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 Finishing
When
making decisions about artwork, paper and presswork take a careful
look at bindery options. Creative use of binding/finishing options
can greatly enhance your project, but can also be a problem area
if not properly planned for. Planning is critical to the success
of your project. Be sure to review your job carefully and always
supply a mock-up of your job, especially on any complex jobs. The
best time to provide a mock-up is at the time you put in an order
for an estimate. This will help everyone to determine the most accurate
cost. Quality Impressions has produced extremely complex jobs for
many clients, and can assist you in making your ideas cost-effective.
Foil Stamping / Foil Embossing / Blind Embossing
Foil stamping is just one of many finishing items that can be
added to enhance your design. Foil stamping is a process where heat
and pressure are utilized to stamp a thin metallic or pigment-based
material onto paper, cardstock and other items. Foils are commonly
used on labels, stationary, invitations, company identification
packets, and much more. One issue of importance is compatibility
with laser printers. These printers normally use heat, which can
bubble or dull the shine of the foil. Always request a laser compatible
sheet for anything that will be imprinted on lasers. We will happily
test your paper and foil for compatibility. Foil Embossing has all
of the same traits above except the foil area is raised. Blind embossing
is a technique where the image is raised by use of a female die
and a male counter that embosses or raises the level of the paper
surface in desired areas. Embossing can also be married to the printed
work to raise portions to create additional dimension or detail.
There are many factors in determining the right fit for the right
process. Dies need to be considered as well. Copper, brass, flat
foil, foil and emboss, combination dies, and counters. As you can
see there are a lot of variables here. Let us be of assistance.
Binding
Binding is a word that refers to a wide variety of processes. Some
of these processes include: cutting, folding, gluing, knitting,
drilling, padding, collating and more. The most common reference
to binding is book binding. This process is most commonly done by
a method called saddle stitching. The signature is opened up and
stapled in the center, then trimmed down to the final size. Saddle
stitching is limited in thickness by the length of the stitches
and the ability of the stitcher to transport and trim the book to
final size. Another method of binding is known as perfect binding.
This is also a very common type of binding used in the print industry.
Perfect binding is a method where the binding edge of a book or
magazine is ground down to about 1/8" and coated with fast-drying
glue. Then a flexible cover is attached, creating a squared-off
backbone. Side stitching is a binding method where usually one or
two staples are passed through flat sheets, usually in the production
of coupon books. One important thing to remember when creating a
book is that a signature is a printed sheet folded to become part
of a publication. Signatures always contain pages in increments
of four, such as 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, or 32 pages. However, this rule
does not apply to perfect binding. A single sheet (2 pages) can
be added while it is not necessary to adhere to signatures of four
pages or more.
Dies
To help cut down on many of your questions, here are some helpful
hints about what information regarding dies to include on your specs.
If your project foils, embosses, foil embosses or debosses remember
to specify the size of foil area, and type of die requested. Die
types include brass, copper and magnesium dies. It is helpful if
you know about dies, but if you don't, we can help you with any
questions that may arise. Please include a detailed drawing to size
of any item that will be more than one level, especially if it is
a foil emboss project. Keep in mind that dies will not last forever.
With high usage they will have to be replaced in time.
Copper
Simple flat-foil dies or embossing dies are normally made of
copper. Copper is less expensive and harder than brass and will
last longer than most dies due to its hardness. Since copper is
a harder material this makes working with it and with hand tools
very difficult for die makers. Copper dies are the hardest, longest
lasting and most widely used dies in the business. A copper die
produces good quality for runs of 50,000-100,000.
 Brass
Brass is a relatively soft material and is best suited for intricately-detailed
pieces. Brass dies are hand-made and are used for combination foil
emboss, deboss and embossing dies. They are long-lasting and can
produce over one million impressions. A brass die will enable you
to achieve the ultimate in detail, but it will also set you back
financially. Combination brass dies are very expensive, but it's
worth the money. There is no better material than brass for showing
detail in your work.
Magnesium
Magnesium dies are the last choice of die for most printing companies.
Over a period of time, Magnesium will pit or develop small holes
in it. Magnesium dies seldom produce a job without flaws. Heat causes
the Magnesium dies to stretch or distort. The cost of magnesium
is less than that of a copper die. Using Magnesium is a fast and
cheap way to get a die made. Due to the softness of the material
however, magnesium dies should be only used on shorter runs of 1,000-5,000.
Die Cutting
Die cutting is another finishing element that creates a special
look, feel or shape. Die cuts add dimension to a project with different
shapes and designs. Sending out an invitation for a football event?
Cut the invitation into the shape of a football! Ideas such as these
can give you an eye-catching piece. Die cutting is a separate process
which is run on a different machine than the offset printing. A
steel rule, or series of steel rules are cut, bent and mounted in
wood. With this type of  die
much can be accomplished such as scoring, die cutting and kiss cutting
all in the same press pass. Since most dies are still hand-made
by professional die makers, the precision of steel dies have some
limitations. The biggest limitation when considering the use of
die cutting as part of your project should be in the amount of detail
in the cut. The points and curves of the die must not be too sharp
or tight. Remember, in most cases a 2-point or 6-point rule is being
bent to create the curve or effect. Also, there must be allowances
made for the fit of the die cut to the work. The die cutting presses
are very accurate in registration but it is important to have bleed
on any printed piece if the printing fits to the die cut.
Vanishes / Coating
This area is usually a designer's playpen, providing an opportunity
to create spot varnish plates, flood coatings with touch plates
to present a unique look. While there are volumes of information
on special effects which can be done with varnishes and coating,
the most common effect is either a flood coating or two spots, one
gloss and one is either a flood coating or two spots, one gloss
and one dull. Aqueous coatings are not just appealing to look at,
they are also a blessing for the printer in the print-on-demand
environment of today. Aqueous coatings give us the ability to handle
and cut jobs within a very short period of time after they are printed.
This allows us to proceed to the next step in the process much sooner
than on a job printed without coatings. Please ask us about special
effects such as adding metallic to varnishes, invisible security
inks, along with pearlescent colors that create a unique look but
will not copy. There is a world of available tricks and techniques
at your disposal to create that special unique look for you and
your client.
Lamination
Lamination is a projective plastic most commonly used in the
production of menus to keep them from getting wet and damaged. It
also allows the client to clean the menu without ruining it. Lamination
can be a gloss or matte finish in various thicknesses depending
on your requirements. It can also have sealed edges or a flush cut.
Flush cutting is the most common when a piece has to die cut and
the sealed edge is die cut off. When producing a piece that is to
be folded, always make sure that the scoring is done prior to the
lamination. If it is scored after the lamination is applied, there
is a good chance the lamination will crack or split. If a certain
thickness is required for a particular piece, a cost-cutting tip
when using lamination is to increase the thickness of the paper
and decrease the thickness of the lamination.
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