Paper stock and coatings

Paper Stock

There are many different types and weights of paper stock; paper density is the mass of the product per unit of entry. If little light can be seen through the paper it has higher density known commonly as paper board, the more light can be seen through it the less dense paper stock. The denser the paper the more expensive the stock is.

There are four different densities of paper stock:

·      90 – 100 gsm – used for magazine pages, flyers, brochures, booklets and stationary

·      120 – 170 gsm – used for magazine and booklet pages, flyers, and brochures similar to the 90 - 100 gsm paper stock. The higher the density the more up market or professional feel to the product.

·      200 - 250 gsm – used mostly for magazine and booklet covers

·      280 – 420 gsm – used mainly for booklet, book and cards of all sorts

There are some different techniques or coatings and embossing that can be added to the paper or card to give it something extra. Some of these coatings are:

·       Laminating/Celloglaze – provides an extra coating that is waterproof and increases the durability of the product. It comes in matte or gloss celloglazing to give the product something extra.

·      Raised printing – raised printing is when powder is applied to the wet ink then being passed through a heat tunnel to create a raised effect on the page. It enables people to be able to touch not only read the writing.

·      Embossed printing – embossing will enable fine patterns to have an extra demention.

·      Foil stamping – Foil stamping is used for packaging, wedding stationary, invitations, personalized stationary, corporate stationary, brochures, gift cards and presentation folders. There are also many different colours to choose from.

Textured and Metalic Papers

·      Linen paper stock – comes in light colours, subtle linen pattern and has a strong surface.

·      Tant paper stock – only features on the front side and is unevenly embossed.

·      Nouveau paper stock – Nouveau stock is warm, neat and simple.

·      Silky matte paper stock – very easy to view text, soft and features a bright white surface and a good colour results when printed on.

·      Particles paper stock – heavy environmental friendly paper and softly textured with a slight antique look.

·      Vintage paper stock – similar to the particles paper stock.

Coated and uncoated paper stock

Coated

Coated paper stock comes in four different types gloss, matte, dull and satin finishes. Coating reduces the dot grain by the ink sitting on the surface of the page to create a brighter and solid image when printed.

·         Gloss – used for magazines, creating a high gloss finish that is less expensive than matte and dull papers and makes the graphics and images stand out on the page.

·         Dull – dull is halfway between gloss and matte paper.

·         Matte – matte paper coating is very low shine, flat and not glossy. Matte is higher cost and has greater bulk.

Uncoated paper stock 

Uncoated paper stock has no sealent or coating on the paper, allowing the ink to soak into the paper. It can be featured in a variety of types of paper and smooth and textured surfaces.

Design Pink 2012, Paper types and Paper stocks, http://designpink.com.au/paper-types-and-paper-stocks/, viewed 26/3/12

Summit Printing 2011, Commercial printing paper types, http://www.summitprintingpro.com/paper-types.html, viewed 26/3/12

Marketing products to children

Marketing products to children

The most practical and common used way to attract children through the packaging is by using competitions, giveaways and collector promotions. Many companies use images of well-known athletes and celebrities, charities, theme parks and sports teams. It has been found that 78% between 2006 and 2007 that cross-promotions have increased sales when the product is targeted to children and adolescents. 

The main impacts towards food packaging targeted towards children are:

• ·     Promotions,
• ·      Nutritional information,
• ·      Size and shape of the product,
• ·      How the packaging opens and closes,
• ·      How freshness of the product is maintained
• ·      Colours used
• ·      Other shapes, symbols and how the product is depicted
• ·      Display of the brand and brand characters

Small packaging is a simple way to attract children along with fun and creative shapes. The most common use of colours for packaging targeted at children are, blue, red, green and yellow. Younger children attracted more to the promotions; older children are influenced by the visual graphics and the colour of the packaging. Although green gives the impression of freshness so it may give a false aspect of how fresh or nutritious the product actually is.

Some promotions that have worked well for many packaging products are stickers and collector cards, toys, unusual names and flavours and colours of the products inside. Fun packaging revolves around the key theme that “food is fun and eating is entertainment” (Elliott, 2008a). Young children seem to be attracted to the images and shape of the product and packaging not the colour of the packaging. While older children, are attracted to the aesthetics and colour of the packaging.

Hawks, C, Cambridge University Journals, Food Packaging: the medium is the message, http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPHN%2FPHN13_02%2FS1368980009993168a.pdf&code=ba62a285dc9dc811cc1b3917051f9ad5

Elliot, C 2008, University of Calgary, Healthy Food Looks Serious”: How Children Interpret Packaged Food Products, http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/includes/pdf/elliott1.pdf

Child development,forms and types of play

Children aged six to nine years want to try new intellectually and physically stimulating activities and games such as checkers, card games and puzzles.  They also enjoy collecting playing cards, character cards from their favourite television show or video game. Children of this age also find a special attachment to a certain toy or item and have a link between them and the item.

Children aged nine to fourteen years; games and activities become more interesting, sophisticated and symbolic. They usually play in groups instead of being on their own and sports are increasingly played instead of mind games such as a word search. Children of this age like to concentrate and spend most of their time on a specific interest whether it’s music, sport, art or more.

There are three forms of play:

·      Solitary Play – Where children will like or prefer to play by themselves by making up stories with their toys or drawing, painting, reading books, building block and explore their own imagination.

·       Parallel play – This is when children will enjoy playing beside other children without actually engaging and interacting with them. This is common for two to three year olds, they may work on different activities or the same activities but enjoy being around children their own age.

·      Group play – Children aged from three years are able to interact with others, play by themselves and with other children, begin to learn social skills of sharing and taking turns through interactive games and activities. Children of this age start to use or recognize the theme of a game and make up their own themes. They enjoy playing with adults, enabling them to learn new skills and develop their social skills and imagination.

There are five types of play:

·      Physical play – this is physical activity that enables children to develop muscle strength and brain development. Activities may include running games, such as midnight or octopus and sport.

·      Social play – A social play is when a child interacts with other children of their own age group and other ages. Through this type of play children learn about social skills, sharing, cooperation and develop a sense of morals.

·      Constructive play - A constructive play is when a child changes their environment or manipulates it. An example is during building blocks into cities or buildings or making sand castles. It enables children to experiment with different shaped objects to see what works and what doesn’t work. Children learn to manipulate words, shapes, music and ideas.

·      Fantasy play – Fantasy play is when children begin to think outside the box and try out different emotions and language. They tend to use numbers and words to express their own ideas and use abstraction in their play.

·      Games with rules – This involves children playing games with rules such as soccer, hockey or Simon says. It helps them understand that rules are a part of life and need to be important. Children become connected to the need for rules through this type of play.

Ten toys that will keep children occupied for quite a while:

1.     Blocks/building blocks

2.     Dolls and stuffed animals

3.     Play-doh

4.     Wagons

5.     Art – painting, drawing, colouring, making clay figures

6.     Musical instruments

7.     Gardening or housekeeping – imitating adults

8.     Sand box

9.     Dress up clothes

1. Balls

Child Development Info 2012, http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/, viewed 26/3/12

 Child Development Info 2012, http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/school-age-children-development-parenting-tips.shtml viewed 26/3/12

Child Development Info 2012, http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/toys-keep-attention.shtml, viewed 26/3/12

Child Development Info 2012, http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/pl1.shtml, viewed 26/3/12

Research behind how children think

How children think … the psychology

Aged 2 to 6 – This stage is known as the preoperational stage. Children can recognize words and images but are still unable to use true logical thinking and action. They are also not able to see anything other than themselves and use pretending as a key part of their development.

Aged 7 to 11 – This stage is known as the concrete operational stage. Children of this age can identify that the quantity of an object stays the same no matter if the object or shape changes.

Aged 12 and above – This stage is known as the formal operational stage. Children learn to use abstract thinking and reasoning, going beyond the cement thinking of what can be seen or known to in a way thinking outside the box.

There are some theories for each age group according to cognitive development, Erik Erikson’s theory. Firstly from birth to 1 year they require a sense of security to resolve the need to enable trust. Children aged between 1 to 2 years are faced with autonomy verses shame and doubt resulting in a need for independence. Children aged between three to five years, have the impact of initiative verses guilt resulting with a need to find a balance between getting what they want and being held back. Many children of this age want to be in control of everything and everyone around them. Children aged six to fourteen or fifteen often feel inferior and have low self-esteem so they require extra building up of self worth. During this time of a children’s development they need to be very social and develop one on one relationships with other children and adults to feel secure and help them learn new things that are important in their development.

Alley Dog 2012, Child Psychology, http://www.alleydog.com/topics/child-psychology.php, viewed 25/3/12

Kids Psych 2012, Games for 6-9 years, http://www.kidspsych.org/oochina.html, viewed 25/3/12