Printing special effects: Foiling, Embossing, spot gloss and metallic spot colours

There are a lot of ways to improve a printed job and make it look that bit more special. Along with traditional printing methods, there are some effects you can have done. These effects bring out and highlight your logo or business name above the rest.

Foiling

Foiling is the process where actual metal material is 'stamped' onto the printed job, such as on a logo or text. This gives it actual metallic shine. You can get quite a range of different foils including: different shades of gold, silver, bronze, copper, metallic blue, red, yellow, green - even some multi-coloured specialty foils. Foils don't even have to be metallic, they can just be shiny bright colours.

Embossing

Embossing is the process where a shape is 'stamped' into your printed material in such a way that a design is raised from the surface of the paper. This gives a lovely tactile effect.

Quite often, embossing and foiling are combined to make a lovely shiny or metallic 3D effect.

Embossing and foiling are quite similar in the way which they are done. For either, an actual 'block' is made in the shape of the area which you want done, and then this is used to apply it to the paper using speciality machinery. Set up costs for this include the once-off price of these 'blocks' and the cost of applying the extra process to your job. From the second time onwards, you do not have to pay for the 'blocks' again - they are kept for you to use each time you need something foiled or embossed.

Spot gloss or spot UV

Spot gloss or spot UV are two different techniques of applying a feature glossy area to your printed media. This is another great way to enhance your logo, but it can also be used to bring out design elements or even photographs. It works best when your printed job is matte laminated (smooth surface) the the gloss gives you a shiny contrast to the job.

A key thing to be aware of is that where foiling and embossing is best to be used on very small areas such as your logo, spot gloss can be used on any size area. Mainly because it would be far too expensive to make large 'blocks' for foiling or embossing larger areas.

Metallic spot colours

This is another, much more economical way of adding something special to your printed material. As well as a huge range of spot colours you can get, there is also a large range of metallic colours you can have applied when your job is printed. See my previous article on colour matching for more information on spot colours.

Any of the above processes will cost extra on your printed job, as they are completely independent processes that need to be done. This also means that each process (except metallic spots) will add approximately 3 days to the turnaround time for your job. If you would like to know more about any of these or how they could enhance your material, contact us today.

Please note: These special processes are not suitable for forms or duplicate and triplicate books etc. they are best used for business cards, letterheads, compliment slips etc. Also, some printers are unable to do these.

-- Heather Measday | graphics@medform.com.au