Designing Impact: What the Label Industry Can Learn from the Digital Embellishment Designer Meetup

The June edition of the Digital Embellishment Designer Meetup opened with the usual warmth and wit that defines our creative corner of the print world. What began as a casual check-in among friends, including designers, operators, software developers, and technology leaders, quickly evolved into a dynamic and deeply insightful exploration of one of the fastest growing and most misunderstood sectors of the industry: digitally embellished labels.

This month’s focus was not just about what looks good. It was about how design, technology, market forces, and production realities come together or sometimes clash in real-world workflows. While we laughed about missed avocado toast and Chicago weather, the discussion quickly revealed an urgent need for more education, better tools, and honest conversations about cost, capability, and creative empowerment.

It became clear early in the session that the label space represents more than a trend. It reflects the core challenges of digital embellishment as a whole. Labels touch every part of the supply chain. They are small, tactile, and brand-defining. They require tight registration, creative flair, regulatory precision, and production efficiency. All of this must be accomplished while standing out on increasingly crowded shelves. As Matt Redbear put it, labels are a strange animal. Strange, yes, but also rich with opportunity.

As the discussion unfolded among Sabine, Paul, Mike, Stephanie, and Matt, a pattern emerged. The main obstacle wasn’t foil. It wasn’t varnish. It was frustration that was real, honest, and shared across different roles and regions.

One of the key insights from our recent embellishment study came up early. Design has now become the second most significant barrier to digital embellishment adoption, up from third place in 2023. This caught many by surprise, not because it seemed wrong, but because it underscored something we already sensed. Many print jobs fail, not due to lack of demand or high costs, but because they were never designed for embellishment in the first place.

Mike Scrutton, Director of Print Technology at Adobe, helped ground that insight in action by sharing a preview of Project Goldsmith. This upcoming Adobe tool is not built for Creative Cloud but for prepress and web-to-print environments. Its purpose is simple: take whatever embellished file you’ve got and prepare it for production, no matter how messy. If your file includes a layer named “shiny” or a spot color like PMS 871C, Goldsmith will recognize that intent and convert it to meet specific press and workflow requirements.

Mike explained that the goal is to normalize intent. Goldsmith bridges the gap between inconsistent file naming and diverse printer expectations. One shop might want four separate pages for CMYK and embellishments, while another requires complex naming conventions. With Goldsmith, you no longer need to train designers on every possible spec. The system handles the translation.

For Matt, this was a breath of fresh air. As someone who wears the hats of designer, prepress specialist, and operator, he described Goldsmith as a lifeline. “It’s a ray of hope,” he said. “Every job feels like a puzzle. Sometimes I forget where I left off or if I did it right the first time. Goldsmith doesn’t just help. It makes the whole process human again.”

Stephanie, representing the agency side, echoed the importance of reducing friction. Her work focuses largely on flexible packaging, where digital embellishment could be a huge creative unlock. But as she pointed out, the divide between creatives and printers remains wide. “We want to push the envelope,” she said. “But we don’t always know what’s possible. And we often don’t even know where to find a printer who can help.”

That gap in awareness is one of the most persistent roadblocks. Stephanie explained that while clients love the idea of embellishment, they usually reject it once cost is introduced. Even a few extra cents per unit can break the budget for high-volume jobs. While sustainability and premium feel are popular brand values, they are often dropped once numbers hit the spreadsheet.

This sparked a broader reflection. Sabine reminded the group that the industry is still starting the conversation too late. Designers often do not know embellishment is an option, so they don’t request it. She pointed out that most creatives are spending 80 percent of their time on digital work like web, video, and motion graphics, and maybe 20 percent on print. Expecting them to spend a chunk of that print time researching print effects is simply unrealistic.

The solution is to meet them where they are.

That means creating visual samples, sharing them often, and simplifying design processes. It means building educational moments into the tools designers already use, whether it’s Adobe Express or Canva. And it means understanding that awareness isn’t the responsibility of any one group. It is a shared effort.

Skandacor has embraced this mindset with hands-on demos. At the Amplify show, they handed out standard event badges and let attendees run them through a toner-reactive foil system. The result was stunning. It required no complex setup and made the impact of embellishment instantly tangible. Their number one challenge, Mike noted, is just educating designers that this kind of technology even exists.

Matt offered a cautionary tale about the perils of bad design. One client gave detailed instructions for layered varnishes, thinking it would look amazing. But when Matt produced the file as specified, it was overdone and unattractive. “It looked like melted wax,” Matt admitted. Even the internal team agreed it was a mess. But the customer loved it. That’s the danger. When something poor gets celebrated, it can unintentionally lower expectations across the board.

To combat this, Matt stayed late, rebuilt the file, and redesigned it to meet professional standards. The difference was night and day. But as he pointed out, “We can’t show most of our work. It’s all cannabis and edibles.” Still, the point was clear. Embellishment is art and engineering. Both need to be taught and respected.

Labels, the official topic of the meetup, came back into focus. Matt explained how they are especially well-suited for digital embellishment. Labels for cannabis, craft food, boutique beverages, and short-run specialty packaging all benefit from the flexibility and flair digital brings. These products are often regulatory minefields. They change frequently and require short print runs, which makes digital an ideal choice.

Matt’s design tips were as thoughtful as they were practical. He emphasized the value of seasonal color palettes including bright neons, citrus tones, and ocean-inspired hues. He encouraged designers to play with shape, pushing beyond rectangles toward custom die cuts and kiss cuts that add personality. Even a simple varnish layer, if applied with intent, can elevate an otherwise standard label.

Paul, speaking from the European perspective, confirmed similar trends. His clients want premium impact, but not with heavy coverage. “Microscopic detail wins,” he said. “Just highlight the brand. One precise effect can deliver more than five overused ones.” In other words, less is still more.

This concept of touch factor became a theme. It’s not about how many embellishment layers you use, but how the final piece feels in the hand. The tactile experience matters. Whether it’s a subtle varnish or a dramatic foil, it must align with the brand’s story and the consumer’s expectations.

Mike expanded the conversation into color. He noted that designers often build projects in RGB because the colors look better on screen and they aren’t always trained to consider print limitations. The good news is that digital presses have evolved. Fifth and sixth color units now allow printers to hit colors that were once out of reach. Designers can continue creating in RGB and trust that printers will come close, if not exact, with modern workflows.

That willingness to adapt is key. Mike challenged the industry to embrace where designers are, rather than asking them to backtrack. Visualization tools, like those Adobe is developing, can help close that loop. Show designers what their RGB creations will look like in CMYK. Let them preview foil and varnish in context. Remove the guesswork.

The conversation turned once more to roll-to-roll printing, which many believe will shape the future of print production. Matt and others agreed that even non-label projects are shifting to roll. Direct mail, short-run packaging, and even promotional work are all finding a home in roll-fed workflows. It is more efficient, faster to finish, and increasingly compatible with embellishment hardware.

Paul noted that while reel-to-reel embellishment systems are still growing, the quality and efficiency they offer are unmatched. He encouraged designers to study the specs of their equipment, understand capabilities and limitations, and design accordingly. “One great detail, well executed, will have more impact than a page full of effects,” he said.

As the session drew to a close, Matt offered a final story. Some clients, he explained, think they know how embellishment should be done. They prescribe specific varnish values and foil placements without fully understanding the process. When the job prints poorly, it falls to the designer or operator to fix it. Sometimes that means rebuilding the file from scratch. Sometimes it means educating the client gently. In all cases, it means protecting the craft.

And at the heart of it all is collaboration.

Matt described the creative process as a virtual roundtable, with stakeholders across time zones all contributing. The secret, he said, is the chemistry in the room. No fancy tools or special tricks. Just people who trust each other and want to make something great.

That is what the Digital Embellishment Designer Meetup is all about.

As we wrapped, we thanked our sponsors: MGI, PaperSpecs, and the Digital Embellishment Alliance. And we thanked the community.

If you’re new to this space or trying to decide whether digital embellishment is right for your work, start by asking questions. Reach out to the people in this community. Request samples. Experiment. Learn what’s possible. Then go make something memorable.

Embellishment is not a luxury. It is a tool for impact. And that impact begins with design.

We’ll see you next month. Until then, keep exploring, keep collaborating, and keep printing beautiful things.