Print — finish it off! On trend finishes to wow your customers and clients
Print and print finishes are seeing a resurgence in 2016. Far from being dead, print is alive and well, thank you very much — thanks to the rise of niche instagram magazines, futuristic print inks and a yearning for a ‘hand made’ product that has made even letterpress, a 500 year-old printing method, become trendy again.
Print finishes were brought into focus for me recently with the release of David Bowie’s last album, Blackstar. It got a bit of flack at the time for the simplicity of its cover art — a solid black star on a white background and the vinyl cover art has a die cut star out of a plain black background. And then fans discovered a secret message — when the inner sleeve is placed in sunlight a starry galaxy is visible through the star — made possible with photochromic ink. It revealed the artwork is much more complex than first thought, and now Bowie’s genius and belief in his vision, concept and ultimately his final message is revealed. (The album art designer, Jonathan Barnbrook, discussed his process with Bowie in a recent interview with Dezeen, click HERE to read.)
And this got me thinking how powerful a message can be with careful planning and the right print finish. Many marketers underestimate the value of print and a unique print finish. But print finishing takes an ordinary printed item and elevates it, adding tremendous value. With the dominance of digital media in our lives a tactile, physical experience is becoming more and more valued and print finishing enhances your printed piece by creating a tactile and memorable experience.
So to inspire you for your next print project, here are my top 10 print finishes:
1. Lamination
A laminate is a plastic sheet that is heat sealed to the printed sheet at the end of the print process. It’s main purpose is to give the printed piece longevity, moreover it adds an immediate tactility to the print. Mainly used on brochure covers and folders.
There are a wealth of laminates available now, as well as the usual matt, silk and gloss, there are velvet touch, textured and holographic. Soft touch is very trendy at the moment, and if you’re wanting the ultimate tactile experience for your printed piece — velvet touch.
2. Spot varnishes
A spot UV varnish is a liquid that is applied to a specified area of the printed sheet during the print process. It is dried quickly using UV light.
Spot UV varnishes have always been very popular — they’re great for emphasising an area on the print. And they look spectacular against a contrasting laminate or paper stock. Varnishes come in matt, gloss, glitter, textured and tinted. The ultimate for me though is ‘high build’ for extra emphasis!
3. Foil blocking
Foils come on rolls with a backing sheet. Bit like kitchen foil, with greaseproof paper behind. They are applied to the paper stock by pressure and heat with a copper or steel ‘block’ with the design etched on by a special press.
Beautiful, strong, individual, ostentatious! I love foil, it makes such a statement. Used minimally to great affect it comes in a myriad of colours in metallic, pearlescent, reflective and pigmented (solid colour). It can also be textured, fluted and clear. Foil never goes out of fashion.
4. Spot colours and specials
A spot, or special colour, is a premixed ink — think Dulux!
Spot colours come in solids, metallics and fluorescents. A metallic will give a special sheen, it’s subtle and quite beautiful. Bright fluorescents are very trendy at the moment.
5. Embossing / debossing / letterpress
These are centuries old methods of ‘stamping’ the paper stock, whether raised ’emboss’ or pushed in ‘deboss’. Without ink is called ‘blind’. With ink, using letterpress for example, gives a wonderfully tactile, hand made feel to the print and is currently enjoying a massive revival.
6. Die cutting and laser cutting
Both do the same — cutting a shape out of the paper stock. Die cutting uses a tool to ‘stamp’ out the shape — perfect for large areas, whereas laser cutting ‘burns’ out the design — great for really detailed design. Laser cutting is extremely popular at the moment — you’ve probably received one or two birthday cards that use the technique.
7. Reactive inks
Driven by the demand for an interactive experience, print technologists have been inspired to create new futuristic inks. Reactives include phospherscent (glow in the dark), photochromic (sunlight or UV reactive), thermochromic (heat reactive — even at specific temperatures!) and hydrochromic (water reactive).
8. Duplexing and triplexing
These methods of layering and gluing together the same weight of paper stock. Duplex is 2 layers, triplex is 3 layers. If a contrasting colour is used for the middle layer it creates a vivid and very unique effect. Very popular at the moment for business cards. Die cutting the top layer to reveal the contrasting stock below is also very trendy.
9. Edge painting or gilding
Another centuries old finish! Applied to the edges of the paper stock. It’s a really striking effect on thicker stocks, business cards for example. Metallic or fluorescent inks on darker stocks are really on trend.
10. Digital
There have been massive strides in digital printing. You can now print with special inks (rather than just 4 colour process), spot UV varnish, and my favourite — white! White ink on a black stock — simply stunning.
So there you have it. It’s a bewildering but exciting choice. When choosing a print finish for your next campaign or project, have the 3 m’s in mind — meaningful, minimal and magical. Alright, I made the last one up, but it works!
For further info:
http://www.creativebloq.com/print-design/best-finishes-enhance-your-work-61515362
http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/articles/how-to-prepare-your-artwork-for-special-print-effects
http://www.blog.blushpublishing.co.uk
http://www.underconsideration.com/fpo/
N.B. It was while researching this blog I wrote ‘Print is dead. Or is it?’ expressing my opinion on the future of print. Click HERE if you’re interested in the read.
