Finishing Processes

Varnish is applied to paper and board to give it a high gloss finish e.g in high quality magazines. 

• The varnish is sprayed on to the surface of paper or card.
• Once dry, this gives a gloss finish that helps to protect the image underneath. 
• The varnishing process can only take place after the colour printing is finished - oil based varnishes are used which take up to 2 hours to dry. Other finishing processes have to be delayed for this section to be finished. 

• UV varnish can be used to speed up the drying process. Special varnishes dry almost immediatly if they are exposed to UV light.

• Varnish can be applied in certain locations (spot varnishing) instead of the whole area.

UV sparkle varnish contains metallic polyester flakes that add sparkle when applied. This creates added 'shelf' appeal to printed products. 

Fragrance burst inks are designed for 'scratch & sniff' applications on selected areas. The smell is released by gently rubbing or applying friction to the fragrance burst area. 

Silver latex 'scratch-offs' are designed as opaque inks that can be printed over tickets or sratchcards and are readily removable - displaying a pre-printed message underneath. 

Laminating applies a transparent film to the surface of paper/card. 

Comercial laminating uses a polyproyelene film that is glued to the paper as it is fed through a heated block under high pressure. 

Encapsulation uses heat-seams tha fully cover the edges of the paper/board. 

Commerical printers will use roll laminators for large print runs e.g menus - encapsulating the menus will prevent them from becoming creased or wrinkled and can be easily wiped clean. 

Hot foil blocking is used to produce 'reflective metal' prints and other effects impossible with notmal metallic printing inks. Hot foil blocking can be used to enhance and add value to conventionally printed materials. 

The process transfers a foil coating to paper/board by a heated die. A roll of foil with a polyester backing sheet is fed over the paper and the die presses the foil onto its surface. 

Embossing creates a raised or 3D image on paper/card - raising the surface.

Debossing lowers the surface. 

A heated metal female die and a counter male die fit together under pressure - squeeing the fibres into shape , ironing and raising the paper.