Without even realizing, you’ve probably encountered soft touch coating! You can find it on all kinds of products today, like pens, planners, flashlights, water bottles, and more. So, why is everyone adding this luxurious finish to their product lines? Well, it’s soft (obviously) but it also has a stylish matte look that’s currently on trend. We’ll cover how this effect is created and share our top list of promotional products you can customize with soft touch coating.
The term “soft touch” refers to a special paint or laminate that’s applied to various surfaces, including aluminum, plastic, cardboard, and more. The result is an elegant matte appearance with a rich, suede-like feel. If you’ve ever opened an Apple product, you’ve probably noticed a special luxurious feel to the packaging. Soft touch coating is to thank! Soft touch finishes have become increasingly popular over the last decade and are now applied to a wide range of products, including drinkware, car interiors, tech packaging, and pens.
A soft touch coating looks like rubber and feels cool to the touch. It gives products a softer look and a richer color.
When a product like a pen or tumbler, notebook cover or tool handle is enhanced with a soft touch coating, the result is a rich matte look and a uniquely smooth and rubber-like feel. But there’s more! If you’ve ever held a pen or tumbler featuring a soft touch finish, the sensation is unique. The coating is flexible and elastic, engaging the sense of touch or “haptics” when the product is being handled. This, in turn, adds engagement with your branding!
To achieve the velvety look and feel of soft touch, the product surface is coated directly with soft touch paint or laminate. Soft touch can be applied to many surfaces, including plastic, stainless steel, aluminum, paper, and more.
Not quite. While a soft touch finish is almost always matte, a matte look can be created without the soft coating. For example, another type of finish is called powder-coating, and though it has a trendy matte look, the surface is slightly rough and textured. The perk of soft touch coating is that it delivers matte style along with soft comfort.
Soft touch is usually made of injection-molded (liquid) plastic or artificial rubber that is formulated to feel silky and respond like rubber. It is applied to the substrate (surface) as a liquid coating, a spray, or a laminate. The result is a surface that is more durable, less slippery, and more resistant to marks and scuffs. This adds appeal both visually and to the touch.
We offer a soft touch finish on our most popular swag, including drinkware, stationery, flashlight keychains, and of course, soft touch pens! Check out these crowd pleasers:
A soft touch finish is a smart way to add a little magic to your branded pen. Writing is a tactile, individual experience, sometimes attached to journaling, planning, and creative thinking. Adding a soft touch finish to writing instruments makes the experience even better. Here are two of our favorite soft touch pens:
The premium look and feel a soft touch coating delivers is a great way to easily elevate your branding and engage customers with your giveaway. Look for soft touch promotional products when you refresh your swag, and watch the requests for seconds (“mind if I take two?”) pour in!
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