What Print Finishes Are Considered Custom?

A standard-style printer usually can’t offer you too many different finishes for your prints. That’s just not how their business model works. All-over gloss, all-over matte, and limited foil details are the most common options you’ll see. Maybe a satin or pearl finish will be thrown in the mix as well. But with custom printing, you get access to so, so much more. 

From patterned pink holographic foil to perfectly registered raised gloss details, whatever finishes you’re dreaming of, a custom commercial printer can probably find a way to make them happen. And that kind of go-big flexibility is what it takes to elevate printed materials from run-of-the-mill to unforgettable. Custom finishes make prints look more valuable, feel more luxurious, and hold up better to the distribution process. And in this blog, we’ll be running through the top custom print finishes you can access with a custom commercial printer.

What Are Print Finishes?

Print finishes are enhancements that are applied to prints after the initial application of ink. They are used for a variety of reasons, including:

• Improving or altering the final appearance of the print
• Improving the durability of the print
• Personalizing/customizing the print for target audiences or recipients

Most Popular Custom Print Finishes

There are countless print finish types, techniques, and variations. In many cases, choosing the right print finish lets you customize your process as much as the final print itself. This is because there are often multiple ways to achieve similar final results, but they come with different costs, dry times, and durability considerations. 

To help you make sense of it all, let’s take a look at the most popular finish effects and categories one by one.

Foil Stamping

Foil stamping or foil printing allows you to cover all or part of a print with a metallic foil. It’s popularly used for emphasizing text or adding decorative details. It’s also popular to combine it with embossment or debossment, emphasizing the 3D effect of those treatments. In addition to traditional metallic colors like gold and silver, foil stamping can now be done in any shade desired, even customized brand colors.

Traditionally, a process called ‘hot foil’ was used to transfer foil to the print. But this method wasn’t particularly reliable for creating very fine detail, and often left an unwanted impression behind on the print substrate. So at Wallace Carlson, we use a cold foil process instead, which eliminates the need for high heat and pressure entirely and works like a charm even on the tiniest of details.

Embossing & Debossing

Embossment produces a raised design, while debossing produces a depressed design. These effects are achieved by creating a pair of custom dies that sandwich the print substrate between them.

Spot UV

With raised or spot UV, a thick, glossy coating or varnish is applied to select portions of a print and cured with a UV light. This produces a raised, ultra-gossy effect. It’s an infinitely customizable treatment, since it can be applied over top of any portion of a print.

Die-Cutting

Die cutting is used to cut out custom-shaped prints. It is also used to cut, crease, and perforate the flat shapes that are then folded into packages. Custom packaging printers like Wallace Carlson can use custom dies to create one-of-a-kind packaging and 3D displays

Lamination

Lamination allows you to customize the reflectivity of your print to matte, satin, or gloss. Also, since lamination is typically quite thick, it improves the durability and water resistance of the final print. If you want an all over matter, satin, or gloss treatment that doesn’t add as much thickness, coatings and varnishes can also be used.

How to Choose the Right Finish

Choosing the right finishes to customize your prints and packaging requires you to consider how you want your print to look, feel, and perform. For example:

• If you want vibrant, shiny, eye-catching packaging that can hold up on store shelves, you can:
  
  • Layer holographic foil details over your base print
  • Finish with a glossy, all-over lamination for shine and strength.
• If you want a warm, refined event invitation with the top edge shaped like the skyline of the event’s host city, you can: 
  
  • Finish your text with classic, warm-toned gold foil.
  • Use custom die-cutting to create the skyline effect.
• Increased your brand recognition and the perceived luxury of your products with your labels and packaging, you can:
  
  • Give your logo subtle three dimensionality with debossing or spot UV.
  • Apply foil details that are custom-printed to match your brand’s colors.

Ready to see what true custom printing and packaging design can do for you? Reach out to the undisputed champions of print innovation and customization today to get started!