Creating an affect while adding durability.
Here at Elman, we apply our coating inline on press. The coating is applied last, after the ink, by a rubber blanket. All of our coatings we apply are Aqueous, meaning they are clear, fast-drying water based coating. Inks are sealed on the paper when coating is applied. The coating acts as a barrier between the ink and the world outside. Whether the aqueous coating is Gloss, Satin, or Soft Touch it protects the piece, allowing our bindery team to handle sooner. Aside from the unique types, it provides a surface that deters dirt, marring, fingerprinting, and scratching. Heat Aqueous coatings are more cost effective, environmentally friendly, and will not resist additional imprinting. Therefore, we are able to personalize via inkjetting variable data directly to our customer’s piece.
The (possible) downside to coating is that it will increase the cost of a project. However, we feel that in the right circumstances with the right projects, coating can turn a piece from just another printed project, into something that jumps off the page and grabs customers attention.
Our Types of Aqueous Coatings & Their Affects
* Gloss coating has a high shine finish. It can bring a project to life accentuating bright colors within the artwork, really making a piece ‘pop’.
* Satin coating has a moderate sheen finish. Satin coating is often used as protection .
* Soft touch creates a velvety texture/feel. The paper becomes ‘soft’ to the touch enhancing the tactile appeal. That in mind, depending on the artwork colors can appear dull.
* Strike-Through gives customers the ability to add even more flair by using a little science. The contrasting gloss vs. dull/matte effects are achieved using our water-based coatings and a strike-through varnish, printed as an ink inline on our offset presses. First, the dull/matte strike-through varnish is applied using a traditional printing plate in an area(s) which are to stay dull. At the end of our presses, a flood of gloss aqueous coating is put down. As it cures, the gloss coating is dulled down in the area(s) where the strike-through matte varnish had been applied. Because we are using a traditional printing plate in a standard print unit on our press, we can achieve great details. Otherwise, a custom coating blanket needs to be cut specifically for the area(s) where it is glossy. Therefore, that blanket can only be used for the specific press run or project.
