Varnish is a clear coating that is applied during the printing process that coats the sheet and protects the pieces against scuffing, fingerprints and helps enhance the colors for a more vibrant overall appearance. It is important to note that varnish can cause issues if you are mailing or later imprinting information on your piece, in this case you will use a knockout, where varnish is not coated in the areas of future imprinting.
Gloss varnish – this varnish is applied to help colors pop, it can be used over the entire sheet, or in specific areas to help images and colors be more vibrant. Although gloss is eye-catching, be aware that in bright lights or in the sun, it can cause glare making your product hard to read.
Satin Varnish – this is a mixture of both matte and gloss varnish, it provides a lighter coating, reduces glare but still allows protection against fingerprints and scuffing.
Matte Varnish – this coating eliminates glare yet still provides protection to your material. Matte varnish is best used with materials with a lot of text making it easier for the audience to read. Matte varnish is often used for menu’s, instructions manuals and other readable materials.
Strike-through Matte – This coating is used to protect your sheet but also provide extra shine to images to help promote your product. The matte varnish is applied to the entire sheet except in areas where the gloss is used for a more impactful effect like images of products or taglines to catch the eye of your consumer.
Not sure where to start with varnish on your next project? We are happy to help! We will walk you through the process, give suggestions and can sometime provide samples for you to compare.
