Varnish
Varnishes are generally used in higher end books and magazines, they give the paper a more consistent feel as well as protecting the ink by sealing it into the material. Gloss varnishes are generally used for image-heavy layouts, whereas matte varnishes tend to be used for more text-heavy layouts.
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| Gloss Varnish |
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| Matte Varnish |
Lamination
Lamination adds a layer of protective coating to your print which can make it sturdier and more water-resistant. You can use a glossy lamination which improves the contrast of colour, particularly in images, or you can use a matte lamination which has a darker more luxurious outcome.
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| Gloss Lamination |
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| Matte Lamination |
Spot UV Varnish
This finish is applied by a machine that varnishes your print and then uses UV light to dry it out in the areas you don't want it, leaving behind the varnish in your selected areas, it's quite an expensive process to use. You don't need to change your document in terms of how it's set up, you just need to specify to the printer what areas you want to be varnished, it's advised that you set up a new layer in your document that illustrates this. Spot varnishing is a lengthy process because each bit of print has to be individually fed into the machine. Spot varnishing is generally used for highlighting certain parts of your print by making it contrast with the background, and it can make your print look a bit higher end.
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| Spot UV Varnish |
Foiling
Foil stamping works by creating a metal stamp with the shape you want to foil block onto your area. You then place a sheet of foil over your print and the stamp on top of it. The machine you use causes the stamp to put pressures on the foil and your print, as well as heating it up. This causes the area of the foil under your stamp to fuse with the paper, leaving you with a reflective foil surface when the stamp is removed. It works better on stocks that have smooth surfaces, and the foil stamp shouldn't be a halftone image or anything to thin, as it can make the stamp less durable and make it more flakey. Foil stamping creates something that your eye is immediately drawn to, and is often used as a mark that something is official.
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| Foiling |
Embossing/Debossing
Embossing and debossing works by creating two metal plates, one that works as a die, and the other that works as a counter-die. The plates are made from brass, copper or magnesium. Brass plates are more expensive and durable, and can generally allow you to use various levels of embossing. Copper plates are less durable and generally sis only effective for single-depth embossing, although they're cheaper than brass plates. Magnesium plates are cheaper still but are only any good for a one-off print. The material is placed between the two dies and squeezed and heated. The squeezing causes the material to rise up in certain places, and the heat causes the rise to be smooth. Embossing can be used as a stamp of approval in a similar way to foiling can, but can also be used to created shadows on your print.
My taste in stuff generally isn't expensive/posh enough to own anything that has any embossed or letterpressed stuff, so I had to take the images from the guide on eStudio.
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| Embossing |
Letterpressing
Letterpressing is similar to debossing in that it lowers certain areas of your print. If you use a letterpress without any ink it won't leave any colour on your print, but if you apply enough pressure it will leave its stamp mark. It generally works better on thicker or duplexed stock as there is more room for indentation within the material.
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| Letterpressing |
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