Make Embossing Decisions Fast With The New Touch ‘N’ Roll 3D Configurator

Embossed products present tissue converters with a unique challenge: how to accurately convey the embossing pattern look and performance characteristics to sales and marketing teams, and equipment operators on the shop floor. Creating physical 3D models of rolls using printouts of 2D embossing patterns met with limited success and was often time-consuming. If the design was somehow modified, new models would have to be created from scratch, further contributing to an inefficient process. Digital technology and the forward thinking of Engraving Solutions, a sister company of Valmet, now offers tissue converters another option — the Touch ‘N’ Roll 3D embossing configurator.

What’s Touch ‘N’ Roll?

Touch ‘N’ Roll is the tissue industry’s only 3D configurator that offers the user an onscreen 3D experience as to how an embossing pattern will appear on a specified roll type. Colors and detailed design elements appear exactly as they will when the embossed rolls are produced.

A dynamic visualization tool, Touch ‘N’ Roll allows users to see the roll from all angles and to zoom in and out for closer inspection of embossing properties. Seeing a representation of the finished product instead of assuming how a flat design will translate onto rolls allows for faster, better decisions and improved efficiencies.

How Does Touch ‘N’ Roll Work?

Advanced Touch ‘N’ Roll technology is available to customers through the purchase of a license. The type of license a customer holds determines the number of features and level of access granted but, in general, users operate the configurator in four simple steps:

  1. Choose the product type: toilet roll, kitchen towel, or away-from-home.
  2. Input technical specifications (height, diameter, paper type).
  3. Select an embossing pattern from the shared Touch ‘N’ Roll database or from proprietary options maintained on a customer-specific database.
  4. Review the resulting 3D images onscreen in real time on a desktop computer, tablet, or other mobile device.

Why Should Tissue Converters Use Touch ‘N’ Roll?

Touch ‘N’ Roll allows key decision makers to visualize hundreds of product ideas quickly using a database of thousands of embossing patterns — including their own proprietary options — and gain clarity around next steps. License agreements dictate how the configurator can be used.

Touch ‘N’ Roll licensing is divided into three types, and customers may purchase one, two, or all three depending on their needs, with all three providing the most comprehensive benefits:

  • Marketing has access to all designs available within the database in order to better understand trends, possibilities, and possible needed changes in order to develop campaigns that differentiate products from each other and the competition.

  • Sales has access to a subset of designs within the database that they can use for real-time demonstrations of product options while with current and prospective customers.

  • Production has access to the features and technical specifications of all embossing patterns in addition to the design database, so they can easily compare what’s onscreen with the physical product to ensure accuracy and quality without guesswork.