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Varnishing & UV Coating

One highly effective way to enhance the appeal and quality of your printed materials—such as books, brochures, board games, cards, or custom printed boxes—is through a finishing technique called varnishing. This process is applied after printing to add a professional touch. In this guide, we’ll explore the different types of varnishing techniques, their practical applications, and the unique benefits they bring to your printed products.

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What Is Varnishing?

Varnish is a transparent coating that covers the surface of a printed sheet. It serves two purposes: practical and aesthetic. On the practical side, it helps to protect the print from scratching, soiling, moisture, fingerprints, and other damage during storage, distribution, and handling. On the aesthetic side, it enhances the look and feel of the printed text and images, improving contrast, conserving color, and giving the printed page a professional, finished appearance.

What is UV Coating?

UV coating is a specialized varnishing process that enhances the appearance and durability of printed materials. Unlike traditional varnishing methods that rely on heat for curing, UV coating involves applying a liquid varnish to the printed surface and then curing it instantly using ultraviolet (UV) light. This process creates a hardened, glossy finish that offers superior protection and a sleek, polished look.
 

Benefits of UV Coating

  1. Enhanced Durability

    • UV coating forms a tough, protective layer on the printed surface, making it more resistant to scratches, scuffs, and general wear and tear. This makes it ideal for materials that will be handled frequently, such as business cards, postcards, or packaging.

  2. Vivid Visual Appeal

    • The high-gloss finish of UV coating enhances the vibrancy of colors and sharpness of details, giving your printed materials a professional and eye-catching appearance.

  3. Increased Longevity

    • The protective properties of UV coating help extend the life of printed products, preserving their quality even with repeated use.

  4. Eco-Friendly Process

    • UV coating is considered environmentally friendly because it is free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and requires no solvents, reducing its impact on the environment.

  5. Versatility

    • UV coating can be applied to specific areas of a design (spot UV) or across the entire surface (full UV), allowing for creative applications that enhance certain elements, such as logos or images, for added emphasis.
       

Applications of UV Coating

UV coating is commonly used in a wide range of print projects, including:

  • Business Cards: For a professional, high-impact first impression.

  • Postcards and Flyers: To make promotional materials stand out.

  • Packaging: To add a sleek finish that protects and elevates the product’s presentation.

  • Book Covers: To provide a striking and durable finish for both softcover and hardcover books.

  • Catalogs and Brochures: To highlight key images or text with spot UV coating for added visual appeal.
     

Why Choose UV Coating?

UV coating is a fantastic option if you’re looking for a way to make your printed materials stand out while improving their durability and longevity. Its combination of a glossy, professional finish and robust protective qualities makes it a popular choice for businesses and individuals who want to leave a lasting impression with their printed products.

By choosing UV coating, you not only enhance the visual and tactile appeal of your project but also ensure it can withstand the rigors of frequent handling, making it an excellent investment in quality and presentation.

Four Varnishes for Offset Printing

We use four different varnishes for different products. Each has its specific technical properties, best-use applications, and limitations. They are printing varnish, UV coating, aqueous coating, and press varnish. Let's look at each.

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Printing Varnish

Printing varnish is a type of transparent ink varnish which can give either a gloss or matte finish. Gloss results in a smooth, glassy surface while matte lends a softer, satin sheen. As printing varnish is an ink, we process it on the same offset machines we use for the main printing processes. We can apply printing varnish to an entire sheet or to a specified area depending on the needs of the project and your design.

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UV Coating

As with printing varnish, UV coatings are glossy in the resulting finish. They can also be applied to the entire surface or to specific areas to emphasize or highlight an element of the design, in which case the process is called “spot UV“. The UV coating material is water-based and applied using special printing machines equipped with an ultraviolet drying space. As light cures the coating rather than heat, it dries faster than standard varnishes and results in a more resilient surface.

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Aqueous Coating

Aqueous coating—as the name suggests—is water-based, harmless, and environmentally friendly. It can give a gloss or a matte result. However, it needs to be applied using separate coating machines rather than on the printing press. Coating machines have a slower run speed than the offset machines, which results in a thicker coating than other varnishes. We can only apply aqueous coating to the entire sheet of paper, rather than selected areas.

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Press Varnish

Press varnishing is a two-stage process. The first stage is the application of the varnishing using the aqueous coating machine. In the second stage, while the varnish is still wet, the sheets are transferred to another machine to be pressed. Pressing and drying results in a high-gloss finish. There's no matte option with press varnish. We can only apply Press varnish to paper with a weight superior to 250 gsm.

Product Applications for Varnishes

Varnishing options can add a unique touch to your print project, but the best choice depends on several factors and limitations. For example, spot UV coating doesn’t offer a matte option, and spot varnishing isn’t possible with aqueous coating. Key aspects of your design—such as the paper type (gloss, matte, or uncoated), thickness, full-color or black-and-white design, purpose of the product, and expected wear-and-tear—will all influence which varnish works best for your needs.

If you’re unsure which option to choose, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team of experts is here to guide you through the possibilities, ensuring your product is both stunning and practical while staying within your budget. Whether you’re designing a book, brochure, board game, or custom-branded packaging, we’ll help you find the perfect varnishing solution for your project.

Tips for Preparing Artwork for Varnishing and UV Coating

In most cases, you need not take any special steps in preparing your artwork for varnishing, as these are processes which we carry out after printing and cover the entire surface of the sheet. You need only make sure that the artwork for printing and varnishing are of the same dimensions, and for varnishing, there's no need to add bleed. The exception is when you want to use “spotting” with either UV or printing varnish, in which case, you'll need to create a separate file called a mask.

A mask file allows you to specify exactly where you want the varnish applied, using black to signify which areas should be coated and white to specify which areas should not be coated. The mask file and your colored artwork file make up your overall project.

The easiest way to create a mask file involves using a copy of your colored artwork file. Once you make a copy of your artwork file, remove all elements from the file that you do not want to be coated. Then, change the color of all other elements to black. In a CMYK color layout, you generate black using the following formula: C0, M0, Y0, K100. You can also make the mask file in the same way as a Pantone color artwork file. Finally, you need to make sure the spot UV or printing varnish file is a vectorial file and not a raster.

When creating your mask file, always make sure that the alignment of the mask file and artwork file are exactly the same. This includes the overall size of the files and the positioning of all shared elements; and avoid specifying UV coating on any lines with a weight lower than 0.5 pt.

HERE TO HELP

If you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our prepress experts are ready to guide you through the process. Once you’ve prepared your files, feel free to send them our way—we’ll review them carefully. If we spot any issues, we’ll notify you right away and assist in resolving them. Our goal is to make your experience seamless and ensure you achieve the best possible results. We’re here to support you every step of the way!

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