How to Print Spot Gloss, Embossing, Foil

How to Set up Art for Printing Effects on Disc & Packaging

Spot UV gloss combined with Matte Lamination is a great way to add contrasting finishes to your project, with maximum style. Spot UV gloss is noticeably thicker than gloss aqueous and has a more distinctive shine to it. Matte lamination is done by fixing a thin layer of plastic with heat on the package and results in a super soft, velvety matte effect. If you combine the two effects, you have the maximum contrast between shiny and matte.

Don't forget about using spot gloss and matte effects on the disc too! We can't do a matte lamination on it, but there are some tricks we can play!

How to Print Spot Gloss
Setup of Special Effects (Spot Gloss, Foil, etc) in the Disc or Packaging Artwork

Although most professional-level graphics programs allow the use of spot colors, we find that the easier way to create spot effects is to create a new layer (or layers) in the program, then create art in one of the standard process colors. This allows you to work with your CMYK or RGB art without the limitations created with multi-channel files.

When we get your artwork, we will place the file on as many pages as there are effects layers, then override the layer visibility for the file on each page to show just what we want to show. Call or e-mail to be walked through the process depending on your program of choice, or have your graphics specialist setup the special effects for you (may incur additional cost, depending on other complexity).

One of our favorite titles for show & tell is the Deva Film Reel as it actually has all of the effects; hot foil stamping, embossing and debossing, spot UV glass & lamination. Be sure to check our the full spec for the special printing effects on Deva's Featured Title page.
Setup of Spot UV—How It's Done

Spot gloss is not hard to set up for most projects. You simply tell us that you need it and usually we can set it up using your main art. If you need something unique for the reverse print, send it or tell us the color if it's just a flood you're adding.

Leo needed many elements to have the spot gloss effect, with art coming from a mix of raster and vector art sources. We chose to use 100% cyan to represent the gloss, since that color was easily seen when viewed together, and it didn't require the use of any multichannel Photoshop files (which aren't hard to set up, but aren't as flexible to use downstream). All the art files that were placed in this layout and which needed the spot gloss effect had one or more "gloss xxx" layers, in which were placed copies of the elements needing the gloss. (You'd manually

Note how on the PIPS art, below, there's only ink between the spines and around the outer edge. We do that edge printing with PIPS so that the inner panels (which are usually cut slightly smaller than the outer panel) are surrounded with a thin slice of matching art, rather then plain white.

The result is complete coverage, and a very high-end look.
Foiling - choice of colors

We have a lot of great foil colors we can offer. This is our swatch from our foil manufacturer, check it out!
Fabric (Linen, Hemp), Binding Cloth, Vinyl Leatherette Materials

We do offer a good number of paper alternatives such as fabric or vinyl type material. For these types of material, 4C printing usually not possible. Foiling is almost ways a good choice for them, though debossing on vinyl leatherette is really striking! Check these out:

Ready to Manufacture?

If you know what you want to manufacture, send us your detailed spec and we can help you with the costs.

SPEC:

Qty: (300/500 is the min order)
Media:
Media Packaging:
...Dimensions & Construction Sketch or Photo:
...Paper Stock / Finishes:
...Printing:
...Special Printing Effects or Die Cuts:
...Other Printed Items such as a Booklet or Slipcase:
Proofing Needed:
Assembly:
Product Weight if known:
Shipping: standard 5-7 days, US address (let us know if different)

Source media: replication ready /formatted disc image file (or for usbs & video screens, usb & video content) & print ready artwork laid out on our templates. We will create the templates for you as part of the project.

Manufacturing Quote

Need Spec Development?

If you need some help defining your spec, we do have packaging engineers on hand that can assist you at an hourly rate. They can help you with ideas and develop your packaging / printing spec plus give you multiple production estimates if you need them. If you are working with your graphics artist, generally they will provide the packaging / printing spec for you.

Request Spec Development Consulting