Paper structure conquers the global market
[China Packaging Network News] Everything starts from a small design studio on a branch of Carnaby Street. SANTORO is a small-scale company created by Lucio and Meera Santoro to step into the innovative graphic design community. Today, their work spans the globe and their designs, greeting cards, and 3D books have won about 50 international awards.
The company's first major achievement was its design of a series of movable three-dimensional greeting card Swing Cards. The greeting card is flat when it is sent out, but it opens automatically when it is taken out of the envelope. Over the past few years, this series has gradually expanded and more than 90 greeting cards are now available worldwide. So far, more than 15 million people have received the greeting card.
"If I initially realized that there was so much work to be done on each card, I would definitely not start this work," Lucio Santoro commented in the company's current showroom in Rotunda Point, Wimbledon. "This is definitely the highest level structure constructed using paper materials."
"But at the same time, demanding construction work also protects us from imitations and plagiarism. Many other products are much easier to imitate."
When the first Swing Cards series was produced in the early 1990s, the studio needed for the first time to use Invercote cardboard made from Ixander paperboard. Since then, all of the studio's high-end series have been made using Invercote.
"Invercote has always maintained a stable high quality," said Lucio Santoro. “But for us, it's a few unusual features that are key. Its high tear resistance allows us to create finer details while the structure is more durable.â€
“Another important property is dimensional stability. Few people realize that when working on three dimensions, you not only need to ensure perfect overprinting between printing inks, but also guarantee perfect overprinting with backside printing images. Dimensional stability is the key."
Over time, SANTORO has created a series of design representative portfolios, and the studio now delegates the design to other users, which brings nearly half of the current total revenue to the company. Santoro's designs are now printed on a range of products ranging from handbags and gifts to household items, notebooks, ceramics, clothing and shoes. Lucio and Meera also published three 3D nonfiction books: Journey to the Moon, Wild Oceans, and Predators.
Complex greeting cards are still an important part of the SANTORO business. Last year, the company launched the Pirouettes greeting card, which is expected to reproduce the popularity of Swing Cards.
"We are very confident in Pirouettes - if you spend two years developing a series, this confidence is essential," Lucio said. “The current sales performance is good, but it will take us a few years before we can see if this series is comparable to the 20-year-old Swing Cards.â€
The SANTORO design studio in London has about 30 employees, while the rest of the world has 60 employees in the studio.