TGDH Lifting the Lid on Print Finishing

Curious about print finishes and finishing?

Lifting the Lid www.tgdh.co.uk

Stopping people in their tracks…

Cover image: Die cutting boards.

Arresting attention, stopping people in their tracks and creating a memorable first impression is something we take time to consider when designing.

Competition for attention is huge.

Google now processes more than 40,000 searches per second. Every day people are flooded with over 105,000 words. Every two minutes humans take more photos than existed in total 150 years ago. Daily we are inundated with 34 gigabytes of information, enough to overwhelm a laptop in a week*.

Inside we have pulled together a variety of finishes and finishing techniques that we regularly consider.

We find these encourage people to stop and engage. We hope you find it useful.

*University of California Research

1

Paper Touch is the first sense as humans we acquire. Our sense of touch activates particular areas in our brain influencing thought processes, reactions even psychological responses. So choosing paper is more than just how it performs with the colours, the design, imagery and visual appeal. It can make us want to pick it up.

Paper Coated Paper Paper which is coated is typically treated with a coating compound or agent to reveal the qualities of the paper, such as weight or gloss but it is ’sealed’. Coated paper often has a smooth finish, like a pane of glass, as the coating fills in the tiny pits between the fibres, giving a smooth flat surface.

Coated paper will make printed material appear more shiny and bright as well as offering crisp sharp results.

Coated paper restricts the amount of ink that is absorbed allowing the ink to sit on top which can help prevent bleeding.

Helpful Tip: Coated paper is more resistant to dirt, moisture and wear.

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Uncoated Paper Uncoated paper does not have any coating to fill in between the fibres. Images on uncoated will be softer and less crisp.

Uncoated paper can have many finishes including smooth, linen and vellum for example. Smoothness is a factor to consider with uncoated as it gives a particular feel and will affect how the ink lays on the paper itself.

It tends to be more porous, which makes it very absorbent.

This means particular care needs to be taken with regards to images which are darker in the design.

If using uncoated paper in digital printing this sharpens the images, however when compared with coated you are likely to still see a difference although the new digital printers have definitely narrowed the gap!

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Paper weight Choosing a weight of paper is important. Paper weight is determined by GSM (grams per square meter).

Standard paper weights are between 75gsm and 100gsm for common business applications.

Weight

Feels similar to:

35-55 gsm 90 gsm 130-250 gsm 180-250 gsm 350 gsm

Most newspapers Some magazine inner pages Posters Many magazine covers Most reasonable quality business cards

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Paper sizes ISO A Series Diagram International standard (dimensions below are in mm)

A2

594 x 420

A0

1189 x 841

A4

A1

841 x 594

297 x 210

A6

148 x 105 A8

74 x 52

A7

A3

420 x 297

A5

210 x 148

105 x 74

ISO B Series

Raw SRA Series

B0: 1414 x 1000 B1: 1000 x 707 B2: 707 x 500 B3: 520 x 360 B4: 353 x 250 B5: 240 x 170 B6: 176 x 125 B7: 125 x 88 B8: 88 x 62

SRA1: 900 x 640 SRA2: 640 x 450 SRA3: 450 x 320

Poster Sizes 2A0: 1189 x 1682 4 Sheet: 1016 x 1524 6 Sheet: 1200 x 1800 Double Crown: 508 x 762

SRA stands for ‘Supplementary Raw Format A’. The untrimmed raw paper is used for commercial printing, and as it is slightly larger than the A series format, it allows the ink to bleed to the edge of the paper, before being cut to match the A format.

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2

Finishing Whether it’s lithographic or digital printing an important part of the process is finishing.

Print finishing describes anything that happens after the printing process.

Finishing brings print to life and offers striking results that add interest and attention to key design elements.

Finishing Hand Finishing

Laser Cutting

If you have a requirement for items to be folded, glued, inserted, assembled, bagged or boxed in particular way or if it is a slightly more complicated project then hand finishing is often required. This can include, Velcro dots, glue dots, CD mounting, collating and inserting, belly banding or inserting products to name a few.

Laser cutting is a precise method of cutting that achieves a really fine level of detail. It adds a whole new dimension to paper allowing you to be super-intricate and adds a wow factor to your print.

(See image below).

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Die Cutting This refers to the cutting action of a die press. When a die is pressed into paper it cuts the paper into the shape outlined by the die. It saves time and it means you achieve a consistent shape every time. It was invented in the 1800s to streamline the shoe making industry.

Die cuts can be created to any shape.

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Duplexing The bonding of two substrates to form a single sheet. Allows for colour, textures and finishes on each side.

Triplexing The bonding of three substrates to form a single sheet. Allows for colour, textures and finishes on each side. (See image below).

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Lamination The process of applying a thin layer of plastic to paper or card sheets to enhance and protect the printed matter. Common types of laminate are gloss, matt and silk.

Lamination will ‘sit’ differently on coated and uncoated paper.

The benefits are making the

paper tear‑resistant, more durable and water resistant and is often used when the items need to be handled more frequently such as packaging, business cards and brochures.

Lamination also has the added benefits of improving the tactile feel of the printed surface, lending it a smooth finish. www.tgdh.co.uk

Gloss Lamination A durable choice as it repels dirt and fingerprints. Images and text appear crisp whilst still retaining contrast.

Matt Lamination Gives a ’natural look’ and luxurious and elegant finish.

It can produce a lower contrast on darker colours but can be difficult to apply on blues and yellows.

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Soft Touch Finish Achieved by either applying a soft touch coating or a soft touch laminate. Soft touch is usually applied after the printing ink has been applied.

The coating then dries creating ‘soft feel’ texture that has a velvet- like feel which has a fingerprint resistant matte texture with almost no sheen.

Spot UV Varnish Spot UV varnishes are applied to the surface and is cured or hardened by UV light during the printing process.

UV varnishes are usually used as a spot application where only specific parts of the page get a UV varnish.

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Curious about print finishes and finishing?

Special effect finishing If you are looking for the ultimate in tactile and eye catching finishes there are a variety of special effect finishes that can be considered.

Motion Coat – adds texture and dimension, adding depth to a plain space.

Reticulating Varnish – better suited to darker colour designs it is often called ‘drip off varnish’ where a matt texture is created where it’s needed with a the rest left gloss to create a surface which is dramatic and resistant to scratches.

Glitter Varnish – also known as Sparkle UV Varnish, is a high gloss UV screen varnish containing small coloured particles of metallised polyester film that adds “sparkle” when applied to selected areas of a printed image.

The UV varnish is available in a range of particle sizes, with a variety of different coloured tints to choose from.

(See image opposite).

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Foiling All foiling is environmentally friendly and is recyclable. It is a process of applying metallic pigment or foil to paper or card. It is an effective way to enhance a design; using classic metallic colours like gold, silver and copper or bright metallic colour shades. In general, foil can be applied with greater precision, at a higher resolution, and across a larger area with the cold foil process. Jobs with a smaller region of foil, however, may be better suited for a hot press.

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Hot Foil

Cold Foil

A die, or stamp, of the design to be foiled is mounted on the stamping machine above the paper and is then heated. The sheet of foil runs between them so that when pressure is applied from the die onto the paper, the foil is fixed to its surface. Because pressure is a main ingredient to hot foiling, the foil has dimension and a distinct feel.

A UV-curable adhesive (ie. a type of glue that is dried

by UV light) is printed on the paper in the shape of the design that is to be foiled.

Then the foil is pressed onto the paper, and is stripped away where no adhesive was printed. After a quick run under the UV light, the product is finished.

Typically, it is used on text and the logo on the page or when certain elements call for it.

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Embossing and debossing Embossing and debossing are the processes of creating either raised or recessed relief images or designs in paper and other materials. An embossed pattern is raised against the background, while a debossed pattern is sunk into the surface of the

material. Embossing is done by pressing a sheet of paper into a die that has a design engraved or etched into it.

This is usually done with a counterpart underneath the paper, so that the paper is sandwiched between the two and the design is transferred to the paper.

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Special inks

Metallic Inks These inks contain metallic components that give them a reflective quality and bright finish. Metallic inks are less lustrous than foil stamping, so if you’re looking for a highly reflective and striking finish, foils are more appropriate, whereas metallic inks provide a more subtle finish.

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Pearlescent and Iridescent Inks Pearlescent and Iridescent both refer to the variety of colour when viewed in different angles and lighting conditions. With a similar effect to the rainbow-like colours of an oil slick, Pearlescent inks can add style, texture and value to a piece of print. It is important to note that with all reflective finishes (foils, metallics, pearlescents) coated gloss paper works best, as it is less porous than uncoated.

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3

Folding Paper can be folded about as many ways as you can imagine. Here are some of the key types that can bring your message to life.

If we pique your curiosity there is a whole world of folding to explore.

Single Fold The most common fold is a sheet folded in half through the centre.

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Roll fold A Roll fold is when the flap panel is folded in a ‘rolling’ over manner to close the document, if you look at the profile you’ll see the document is almost in a roll shape.

Helpful Tip: With roll fold its best to have the flap slightly shorter by a few millimetres for the flap to close more easily and without the concern that it may buckle.

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'Z' Fold A ‘Z’ fold is when the document folds back on itself and creates a ‘Z’ shape profile.

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Concertina Fold www.tgdh.co.uk

Gate Fold

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Cross Fold www.tgdh.co.uk

4

Binding From Saddle Stitching, Perfect Binding, Comb Bind to Wire Binding they have all evolved out of the craft of bookbinding, which originated in India in the first century. The type of binding is usually selected based on the function of the product and technical specification and the correct type of binding gives the documents the perfect look.

Saddle Stitched Saddle Stitching refers to a very popular book binding method in which folded sheets are gathered together one inside the other and then stapled through the fold line with wire staples.

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Loop Stitched www.tgdh.co.uk

Curious about print finishes and finishing?

Perfect Bound Perfect binding is commonly used for catalogues, paperback books and printed items that have a higher page count. Pages are glued together at the spine with a strong, flexible glue.

Lay Flat Binding

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Wiro Bound Curious about print finishes and finishing?

Sewn Bound

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Our planet Designers can have a direct influence on the environmental impact of the piece they are creating.

The general approach of environmentally conscious design is to reduce waste when printing, minimise the number of processes and favour more environmentally friendly finishing solutions to create effects.

For The Graphic Design House this is part of our “Value Engineered Design” process.

Examples include: ●

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Ensuring paper is FSC and considering recycled paper such as Revive or Carbon Balanced Paper which is also available.

Reduce waste by ensuring the design maximises the space available on the print sheets being used in the printers.

Choose coloured stock to reduce ink usage.

Reduce bleed and strive for white bleed when possible, less bleed means less ink wastage.

Consider embossing, debossing or die cutting for tactile finishing effects rather than adding materials and processes such as foils.

Minimise the design by create less pages and increase impact and intrigue by introducing more options such as folds.

Our house Great designers are able to visualise what has never been, turning thoughts and briefs into the tangible.

At The Graphic Design House we solve the design dilemmas for a wide portfolio of clients and achieve the results they are looking for.

We are a friendly, straight talking team of 22 and whether you’re looking for digital, print or a blended design solution we can help.

Our clients include many B2B companies, famous venues such as Royal Albert Hall, football clubs across different divisions, theatres of all shapes and sizes, colleges and leading independent schools through to a wide range of charities and hospices. All of them are seeking even more differentiation in their highly competitive sectors in order to grow, develop and deliver financially.

If you want to see more please visit www.tgdh.co.uk

Remarkable by Design

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