Through innovation and determination, Hazen Paper Company has transformed a legacy craft into modern holography
Founded in 1925, Hazen Paper Company (Hazen) is a world-class paper converter specializing in custom holographic originations; film, foil, and paper laminations; specialty and gravure coating; and rotary embossing. The company’s products are used for a variety of applications, from beauty and entertainment packaging to product labels and even lottery scratch tickets.
Having been established by John N Hazen during the Roaring Twenties, Hazen has a long and interesting history. The company originally focused on producing decorative specialty papers for stationery, book covers, and greeting cards, and later got a patent on a product dubbed Shur Sheen, as well as the Sheen embossing process. Sheen embossing was the predecessor to micro-embossing, which is how holographic papers are made today. Hazen went on to develop an embossed cardstock that became the cornerstone of the company’s business model still in place 101 years later in 2026.
Today, Hazen’s ownership remains in the family, with third-generation John H Hazen now managing the business as President, and Robert Hazen serving as Executive Vice President. To learn more about how Hazen is building a sustainable, future-ready business while honoring its legacy, we sit down with John to discuss the company’s latest developments.
“At our core, Hazen is a foil laminator, metallizer, and a holographic designer producing its own transfer film and holding more than 1500 copyrights,” John opens. “We took the lead on holographic development in 2004, and we’ve continuously reinvested in new designs, technology, and equipment to remain at the forefront of the industry’s evolution. I don’t believe there’s another company as vertically integrated as Hazen. Our business model, where we generally don’t charge for design and origination, continues to build momentum around the globe, as well as thousands of awards and success stories.”
Such innovation has ensured a century of success for Hazen. As the company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, we ask John his thoughts on the secrets behind Hazen’s success. “I became President in 1999 when my father Thomas (son of founder John N) retired, but the company was at a crossroads,” he reflects. “At that point, our primary product was aluminum foil laminated to paper, and it was being targeted as not recyclable. There was also an increase in offshoring American manufacturing, particularly to China, which would go on to have a devastating impact on the lamination industry over the next 20 years. Most laminators pursued lean manufacturing processes and fell into endless pricing wars, but I decided to deploy our resources to develop holography and transfer metallization.
“When we first started to invest in holography and transfer technologies, most people dismissed the idea. However, we had a vision that holography would be a powerful way to create compelling and vibrant structures in light on paper – and a capability that would set Hazen apart from the competition. My first investment was to build a holographic design and origination lab, staffed with the world’s leading optics, to fuel innovation.
“Before the lab, our prevailing business model was to charge buyers of holographic originations for the design and the origination,” John shares. “Think of a holographic origination as the original recording of a song by a musician; my idea was to not charge for the design and origination but to make our money on the mass-production. This approach made it attractive for brand managers to play with holography, and it was embraced by the entertainment industry in 2004.
“Our first great success was with Pixar for the DVD packaging of The Incredibles. We produced a gorgeous holographic design that looks like neon beams of light, and we call it ‘Pillars of Light.’ At the time, this was the biggest order in our history, and one that changed our business for the better. Hazen set up a new lamination operation in Indiana, along with a holographic embossing and metallization plant in Holyoke, and we went on to invest more than $30 million in these two plants between 2004 and 2008. Demand was dominated by DVD packaging in the first few years, especially for Disney and Pixar, and we designed hundreds of new holographic designs and proofing materials.”
While holographic DVDs put Hazen on the map as the world’s premier surface relief holographer, the company’s capabilities have spread to many markets today. “Our products are used in hundreds of applications including labels, gift cards, scratch lottery tickets, folding cartons, trading cards, playing cards, cold foil, security seals, book and magazine covers, posters, and advertising materials,” John elaborates. “Security and authentication are a growing market for us, and while we can’t go into detail about ongoing projects, we did win the IOTA Best Decorative Design 2025 for the ‘Fire Dancer’ hologram we originated for the Dave Matthews Band. Authentication is becoming of greater interest, and the Hazen Authenticator uses elements like hidden holograms and micro text as a ‘seal of authenticity.’ This was used on the 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame yearbook, for example, as well as Hazen’s 2026 calendar, La Rosa Volcanica.”
From speaking with John, it’s clear that Hazen’s innovative roots and determination have guided the business through decades of success. As the business modernizes its operations, John shares his thoughts on what’s next. “The sky is the limit for Hazen,” he says. “December is usually a lean month for us, but December 2025 was our most successful month in history.
“Looking back, it would have been easy to deter from our aggressive 20-year campaign to build our holographic business model, especially when politicians and business leaders argued there wasn’t a future for American manufacturing,” John concludes. “However, we doubled down in the face of adversity and charged through events like 9/11, Covid-19, and cyber-attacks. Moving forward, our goal is robust growth and expansion of our holographic capabilities as we continue to capture eyes, hearts, and souls with our magical holographic creations.”