Designing Series
Design for Print
2014
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Finishing
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Finish in
Verb
[with object] 1. Bring (a task or activity) to an end; complete: They were straining to finish the job
Print finishing encompasses a wide range of process that can provide the final touches to a design once the substrate has been printed. These processes include die cutting, embossing, debossing, foil blocking, varnishing and screen printing to name but a few, and can transform an ordinary looking piece into something much more arresting.
foil block, or textural qualities, such as those produced by an emboss or deboss.
Although the application of print-finishing techniques signals the end of the production process but as an integral part of a design, and Finishing process can on that needs to be considered during the add decorative elements to a piece such planning stage. as the shimmer of a
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Varnishes
ishes
Varn_
A varnish is a colourless coating that is often applied to a printed piece to protect the substrate from scuffing, wear or smudging. Varnish can also be used to enhance the visual appearance of a design, or elements within it. Varnish can produce three finishes - gloss, dull and satin - and, while not strictly a varnish, UV coating can also be used to add decorative touches to designs.
Spot Varnish at LCA You can buy spot varnish in the LCA print resources. This spot varnish gives slight gloss effect. If you wanted to apply a spot varnish you would have to prepare a paper silk-screen exposed with your design and printed with the silk-screen. You would normally leave this process until the very end of the production stage because of alignment issues. Varnishes you can get outside of LCA Textured Spot UV
Varnishes
UV varnish Full-bleed UV Spot UV
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Gloss Matt (or dull) Satin (or silk) Neutral
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Lamination
Lam_ inatio n Laminate is thin film that is applied to one or both sides of a printed stock. Lamination provides a range of benefits, it adds strength as well as gloss. It improves sheet or rigidity, and can make your print waterproof, tear-proof and tamper-proof.
Laminating at LCA if you are Laminating a print at LCA, James (Digital Print) uses a sheet of laminate which he cuts down to size and sticks onto the your pages for you. He then puts it through a cold press to secure the laminate to your print.
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Don’t Forget! Ink that is to be varnished or laminated should be quick drying, with little residual solvent, and absolutely no wax additive. Too much anti-setoff spray can have an adverse effect on either process. Metallic inks should not be varnished. They have their own sheen, after all.
Lamination
Outside LCA, laminating usually uses film lamination, which is glued to the stock as it goes through a heated roller under high pressure.
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Die-cutting
DieCu t Die-cutting is a process which uses a steel die to cut away a specified section of a design. It is mainly used for decorative purposes and to enhance the visual performance of a piece. You can produce a three dimensional low relief effect on paper or cover board. It works as a kind of heavy handed letterpress. Or, a die can be used with metal foil, to make the bold impression that is so popular on paperback books
Die-cutting at LCA Laser Cutting is really the only type of die-cut we can do in LCA but you can produce incredibly intricate patterns and designs. You can cut through most substrates except from anything with metallic or shiny surface. Don’t forget! You must include smalls tabs off 0.3 to 0.5 mm to prevent the inner counters of letter, for example, from falling out.
Laser Beam
Substrate Base of the lasercutter
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Nozzle
Die-cutting
Lens
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Embossing / Debossing
Embo ss/ Debos s Embossing / Debossing, similar to die-cutting, also gives the stock an area of texture. It is a design that is stamped into a substrate with ink or foil, which results in a three-dimensional, raised, decorative or textured surface to provide emphasis to certain elements of a design.
Embossing / debossing at LCA The first method involves using the laser cutter to either cut or engrave the design you want to emboss / deboss onto a piece of wood or acrylic. You then put this with your chosen substrate, which can printed on, in to the hydraulic press in Rossington Street Print Resource.
Pressure Gauge
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Hand powered Pump
Embossing / Debossing
The second method involves etching you design onto a copper plate using photosensitive film and this becomes your embossing plate. The same hydraulic press is used for this method.
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Foil Blocking
Foil Bl o_ cking Foil blocking is a process whereby colour foil is pressed on to a substrate via a heated die, which causes the foil to separate from it’s backing. The foil is a thin polyester film containing a dry pigment. Several terms are used to describe this process including foil stamp, heat stamp, hot stamp block print and foil emboss.
Foil Bocking at LCA The process of hot foil stamping can be done in the Blenheim Walk print resource. Similarly to varnishes, you have to expose an image onto a textile silkscreen. You then need to screen print with a special adhesive which you can be bought from the print resource. This is when you put the foil on top of your print and put it through the heat press for 12 seconds.
Heated Die
Substrate with foil laid on top
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There are two types of foiling, Hot-foil blocking & Coldfoil blocking. Hot foil stamping uses heat and pressure to attach the foil to the substrate. Cold-foil Stamping which is usually used to decorate bottle labels, cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical packaging.
Foil Blocking
Backing Plate
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End Papers
End_ Paper Endpapers are the heavy cartridge paper pages that are found at the front and back of a hard back book and joining the book block to the hard back binding. They can be made into an additional decorative feature of a publication as they often feature designs, motif or maps, or the use of coloured stock. It adds an element of texture to a book as they use a different stock to the rest of the publication.
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End Papers
Applying Endpapers at LCA To apply endpapers, the sections of a book block are first collated. Sheets of, typically cartridge paper, are then glued on along their folds and one is pressed against the facing edge of the spine and one to the spine on the other side of the book block. Finally, the hard cover is then glued and attached to the endpapers to produce the finished casebound book. This process can be done at the Rossington street print resource for a small materials fee.
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Perforation
Perf_ oratio Perforation or Perf cutting is a process that creates a cut out area in a substrate, which weakens it for detaching. It would be typically used for a particular pages of a publication in which you, as the designer, want the viewer to rip out and stick on their wall. A poster would be ideal for this.
Perforating at LCA You could perforate using the laser cutter in LCA, Although, it may be difficult getting the settings correct for the substrate you are using it with, there is room for experimenting, however. There are many ways you can perforate a certain design however. Perforation can be done on the printing press, by means of a perforating strip attached to the impressions cylinder (eventually ruining the blanket).
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You could even buy a mini perforator from Hobbie craft or amazon for ÂŁ3.50 . However, this will only allow you to do one type of perforation and may not work so well on higher GSM papers.
Perforation
If you were printing something from a professional printing company such as Evolution Print you could specify the perforation as a spot colour.