Often with lamination you might not actually see the laminate which is a thin plastic coating heat sealed onto the paper. You will however feel it as it creates a smooth and impervious finish. This will likely be a matt laminate. Gloss lamination is more readably seen and again adds to the tactile quality of a page. Often lamination is only used on a brochures cover as it can add considerably to the cost of a print job.
UV Varnishing
With both gloss and matt finishes available UV varnishing gives a similar effect to lamination although the process is more akin to printing a spot colour. With not quite the same feel as a laminate it has benefits in that it is generally cheaper to employ and can be printed on to discreet sections of a page such as a logo or image.
Metallic Inks
These are again spot printed onto a page and can add a bit of oomph to a brochure when used judiciously. They have a reflective quality due to the metallic constituent in the ink. Available in a variety of pantone colours they are best employed fairly simple areas due to the viscosity of the ink.
Hexachrome© colours
Using six colors instead of the standard four, it is possible to expand the spectrum (or gamut) possible on a full colour print job. This system developed by Pantone© allows enhanced visual impact as well as allowing for special colours to be introduced to a print run without the wash ups and spot plates normally associated with additional spot colours.
Foil Blocking
A technique where metallic foil is applied to a page using heat and pressure to create a reflective area. The effect is usually more eye catching than a metallic ink as the foil has a greater reflective properties and sits on top of the paper rather than being partially absorbed as is the case with the ink. The down side of this is that it is more expensive than metallic ink requiring a special dye to be made and will often be carried out in a specialised workshop.
Embossing
The technique of raising up a portion of the page to create a shadow. This, like foil blocking, requires a special dye to be made and subsequently can add significantly to the overall cost of a job.
Die cutting
A metal tool which punches is hole or edge into a piece of artwork ito create a irregular shape in the substrate, usually card or paper. Like a pie cutter in application, A die cutter is often used used to create packaging from a regular sheet, but can also be used in brochure design to create an unusual cover or to knockout a hole for a image to show through.
The cutter is a series of blades set in a block to create a single unbroken but irregular edge and can be combined with scoring to create folds in the paper. These have a significant make ready cost and are usually only used when a budget permits.
Coated vs Uncoated
As the name suggests, coated paper has a coating, usually of china clay, which gives it a smooth finish. Coated papers are available in a gloss, silk (sometimes called satin) or matt finish and are used for projects requiring a fine finish, which is why coated paper is sometimes referred to as ‘art’ paper. Most of the leaflets you get through your letterbox, the glossy brochures you pick up from the travel agent and the fancy programmes you buy at concerts are printed onto coated paper.
Uncoated paper doesn’t have a coating and is therefore not as smooth as coated paper. You will use uncoated paper in your laser printer and photocopier. Premium quality uncoated papers are used for business stationery and are becoming increasingly popular for use in prestigious brochures and catalogues as an alternative to the more commonly used coated papers. Uncoated papers are available in a range of finishes:
Laid paper is a premium quality paper with a textured pattern of parallel lines, similar to hand made paper. Commonly used for business stationery.
Wove paper is a premium quality paper with a uniform surface, not ribbed or textured like laid paper. Again, used mostly for business stationery.
Bond paper is a term commonly used to describe economical uncoated wove papers. You will probably use bond paper in your photocopier and fax machine.
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