For brilliant appearances

 
Finishing The trend towards greater individuality and uniqueness places new demands on the impact of print products. It is important to clearly differentiate and distinguish yourself. 
New finishing techniques, improved ink systems and coatings as well as a variety of substrates open up unimagined possibilities for turning print products into a sensual and unique experience. One of these possibilities is UV technology, which offers clear advantages, especially when printing on special substrates such as aluminum-coated papers or uncoated papers. When UV coatings are used, higher gloss levels can be achieved and matt-gloss effects can be reproduced even more brilliantly on a wide variety of substrates. The high degree of enhancement, the wide range of substrates and an accelerated application process make the use of UV technology a win-win situation. With the Speedmaster XL 105, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) offers complete integrated UV equipment ex works. A special brochure presents the diverse possibilities of UV technology using various application examples. The examples presented supplement information on press configuration, job definition, paper, ink and prepress.extremely high gloss cardboard is often used for invitations and as the cover of annual reports, brochures and leaflets. Because these printed materials convey a first impression of the content, a high-quality or even special appearance is particularly important here. When using UV coating on cardboard, an extremely high gloss can be achieved on "normal" materials, as the UV ink is already dry when the coating is applied thanks to the use of an intermediate dryer before the coating unit. This prevents the varnish from bleeding into the wet ink. The high-gloss effect of UV printing is increasingly being used to increase the value of the product or to create special effects. Even a normal substrate such as cardboard is given a particularly high value by the gloss of the UV coating. There are also specific requirements for printing when using uncoated paper. Here too, UV inks and coatings offer advantages. For example, ink and varnish are more effective when using conventional inks than when using UV inks and varnish. The UV inks also achieve a better color effect, and the UV varnish allows a higher gloss effect to be achieved. With UV application, however, the gloss result depends heavily on the amount of ink underneath. The more dried ink under the varnish, the better the gloss.
Inline further processingThe brochure also contains application examples for printing on self-adhesive film and plastic. The surface of the film is made of plastic and the backing material is paper. In between is a removable adhesive. The high gloss effect of the UV coating is also impressive here. The special feature of this application: The product can be processed immediately, as shown in the example of die-cutting. This is done either inline directly in the machine (although a second coating unit is required for this) or in a second pass. As a rule, plastics can only be printed with UV inks. The chemical drying of UV inks creates a better bond between the plastic surface and the ink and varnish film. The brochure was printed on rigid PVC with UV inks and partial UV coating.
With the Speedmaster XL 105 double-coating press, Heidelberg offers the right equipment for responding flexibly to customer requirements and producing economically at the same time. As an alternative to a pure UV press, the double-coating version of the Speedmaster XL 105 is able to apply a UV coating inline to conventional printing ink after applying a primer. The double-coating press also offers numerous other finishing options, such as combinations of primer with metallic coatings, pearlescent effects or functional coatings. It is not usually possible to overprint conventional inks with UV varnish. For this reason, the fresh inks are provided with a barrier layer. The water-based primer takes on this function and is dried before the UV coating is applied. This also makes it possible to create a matt-gloss effect with UV varnish, which increases the attractiveness of the end product. The brochure shows further application examples of various finishing options such as the use of silver lacquer, pearlescent lacquers and scented lacquer. Scented lacquer products are becoming increasingly popular in advertising. With such applications, it is possible to convey a scent in addition to the visual and content message. The scented varnish contains micro-encapsulated fragrances. The scent is released when the product surface is rubbed.
Metallic effectsAnother way to achieve extraordinary metallic effects is offered by the new cold foil technology. Heidelberg has further developed its FoilStar module for the Speedmaster CD 74, CD 102 and XL 105 series. The FoilStar is used to apply cold foil in the offset printing process, enabling metallic finishes to be applied to a wide variety of substrates with high quality and impressive brilliance. A new feature is the multi-web processing of the cold foil, previously only single rolls could be processed. Now, up to six webs with different films in different web widths can be used, which can save up to 50 percent of the costs for jobs with low film requirements. The cold foil is applied via an offset printing plate, which has various advantages. Set-up times are significantly reduced and a precise register is achieved even at high production speeds. Cold foil is ideal for fine structures and elements such as lettering, lines and screens, but is also suitable for solid surfaces. FoilStar also demonstrates its qualities economically, especially for short runs and frequent job changes.
Fast changeoverIn contrast to previous effect foil applications, which required a letterpress machine or a flexo unit, cold foil is applied in sheet-fed offset with FoilStar using two conventional offset printing units. In the first printing unit, adhesive is applied over the entire sheet or partially via the inking unit and an offset printing plate. The second unit - the actual cold foil unit - has pick-up and unwinding units for applying the foil. Together with the sheet, the foil is fed into the printing nip between the blanket and impression cylinders and transferred to the adhesive-coated surfaces by means of pressure. After the carrier foil is removed, the metal layer remains on the substrate. Another advantage for quick changeovers: both printing units are immediately available for printing again after the cold foil application. www.heidelberg.com
Sabine Flaxman