The types of print finishes available for print marketing materials and other printed projects can highlight your design and emphasize your message.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he tiniest of details are what really make an image pop off the printed page, but how does that translate into the world of print marketing? It is all about the finishing touches. The finishing touches can be exactly what’s needed to make your brand stand out. After spending your valuable time and money researching and developing a flawless design concept, take it one step further and discover the types of print finishes available to help you make a lasting impact on your audience.
Glossy or Matte Paper
The printing process starts with the choosing your paper and the paper’s finish. Glossy paper produces the shiny look used in high-quality magazines and catalogs. Matte paper, on the other hand, is a much more subtle style often found in books. You can choose from a variety of varnishes to add over the entire print surface to help protect the page and keep the ink from smearing.
Paper Lamination
Laminating also adds a protective coating of plastic to a printed page, but this type of finish is more about how the page feels when you touch it. To add strength and impermeability to your printed project, lamination can be completed in a high gloss, satin, or matte finish.
Spot Extras that Stand Out
Not all types of print finishes have to affect the entire page. Spot finishes are a practical way to fill or enhance spaces and help balance out a design. Utilize one or more of the following spot finishes to add dimension and create a highlight or focal point that compliments the overall style of your design:
- Spot UV– During the printing process, a spot UV or varnish can be used to add a glossy coating to one or more specific design elements to make them seem to lift off the page. Try using this effect on business cards to enhance your logo or in packaging design to enhance the printed surface.
- Perforation – If you are printing a booklet with detachable pages, or looking to designate sections in your print design, perforation can be used to place a scored line in the print’s paper.
- Scoring – Like perforation, scoring is used to designate a line or section. It creates a depressed line to make the paper fold easier.
- Embossing – Embossing can take an element and give it its own texture separate from the rest of the page by creating a raised or recessed relief image. Embossing is commonly used in logos or branding elements.
- Stamping – Foil stamping, like embossing, can also be used to lift an image off the page. Stamping is often used in combination with embossing methods to highlight typography or logos by lifting the design and applying a metallic finish.
Stylized Cuts and Folds
Not all cuts and folds are the same: there are traditional folding styles like bi or trifolds for brochures, or you can choose a custom fold to create a distinctive shape in your design that readers will associate with your brand. A car dealer might have custom shapes of an automobile in their sales folders, for example. This would require both special cutting and folding techniques.
The Binding Process
Binding is the last step in the printing process and one last chance to create a distinctive piece. You might opt for a professional spiral bound book to distribute during a presentation in a meeting, or choose perfect binding to create a handbook. Saddle-stitching, another popular use of binding, folds each page in half then nestles each page inside the other to create a spine that is stitched together to form a booklet. Similarly, perfect binding uses glue to bind folded pages pressed together. One page printed on two sides become four with these binding methods.
Let the print experts at Arkansas Graphics, Inc. help you discover the right types of print finishes to make an impact on the design and effectiveness of your print materials. Submit your print project for an estimate or contact us if you have specific questions about your printing options.
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