Paper and ink FAQs (1)

Good news for printing companies: Designers love print. From the three surveys completed last year, it can be seen that most of the interviewed designers (77%) indicated that they were designed for printing (graphics designers). Designers allegedly loved the prints. Quality and control.

Many designers themselves are customers of the printers, which means that they are very dependent on the printing factory, and in many ways affected by the printing factory. For print shops, they often share print knowledge with designers. If customers know that you are just and consider them, they will be your loyal customers.

PaperSpecs (Palo Alto, CA) This Canadian company provides a professional web database for the design and printing industry, as well as paper media information. Here are answers to some of the questions provided by this company.

Why do some designers prefer to use uncoated paper?

A: The use of soft paper has become a popular trend, and some designers want to obtain a soft, soft-feeling image when designing. The non-coated paper's smooth and textured appearance helps to express this. Kind of effect.

For a while, coated paper was the first choice for many designers. It can reproduce many details and popular colors, but now designers and some printing customers prefer to use uncoated paper in stationery and manual paper. Utilizing uv ink and the latest prepress technology, the natural surface of uncoated paper proved to be ideal for four-color printing.

UV ink to print what kind of effect?

A: Traditional water-based and solvent-based inks evaporate between 35% and 40% of the time between rollers, which inevitably requires more ink to achieve the desired color density. On the other hand, the nature of uv ink is a bit like a liquid plastic. When the ink is exposed to uv rays, the ink material does not evaporate, but the transfer is 100%, and the color effect is more ideal. Therefore, the thick ink layer brought by the uv ink is one of the main reasons for the increase in the application of non-coated paper.

This means that more absorbent papers, such as kraft paper and thick cover paper, usually have larger dot gains, especially in screens and other slow printing processes, regardless of low quality or high quality. This is true on paper.

Which paper is best for printing with metallic inks? Which ink characteristics should be understood?

　　 A: Metal inks are best applied on coated paper. Different coatings, such as matte or glossy paper, produce different results.

Heavy metal inks or jobs that require long-term storage and require multiple treatments are recommended. Glossing will reduce the metallic effect to some extent, because the metallic luster is formed by the light reflected from the metallic foil. Therefore, in order to polish, the metallic ink must be additionally increased by 5% to 10%. , so you can get unique and subtle effects.

It should be noted that when printing metallic screen printing inks, the “gloss” of metals is often lost. This is a point that is easily overlooked. Special attention must be paid.

Finally, preparing metal inks that are needed too early will also cause metal inks to change. It is best to print within 24 hours of adjusting the ink.