Spot UV printing may be a term you are familiar with in the printing world – it is, however, a little misleading! The technique is not actually a printing process in itself – it is a technique for ‘coating’ printed materials. It refers to the actual application of a UV coating over a specific area – or multiple areas – of a printed document, as opposed to treating the whole document. It is primarily used as a design technique in order to highlight specific aspects of the printed material.
Here are some brief details as to how spot UV printing works and its’ practical applications in the printing arena:
What is UV Coating?
UV coating is the application of a clear-coat finish over a printed material. This ‘varnish’ can be applied to plain white cardstock, but is often applied to coat colour printed paper products, sealing in the colour and adding shine and depth to the design.
How is it applied?
UV coating is applied in a liquid form and then exposed to Ultra Violet light. This instantly dries and bonds the liquid to provide the distinctive look you want. This process allows for a very high level of precision, so is ideal for highlighting specific features or designs.
Where would you use it?
Spot UV printing is a creative way to highlight certain aspects of a printed document by adding depth and contrast of a sheen finish and texture through various levels. It is, therefore, largely used for marketing and promotional materials – items such as brochures, presentation folders, high-end flyers and such. The technique is also very effective for printed material that you may wish to have an immediate high-impact on its recipient – business cards or book covers, for example.
Spot UV printing can be applied directly to the unprinted paper substrate, to create a unique design of its own – a spot UV finish in this manner will be more effective, and provide a better contrast, if applied over a darker substrate. Alternatively, a spot UV finish can be applied over an existing inked design in order to highlight and enhance the image. The most popular use of spot UV printing is the combination of a high-gloss spot finish over a dark, matte base.
If you are looking to make your printed materials stand out from the competition, then Spot UV printing is a great way to enhance a wide variety of printed products.
Instaprint
We have been supplying a large and ever-growing range of high quality print products since the 1970’s. We supply business stationery, promotional products, printed NCR, signs, display boards, canvas prints, booklets, leaflets, flyers, labels, stickers, banners, posters, calendars, envelopes, postcards – you name it we probably do it. And if we haven’t before we’ll see if we can help you out.
To make life even easier for you, you can select from one of our many templates, upload your own artwork, or even ask our own brilliant in-house design team to create your artwork for you.
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