Spot UV (aka Varnish, Gloss)

[Fictitious]

I am a student at a university and am working on one of my senior studio projects, which is packaging design. I would like spot gloss on my package, but cannot find anyone to do this! I have scoured the web and local print shops, but none are willing to do about three prints with the spot UV.

I have considered manually brushing the varnish on, but this would appear sloppy and tacky. I simply cannot show something so shoddy in my senior show!

Can anyone help?

Thanks,
Fictitious

(By the way...not sure if I stuck this thread in the right spot?)

Oh, I just had an idea. Screen printing! (Silk Screening). We have the equipment, but is there a clear "varnish" screen printing ink?

 

[D Ink Man]

Easy Help here. Only 3 prints needed? If so, we'll get out the old trusty brayer. I would imagine that you can brayerly believe that it is that easy. Can arrange, no cost. D

 

[ThePrinter]

Spot gloss varnish is not what you're looking for. Chances are you won't get the contrast that you're trying to achieve. What I'd recommend you do is use a gloss UV coating and silk screen it. You'll have a very high gloss level. Call some print shops that have UV capabilities and see if they'd be willing to sell you a little bit. I will emphasize this - do not call it a varnish since coating and varnish are two different animals.

In case you don't know what gloss UV coating is, it's the coating used on printed materials to create that slick glossy finish. Make sure to cure it properly (pass it through the UV lights a few times if necessary) since it will never dry on its own and will smudge if not dry.

 

[D Ink Man]

?ThePrinter?, you think a printer, UV silk screener would entertain this idea for "3" prints? Ficticious might use his life savings in phone call charges to find someone that would help him out. Just a practical thought here. D

 

[ThePrinter]

If you read you will see that he says his school has the equipment for silk screening. All he'd have to do is buy enough UV coating to do the job, probably less than 20 bucks worth.

 

[Lab Rat 1]

If Fictitious PM's me his info, i can send him a wet sample of UV coating to do his 3 prints. I hope he's in North America and not Europe.

 

[maynardsayswhat]

Might be a great time to learn how to coat and expose a screen =)

But yeah, probably the simplest option. You might even be able to score a cheap screen print kit at a local hobby or crafts store but be aware that these kits aren't exactly professional standard. If your school has a screenprint department, ask there first. They might have acrylic (aka Poster Ink) base that can be used as a gloss coat.

Edit: This is one of my main poster inks:
http://www.nazdar.com/prodDetail.as...atID=8&attrIDs=35&catID=&catTab=&productID=54

Cheers!

 

[droeck]

We just recently ordered some business cards with spot uv on one portion of the logo. Since we did not have the equipment, we went to 4over.com, and they were able to do it very easily, and affordably. End result was fantastic. Not sure if you could apply their process to your package, but it's worth a try.

Hope this helps.
Daniel

 

[appstro]

Find someone with a Nexpress. It has a "clear" ink that is better than UV and even has the ability to do textures too. AWESOME!! We saw some samples recently and we were blown away at its abilities. Really is the next Gen of printing.

 

[amazing1589]

We just recently ordered some Business Birthday Cards with spot uv on one portion of the logo. Since we did not have the equipment, we went to 4over.com, and they were able to do it very easily, and affordably. End result was fantastic. Not sure if you could apply their process to your package, but it's worth a try.

Hope this helps.
Daniel

Thanks for the lead Daniel.

But there is the problem of just printing the UV spot on three copies only. In any case, I'd keep them in mind

 

[TonyD]

Find someone with a Nexpress. It has a "clear" ink that is better than UV and even has the ability to do textures too. AWESOME!! We saw some samples recently and we were blown away at its abilities. Really is the next Gen of printing.

The clear ink from the Nexpress is certainly not anywhere near the gloss level of UV coating. At my shop we are getting gloss levels of over 100 running inline with gloss UV coating. The Nexpress "clear" ink also has a yellow cast to it. None of the above make it "better than UV."

The Nexpress certainly does have its uses, but I highly doubt it will be the next gen of printing. On the commercial end we're seeing a lot of requests for specialty coatings, something a digital press cannot simulate. The next gen of printing will certainly be more about aesthetics and feel so it can compete with digital.