WCP locations for more information or give us a call today at (877) 398-3030. We can’t wait to help you with your next project!