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Whether the effect you want to
achieve is a glossy, dull, or tinted appearance or if you wish to play
one type of varnish against another your finished produce will be
enjoyed for its uniqueness in print, design, and style.
Stop and think for a moment about that
particular brochure, catalog, or printed piece, which you had to pick up
and look through. What about it stands out in your memory and what was
it that caught your attention? More than likely, the answer to these
questions will be that it was something about the cover’s graphic
design, photo placement, or innovative printing affects which first
caught your attention.
If you take a closer look, however, you’ll notice something else about
the cover, it has been varnished. This is possibly the simplest most
effective ways for a printed item to stand out, from the crowd.
Catalogues, magazines, pamphlets, brochures, and even presentations for
your company only have one chance to make a first impression, to grab
the attention of the customer, or client.
What exactly is varnish? It is a variation of printing ink that gives a
clear, tinted, glossy, or dull, finish and applied on the printing press
in the same way as normal ink. The varnish used in printing acts much in
the same way as varnish that you would apply to a finely crafted piece
of wood furniture, as a protective sealer. Varnish seals the overprinted
ink and paper to help protect the finished printed piece from scratches
and scrapes. It can also be used as part of the design, such as using a
dull varnish to reduce glare on glossy paper to increase its
readability, or to use a high gloss on a magazine cover, to be more
attractive.
Depending on the particular design effect that the printer wants, they
may use the glossy and dull varnish independently or together to create
a particular look. One particular magazine cover has stayed with me for
years, it is a photograph taken of the Okefenokee Swamp at dawn,
blooming on the water are hundreds of yellow flowers. The designer used
a dull varnish over nearly the entire cover, however, for the flowers,
he applied a glossy finish. This technique is referred to as spot
varnish and is used to enhance the appearance of the photography,
increase vibrancy of colors, or to draw attention to charts and
diagrams. When I’m at the airport, I normally do not go for travel
guides, however because of that cover, not only did I pick up the
magazine, I purchased it. This is the result that you want to achieve.
You want your catalogues, magazines, pamphlets, brochures, or
presentations to draw and capture attention of those who see it.
Varnish does not necessarily have to always be used with printing inks.
Some designers use a small about of ink to create a tinted appearance to
varnish, which then prints with a tinted transparent appearance that is
not easily copied. This technique gives an added dimension that cannot
be achieved in any other way.
When creating a specific design, you have several options to choose
from, the type of ink, paper and of course the type of varnish, matte,
gloss, tinted, or non-tinted. All of which can add their on distinctive
look to a design, it all depends on the effect you are trying to
achieve. For most of your printed material, that varnish will be
applied, coated, or glossy paper is your best choice. Uncoated paper has
a tendency to absorb more of the varnish, leaving a rougher surface to
the finished product.
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