lamination & coatings
There are many types of coatings and varnishes which can be used to enhance the printed product. With our in-line coating or varnishing facility, finishes can be applied cost effectively.
On a small run the cost of coating would involve just a small premium, but there can often be confusion about the difference between coatings and varnishes which are more expensive, so here is a brief overview.
>> coatings
Being aqueous based, coatings give a very high quality finish at an attractive low price. The process can facilitate fast turnaround, as the printed work is ready to cut and process with minutes of leaving the press. Coatings offer by far the greater choice of finishes, fragrant coatings being an example of this.
:: HIGH GLOSS COATING works well on brochure covers but can be applied on one side only. It is more cost effective than gloss lamination, but is slightly less glossy.
:: GLOSS COATING is an excellent solution for high quality glossy leaflet work or brochure pages and is particularly effective on white areas of paper, where it will give a real lift.
:: SILK COATING offers a classy look, available in a silk or satin finish, with a durable plasticy feel, particularly popular on high quality brochure or catalogue pages requiring a ‘refined’ look.
:: MATT COATING is excellent for brochure covers, offering the same look and feel as matt lamination, but far more economical.
:: NEUTRAL COATING is effective in its use to ‘seal’ work which may have particularly difficulty in drying (work with heavy coverage on a matt stock etc.). It also prevents any rubbing or marking by the user.
:: FRAGRANT COATINGS are created by adding a fragrance of your choice to the coating mixture. Particularly useful for marketing purposes, say in the pharmaceutical or perfume industry, there is tremendous potential to exploit this relatively new technology.
>> varnishes
Varnishes can be added in gloss, matt, silk or neutral, but are not as cost effective and do not produce as higher quality finish as coatings. They also take a lot longer to dry and do not offer any time saving. They are applied on the 5th unit of our press and are solvent based.
>> lamination
Being a totally different process to varnishing and coating, this can be described as a ‘plastic sheath’ which is applied involving a heat process. Lamination is designed for card stocks (i.e. 200g and above) and cannot be applied to paper, ie. 150g. It is a more expensive option but the gloss option particularly, is very durable and prevents cracking when creasing and folding on card.
:: GLOSS LAMINATION is very popular on brochure or report covers, offering a very high gloss durable finish.
:: MATT LAMINATION is used extensively on brochure or report covers, creating a ‘plasticy’ matt finish. The down side is that it can be prone to finger-marking and scratching. A popular use is to matt laminate and ‘spot’ UV varnish to create a matt and gloss contrast.
>> spot UV varnish
This process is used to add a high gloss finish to selective areas of the page or document. It is an effective but expensive option and works well in conjunction with matt lamination, or matt coating. The process is only accurate to +/- 0.5mm, so items to be spot UV’d need to be carefully chosen.
