Stand out at any price
Finishing gives printing companies the edge they need to stand out from the crowd.
Finishing gives print shops the edge they need to stand out from the gray masses.Finished prints stand out. You don't necessarily have to go over budget to achieve this - enhancement is available for small and large prices. That's why it's useful to be familiar with the printing industry's huge repertoire of finishing products so that you can provide print buyers with the best advice and work with the right service providers. Unfortunately, too few advertising agencies still take advantage of the inexhaustible finishing options; they fail to seek advice from the specialists for their part and thus miss out on an important source of inspiration (see box "Good reasons for finishing").Inline or offline?
There is a clear trend towards higher-finish print products. Sheetfed offset presses in particular are being equipped with more and more additional units for cost-effective inline finishing. Although these save on additional operations, they often also represent a compromise in terms of quality.
Right at the start of print planning, the die has to be cast as to which substrates are to be finished with which materials and whether this is to take place inline (in the sheetfed offset press) or offline (using a separate press). This also involves the quality to be achieved, for example if a particularly high gloss must be achieved with coating or screen printing presses. Separate systems are also necessary if stiff materials have to be die cut for folding boxes or displays.
In the printing of flexible packaging with flexographic and gravure presses, finishing steps are technologically necessary without a creative background. For example, printed cardboard webs are combined inline with aluminum foil to form laminates for beverage cartons (Tetrapak).
Painting is the number one
The most common type of finishing is coating. An inline dispersion coating unit is now almost standard equipment in new sheetfed offset presses with four or more printing units - also from the point of view of shortening job throughput times. According to a market study by MAN Roland, almost 75 percent of all folding boxes and almost 60 percent of all labels are coated inline. In commercial and magazine printing, partial (spot) and full-solid coatings are used equally often for advertising printed matter and covers.
The application of UV-curing coatings is also in vogue. They have the advantage that coating layers up to 8 µm thick can be produced inline and even higher layer thicknesses offline, which makes the gloss particularly high and why this process is a real alternative to lamination.
Right: Lenticular sheets provide moving messages or the so-called wobble effect.
Below: The advertising materials of printing press manufacturers are not infrequently lavishly finished - and thus good illustrative examples.
Cardboard manufacturer Iggesund attracts attention time and again with its refined envelopes.
Wafer-thin embossing holograms are transferred to modern banknotes to protect them against counterfeiting.
Software packaging proves its authenticity by means of hologram foil strips, among other things.
Whether metallic effects or embossing: Folding cartons offer a wide range of finishing options.
Good reasons for refiningAttention: Advertising effectiveness.
Upgrading: Image and brand.
Protection: Varnish and laminates prevent scratching/smudging of the printed image and increase the service life of the printed product.
Convenience: varnish and laminates improve gliding properties, adhesives enable the intended use of labels/stickers/valuetags, creasing/perforations facilitate leaf-through/tear-off/reclosure, applied RFID transponders enable tracking/logistics/anti-theft protection of goods.
Anti-counterfeiting: embossing/lacquer reliefs/holograms make counterfeiting difficult. (dk)
Finishing types at a glanceApply
Foil transfer*: Window laminating (back-gluing of die-cut windows with clear-transparent foil), transfer of effect foils (embossed holograms, hologram foils, lenticular foils) often also using the hot stamping process.
Gluing on: Gluing of advertising printed matter (postcards, booklets), gluing of objects (CDs, samples of goods, fashion jewelry, accessories for fun cards, merchandising objects of current Hollywood movies, insertion sleeves in folders), dispensing of markings (labels, seals, magnetic stripes, RFID transponders, chips).
Flocking: with glitter, threads, sand, etc.
Coating
Full surface and spot varnishing: with water-based dispersion varnish (matt and glossy clear varnish, metallic and iriodin effect pigment varnish, migration and frost barrier varnish, microencapsulated scented varnish, adhesive primer* for blister packaging, welding varnish*, relief varnish* for Braille and flexographic textured wallpaper, preprint for other types of varnish), with print varnish (pigmentless offset printing ink matt/glossy, relief varnish* in security printing), with hot calendering varnish* (foil-like high-gloss clear varnish), with solvent varnish (gravure gloss varnish, nitro gloss varnish*, hardening varnish* against many chemicals), with UV varnish (high-gloss clear varnish, metal effect pigment varnish), with gloss and security toner in digital printing.
Laminating: Film laminating*
(dry lamination with solvent adhesive, wet lamination with dispersion or UV adhesive, thermal lamination with hot melt adhesive or films pre-coated with sealing wax) on dried inks of all processes (with clear transparent and opaque, glossy, matt, textured films), granulate lamination (by spraying, often in combination with flexo white preprint), sealing (double-sided lamination with edge sealing).
Gummed: Envelopes and stamps. Spraying: with fragrances (e.g. newspaper, magazine, wrapping paper).
Separate
Die cutting: Flat die-cutting* of printed sheets (folding boxes, wet glue labels, mailing envelopes, windows, carrying handles, mailings, advertising printed matter with eye-catching shapes, registers) and rotary die-cutting on webs (forms, die-cutting of adhesive labels).
Perforate: Create target tear areas (tickets, continuous forms, stamps, folding box flaps*).
Deform
Blind embossing: raised or recessed reliefs, embossing holograms*.
Hot foil stamping: recessed relief in combination with colored or metallized pigments from a transfer foil.
Creasing/grooving: Hinge effect on stiff materials (folding boxes, envelopes). (dk)
*) exclusively offline
Dieter Kleeberg
There is a clear trend towards higher-finish print products. Sheetfed offset presses in particular are being equipped with more and more additional units for cost-effective inline finishing. Although these save on additional operations, they often also represent a compromise in terms of quality.
Right at the start of print planning, the die has to be cast as to which substrates are to be finished with which materials and whether this is to take place inline (in the sheetfed offset press) or offline (using a separate press). This also involves the quality to be achieved, for example if a particularly high gloss must be achieved with coating or screen printing presses. Separate systems are also necessary if stiff materials have to be die cut for folding boxes or displays.
In the printing of flexible packaging with flexographic and gravure presses, finishing steps are technologically necessary without a creative background. For example, printed cardboard webs are combined inline with aluminum foil to form laminates for beverage cartons (Tetrapak).
Painting is the number one
The most common type of finishing is coating. An inline dispersion coating unit is now almost standard equipment in new sheetfed offset presses with four or more printing units - also from the point of view of shortening job throughput times. According to a market study by MAN Roland, almost 75 percent of all folding boxes and almost 60 percent of all labels are coated inline. In commercial and magazine printing, partial (spot) and full-solid coatings are used equally often for advertising printed matter and covers.
The application of UV-curing coatings is also in vogue. They have the advantage that coating layers up to 8 µm thick can be produced inline and even higher layer thicknesses offline, which makes the gloss particularly high and why this process is a real alternative to lamination.
Right: Lenticular sheets provide moving messages or the so-called wobble effect.
Below: The advertising materials of printing press manufacturers are not infrequently lavishly finished - and thus good illustrative examples.
Cardboard manufacturer Iggesund attracts attention time and again with its refined envelopes.
Wafer-thin embossing holograms are transferred to modern banknotes to protect them against counterfeiting.
Software packaging proves its authenticity by means of hologram foil strips, among other things.
Whether metallic effects or embossing: Folding cartons offer a wide range of finishing options.
Good reasons for refiningAttention: Advertising effectiveness.
Upgrading: Image and brand.
Protection: Varnish and laminates prevent scratching/smudging of the printed image and increase the service life of the printed product.
Convenience: varnish and laminates improve gliding properties, adhesives enable the intended use of labels/stickers/valuetags, creasing/perforations facilitate leaf-through/tear-off/reclosure, applied RFID transponders enable tracking/logistics/anti-theft protection of goods.
Anti-counterfeiting: embossing/lacquer reliefs/holograms make counterfeiting difficult. (dk)
Finishing types at a glanceApply
Foil transfer*: Window laminating (back-gluing of die-cut windows with clear-transparent foil), transfer of effect foils (embossed holograms, hologram foils, lenticular foils) often also using the hot stamping process.
Gluing on: Gluing of advertising printed matter (postcards, booklets), gluing of objects (CDs, samples of goods, fashion jewelry, accessories for fun cards, merchandising objects of current Hollywood movies, insertion sleeves in folders), dispensing of markings (labels, seals, magnetic stripes, RFID transponders, chips).
Flocking: with glitter, threads, sand, etc.
Coating
Full surface and spot varnishing: with water-based dispersion varnish (matt and glossy clear varnish, metallic and iriodin effect pigment varnish, migration and frost barrier varnish, microencapsulated scented varnish, adhesive primer* for blister packaging, welding varnish*, relief varnish* for Braille and flexographic textured wallpaper, preprint for other types of varnish), with print varnish (pigmentless offset printing ink matt/glossy, relief varnish* in security printing), with hot calendering varnish* (foil-like high-gloss clear varnish), with solvent varnish (gravure gloss varnish, nitro gloss varnish*, hardening varnish* against many chemicals), with UV varnish (high-gloss clear varnish, metal effect pigment varnish), with gloss and security toner in digital printing.
Laminating: Film laminating*
(dry lamination with solvent adhesive, wet lamination with dispersion or UV adhesive, thermal lamination with hot melt adhesive or films pre-coated with sealing wax) on dried inks of all processes (with clear transparent and opaque, glossy, matt, textured films), granulate lamination (by spraying, often in combination with flexo white preprint), sealing (double-sided lamination with edge sealing).
Gummed: Envelopes and stamps. Spraying: with fragrances (e.g. newspaper, magazine, wrapping paper).
Separate
Die cutting: Flat die-cutting* of printed sheets (folding boxes, wet glue labels, mailing envelopes, windows, carrying handles, mailings, advertising printed matter with eye-catching shapes, registers) and rotary die-cutting on webs (forms, die-cutting of adhesive labels).
Perforate: Create target tear areas (tickets, continuous forms, stamps, folding box flaps*).
Deform
Blind embossing: raised or recessed reliefs, embossing holograms*.
Hot foil stamping: recessed relief in combination with colored or metallized pigments from a transfer foil.
Creasing/grooving: Hinge effect on stiff materials (folding boxes, envelopes). (dk)
*) exclusively offline
Dieter Kleeberg
