3D Materials
Define how stocks, films, windows, finishes, mats and frames look in 3D previews, and move materials between licenses.
3D Materials is the catalog of how things look in 3D: paper and board stocks, flexible films, clear and frosted windows, finishes such as gloss and soft touch, and wall-art mats and frames. Every 3D preview uses it, on the storefront, in the Print Editor and in the admin.
The catalog is license-wide: every store on the license shares the same materials.
Open 3D Materials
From your Unified Admin, go to Print Editor > Live Previews > 3D Materials.
The screen needs the 3D model viewer license feature. See Live Previews.
Materials List
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| (checkbox) | Select materials to export. The header checkbox selects all. |
| Type | stock, window, finish, mat or frame. A partial stock shows as stock (partial). |
| Name | The material's name. This is the name admins pick from in pricing. |
| Category | A free-text label for grouping. |
| Order | The display order. |
| Action | Edit, Clone (makes a copy named "name (copy)"), Export and Delete. |
The toolbar has Export selected, Import and Add Material.
Material Types
Click Add Material to open the New Appearance Material dialog, then pick a Type.
| Type | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Stock (board or film) | Paper, board and flexible films: what the product is made of. |
| Window film | The clear or frosted film in a pouch window. Transmissive is on by default. |
| Finish (gloss, matte, soft touch) | A coating that changes how any stock looks, instead of replacing the stock. See Finishes. |
| Mat | Wall-art mat board. |
| Frame | Wall-art picture frame. |
General Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | One of the types above. New materials start as Stock. |
| Name | Required. |
| Category | Optional grouping label. |
| Display order | Sort position. Default 0. |
| Thickness | The material's thickness. Default 0.5. |
| Unit | mm (default) or in. |
Surfaces
Every type except Finish has a Surfaces section with one tab per surface: Face (outside), Back (inside) and Edge. Mats and frames also have Bevel. Each surface has its own look:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Color | The base color. Default white. |
| Color map | A texture image, such as kraft fiber or wood grain. |
| Normal map | An image that gives the surface fine texture (grain, emboss) without changing its shape. |
| Roughness map / Metalness map | Images that vary roughness or metalness across the surface. |
| Roughness | How blurry the surface's reflections are, 0 (mirror) to 1 (fully matte). Default 0.5. |
| Metalness | How metallic the surface looks, 0 to 1. Default 0. |
| Clear coat (gloss laminate, varnish) | A clear glossy layer over the print that reflects the environment. The material stays opaque. When on, set Coat amount, Coat roughness and Coat texture (how far the coat follows the normal map; about 0.1 reads like laminated film). |
| Tile size (in) | One repetition of the maps spans this many inches. Default 12. |
Texture images must be PNG, JPEG or WebP. Keep them at 4096 px or less: larger textures download at full size on the storefront. Uploaded images are saved when you save the material.
Transmissive
Turn on Transmissive (clear film, acrylic, glass) for a material light passes through.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Opacity | 0 to 1. Default 0.2. |
| Index of refraction | How much the material bends light, 1 to 2.5. Default 1.5 (about glass or clear film). |
| Surface roughness | 0 to 1. A low value gives a clear window; a higher value gives a frosted one. Default 0.05. |
On the storefront, a clear window shows the inside of the pouch and anything behind it. A frosted window blurs it.
Partial Stocks
For a stock, turn on Partial (supplies only the surfaces you check). Each surface tab then gets a Supplies this surface checkbox.
Use a partial stock for one part of a stock that the customer picks with its own option. For example, a liner pair on the board option and a flute edge on the flute option. The parts the customer picks combine into one stock. A partial material must supply at least one surface.
This is how corrugated board can show a flute edge with separate liner faces. Cut edges then show the flute, not the liner.
Finishes
A finish changes how the chosen stock's surface feels: its sheen, coat and texture. It keeps the stock's color and print. Any setting you leave unchecked keeps the stock's own value.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Sides | Face (outside) (default), Back (inside) or Face and back. |
| Set roughness | Sets the surface Roughness, 0 to 1. Default 0.85. |
| Set clear coat | Sets Coat amount, Coat roughness and Coat texture. A coat amount of 0 removes the stock's own coat, for example a matte finish over a glossy film. |
| Set texture (normal map) | Adds a Normal map with its Texture size (in). Stock texture sets whether the finish's texture is a Layer over the stock's texture (default) or will Replace the stock's texture. |
A finish must set at least one of roughness, clear coat or texture.
Wall Art
Stock, Mat and Frame materials have a Wall art section for wall-art products. These settings used to be on the Stock, Mats and Frames tabs of 3D Models. Values are in the material's unit.
| Type | Fields |
|---|---|
| Stock | Min width, Max width, Min height, Max height, Print method (Standard or Direct), Acrylic (with Acrylic thickness), Edge mode (Normal, Colored, Wrap or Mirror) |
| Mat | Min width, Max width, Min height, Max height, Overhang |
| Frame | Frame width, Overhang, Recess |
Preview
The dialog has a live Preview (drag to rotate). For a finish, use Preview on stock to see it on Plain white or on any whole (not partial) stock.
Use Materials on Products
A material shows in 3D when something points to it:
- Pricing option items have an Appearance material (3D preview) field. For example, a film option item might pick "Film Matte", and a window option item "Window Clear". See Pricing.
- Print MIS materials have an Appearance material (3D preview default) field. Option items linked to that material inherit it unless they set their own. See Materials.
Move Materials Between Licenses
You can copy materials to another license on their own, or as part of a store export.
Export and Import
- Select materials and click Export selected. You can also use Export on one row. The download is a zip holding the materials and their texture images.
- On the other license, click Import and choose the zip.
- The Import Materials dialog lists what's inside. Tick the materials to import and click Import.
Each imported material is added as a new entry; existing materials are never overwritten. If a name is already in use, "(imported)" is added to it. Materials that can't be imported (for example, one with a missing texture) are shown but can't be ticked, with the reason. Exports and imports are recorded in the Activity Log.
Store Export and Import
A store export includes every 3D Material that its pricing option items, manufacturing materials and products use. On import:
- Each material is matched to an existing 3D Material of the same type and name (ignoring case).
- A material with no match is created. Importing into the same license doesn't duplicate materials.
- References are re-pointed to the matched or created materials. A reference that can't be resolved is dropped, with a warning in the import results.
Related Pages
- Live Previews — the five screens that control 3D and photo previews
- 3D Environment — the lighting materials are shown under
- Flexible Packaging — pouches that use films, windows and finishes