Spot UV Gloss is the perfect way to draw attention to an art item. The gloss ink is UV cured. The effect imparts a shiny, glossy area on whatever you put it on – like a spotlight! It is best contrasted with something non shiny.  

Matte Lamination is the strongest matte effect there is for paper packaging. Lamination is a heat sealed layer of plastic that results in a velvety smooth, hard surface. You contrast that with a spot UV gloss, and you got yourself a good look! You can also consider a less pronounced effect but by doing spot gloss on regualr paper, or even uncoated matte paper. It’s all about the look you want. 

The cost for spot UV gloss is not bad but is dependent on the matte counterpart you go with. Matte lamination has a cost all on its own. The good news is that it is a one price fits all type of effect, so one price covers your entire package and it is not dependent on amount of coverage.

What can you put gloss ink on? Most frequently clients choose to accent lettering, squiggles, logo, art images, or just an area of the packaging. 

We did have one very creative client put a droplet of spot gloss on a package that looked like a spill. Come think of it, we had another client use spot gloss to illustrate a beast spewing something…that’s creative too. We keep telling you, we have the most creative clients there are. You should join them.

Use Spot UV Gloss to spotlight an element of your art and contrast with Matte Lamination for the strongest effect. 

Spot gloss is flat, and not raised. You can combine it with embossing if you need to. Registration is always challenging with lining up effects.

What media does spot gloss work best on? Mostly paper. You can’t use it on linen or leather materials. You can do some special gloss effects on discs with a different technique. art layer

How do you set it up in the artwork? Much like other special effects, you give it its own layer in the art and designate an ink to represent it (usually cyan).

To proof spot gloss you are going to need something special. You knew we’d say that, didn’t you?  You can see the effect layer on psd softproofs but you can’t see what it really looks like. You can see it printed on a digital proof in the color you chose…that gives you some idea. But to really proof this, you need to have a press proof which requires films and set up of the press. You also need matte lamination on that proof or the paper stock (uncoated, etc.) to see if you like the way it turned out. If you don’t like it, you go back and change your art. You are out the cost of the films and printing plates, but certainly not as expensive as reprinting the order.