If you've picked up the new multi-disc box set Nirvana, "With the Lights Out" (Geffen/UME), you've experienced the latest Shorewood-produced package using thermochromatic inks from Chromatic Technologies (CTI).
The dark gray background on the Nirvana Digipak® will disappear and reveal the graphics beneath when touched (and warmed) by a warm hand. The color returns once the ink cools back to room temperature. This "touch and reveal" effect can be incorporated creatively in packaging with a variety of themes and applications. Although just recently used on CD and DVD packages, these inks have also been used in print media for movies, such as Spiderman, The Hulk and Harry Potter.
Shorewood ink supplier CTI specializes in color-changing inks and coatings. Their inks include photochromatic (sunlight-sensitive) and glow-in-the-dark, as well as thermochromatic (temperature-sensitive) inks. Customers interested in these inks can choose from numerous colors that react at various temperatures.
