Luxury Creative Printing. Embossing, foiling, Spot UV varnishing.

Throw the kitchen sink at your new publication

If you have the budget and are looking for that extra dimension on your printing then welcome to our premium offerings. When it’s time to throw the kitchen sink at your new publication then we offer a range of possibilities which add a touch of luxury.

Whether you are looking for a shiny logo, some raised text, a metallic effect or even part of the design actually cut out from the page, then we have the solution to match your expectations.

For complete transparency from the off: embossing, debossing, foiling and spot UV varnishing all add at least £280* to the total cost. So these are stunning additions to your project but do jump the cost up.

*This is subject to seeing the artwork.

PREMIUM BOOK PRINTING

Wirewax Coffee Table book printing

Exquisitely stylish, self promotion books for the interactive legends, WIREWAX.

This is a boundary pushing annual featuring super slick covers with a gloss spot UV varnish pattern on @colorplanpapers.

Inside the informative text block, the reader is also treated to a bespoke sheet of fun stickers ready to peel off and stick all over their world.

View more premium case studies

TACTILE ADDITIONS

Embossing, debossing and foiling

Embossing/Debossing

Choose a logo or section of prominent text and this can be given added emphasis with embossing or debossing. Embossing is the process of bringing the details towards the reader whilst debossing pushes the content away from the eye. It’s subtle, but very classy and looks great on brochure covers and art catalogues. It is most effective on large logos, vector shapes or heavy, bold type. The process doesn’t lend itself well to small or fine text because there is not enough surface area to push through effectively.

Foiling

This is the process of adding a metallic foil to the sheet to create a dazzling logo or text area. Now no longer limited to just retro gold and silver because there are now hundreds of different colours in both matt or glossy finishes. Foiling adds a punchy, solid opaque contrast to the sheet rather. In comparison, white ink printing can be used to add white detail on darker shades of card, but this process is less opaque and does have a slight element of ‘show through’.

PREMIUM FINISHES

Spot UV varnishing, die cutting and white ink printing

Spot U.V Varnishing

Similar to foiling but a transparent varnish is applied over a selected area. Again, this serves to highlight a particular part of the page and adds a classy but subtle hint when it catches the light and the varnish reflects off the page. This is a more flexible process than embossing and smaller logo and type can be varnished but the larger the better so the effect is easier to see. Spot varnishing does not work on uncoated stocks because the varnish just soaks into the paper so best to choose a silk stock or uncoated with a matt lamination over the top which the varnish can then sit on.

Die cutting

The process of removing a section of the page to allow the viewer to see right through it. This opens up a range of possible uses one of the most striking of which is having an image or pattern on the sheet beyond which then becomes partially visible through the die cut area. It is best utilised on a vector image or logo because the whole of that area can be removed. It doesn’t work so well on text because you start losing elements of the letterforms which have to be cut out.

Motion Cutting

The low set up costs (in comparison with die cutting) make this a very viable way of producing eye-catching, tactile graphics on smaller print runs. Watch our super cool video of a motion cut invite.

PAPER TECHNOLOGY

Add a creative dimension to your papers.

Fold out covers flaps

Also called ‘tip-ins’. Ok so maybe you have a beautiful image that could really do with three pages in a row rather than just a double page spread. Fold out pages are the ideal solution because you gain the extra space needed for that image and it also gives your readers some extra fun when they realise there’s a page to fold out. The process works on front and back covers as well as inside pages. For inspiration, have a look at our Fosters Newsagent case study which had a huge number of fold outs to create page after page of stunning wide scale imagery.

The cost is dependent on the complexity and position within the publication but allow at least an extra £100. This is also a very time consuming process so please expect it to add an extra week on the turnaround.

Printing a book with multiple paper finishes

A tactic regularly utilised in main stream publications to add emphasis to a certain section within the magazine. Maybe the majority of your work is onto 120gsm Uncoated so why not print an 8 page image section on 170gsm gloss to catch the reader’s eye and make the photography jump off the page. Each of the premium processes takes that bit longer to produce so best to allow a couple of weeks for delivery if you’re going for one of these solutions.

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THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING

Enjoy looking through our showcase of recent projects which included premium finishing add ons.

A little book on...Gins, Tonics and Garnishes Vol 3

Melting Planet

Chelsea 10 art catalogues

Dirt Mag 20 Year Anniversary Book

Frank Bowling art catalogues

PAQ Works x Nike Air

Goldsmiths University MFA Fine Art catalogues

Skyscanner Notebooks

TedX Eustion Conference Guides

See all our case studies

Get a print quote

Read the full Loughborough case study

DEBOSSING AND SPOT COLOUR PRINTING

Loughborough Graphic Design degree show catalogue

The best degree show catalogue of the year (possibly ever) was designed and produced by Loughborough Graphic Design. Students Lily Scowen and Leah Bravo took the lead in crafted this exquisite example to promote their courses work in conjunction with the end of year show. They used a slick combination of Soft Touch Lamination, Pantone ink and a debossed typographic title to make the cover bold and memorable. The 240x170mm size is so much more dynamic than standard, predictable A size and the 162 inside pages onto 120gsm uncoated made a tactile, formidable publication. Well done! You have set a benchmark for the years ahead.

240x170mm Books
4pp Cover onto 300gsm Silk
Soft Touch Lamination and Debossing to outer cover
One spot colour double sided
162pp Text onto 120gsm Uncoated
Four colour throughout
Trimmed, collated and perfect bound

BENEFITS OF ADDING PREMIUM EXTRAS

Achieve aesthetic brilliance and top draw creativity.

Eye-catching to the reader

A lot of print is aesthetically similar. Adding a tactile or shiny feature means your publication will stand out. It also holds the reader's attention for longer as they stroke an embossed logo or tilt a spot UV varnished shape in the light to enjoy it even more.

Foiling feels luxurious

If you need a metallic finish to your brochure, invite or printed piece then foiling provides that with a sharp shiny finish - way more than you can achieve than using a metallic spot colour.

Your print will be unique

The large percentage of print jobs are standard CMYK printing, so adding a premium layer will get your work instantly noticed.

Create a slow reveal on your page

A cool trick is to die-cut an area on the cover of a book which then partially shows the content on the next page. When the cover is opened it then reveals the rest of the content on that page.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

Our helpful section of FAQs to guide in the final stages of your print journey

We have done our best to give you a huge wealth of information on this page and in our guides but if here are some frequently asked questions to help you get your work into print.

View all our FAQ's

How do I set up artwork for foiling?

We’ll need a second artwork file for the foiling – anything that you would like foiled should be set in 100% black (0/0/0/100 on the cmyk slider). This file should be the same size as the printed cover artwork so that we can overlay the two. Foiling only works with vector artwork so best to produce that in Illustrator for optimum results.

How do I set up artwork for gloss spot UV printing?

We’ll need a second artwork file for the varnishing – anything that you would like varnished should be set in 100% black (0/0/0/100 on the cmyk slider). This file should be the same size as the printed cover artwork so that we can overlay the two. Varnishing works best with vector artwork so best to produce that in Illustrator for optimum results. None of the printed content should be on this file, it should just be a white background with anything to be varnished in 0/0/0/100.

How do I set up artwork for embossing or debossing?

We’ll need a second artwork file for the embossing – anything that you would like embossed should be set in 100% black (0/0/0/100 on the cmyk slider). This file should be the same size as the printed cover artwork so that we can overlay the two. Embossing only works with vector artwork so best to produce that in Illustrator for optimum results.

How do I set up artwork for fold out pages?

How do I set up artwork for white ink printing?

On the artwork file create a Spot colour called ‘White’ (Window>Colour>Swatches) then New Color Swatch from the top right tab in the Swatch menu and set it as 100% Magenta, change the ‘Colour Type’ to ‘Spot’ and hit Ok. Anything that will be printed in white should be in this spot colour in front of the actual printed artwork. This must also be set to ‘overprint’ (in the Window>Output>Attributes menu). This will be picked up when the job is printed and anything in the ‘White’ spot colour will be printed white. (See attached screengrabs for more help)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXKMIUKgqB0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAboDlSuSZk

Is there a choice of foil colours?

Yes, a big choice! We buy our foiling materials from https://www.foilco.co.uk/

Do jump on their website to see the ranges that are available and request a swatchcard. Some foils are more resilient and can be applied to book linen for hardback covers, some are beter suited to softback covers and work like leaflets and wedding invites.

How do I add shiny text on my cover?

This can be achieved using Gloss Spot UV Varnish on a logo or line of text you would like to highlight.

A second option would be to use a metallic foil. You can choose from 100s of colours. Our foil supplier is foilco so do check out their range:

https://www.foilco.co.uk/

Premium Additions for your High-End Printing