Spot UV: The UItimate Guide
Spot UV embellishment adds a premium, tactile finish to printed designs by applying a clear gloss coating to selected areas. From business cards and folders to brochures, flyers and book covers, it creates contrast, depth and durability, helping brands make a stronger and more memorable impression.
Introducing Spot UV embellishment
In need of opportunities to think creatively outside the box when designing for print? Perhaps adding Spot UV to your designs will open up a high-end new world for both you and your clients. And it’s even easier to design for and prepare for printing than you think.
‘So, what is Spot UV,’ you may well ask?
Sometimes termed ‘Spot Varnish’, ‘Spot Lamination’, ‘Spot Gloss’ or ‘UV Printing’, Spot UV is a tough clear coating of a polymer applied either over printed matter or on uncoated substrates. It is applied in liquid form, then exposed to ultraviolet (UV) lWight, which bonds and dries it instantly – hence one of its names, ‘UV varnish’. Spot UV refers to the application of a clear polymer coating to a specific area (or areas) of a printed piece to highlight it, rather than coating the entire surface of a printed item.
Used primarily as a striking design element, Spot UV is a creative way of adding depth and contrast to print items by adding varying levels of sheen and texture. It can be overlaid on inked surfaces, on unprinted stock or, for maximum effect, on a laminate of some kind. Blind Spot UV is a similar process to Spot UV, only the gloss polymer is added to non-image areas, creating gloss-only effects (eg a logo or text, or a pattern).
Usually, Spot UV is the final finishing touch in the printing process. This means that:
- all the ink layers are laid down;
- any paper lamination is added;
- the drying process completed;
- then the Spot UV is printed on top of the paper, as a clear gloss, and
- finally, dried to produce the finished result.
The Spot UV process differs fundamentally from standard UV coating, as indicated below
| Standard UV coating | Spot UV process |
|---|---|
| As the stock is fed through the printing press, rollers cover the paper or board with a UV coating. | The UV varnish is spread across a die-cut template, usually a thin film, which is placed over each sheet to ensure that only the required elements of the design are coated. |
What is Raised Spot UV?
Raised Spot UV is a form of embossing. Unlike standard Spot UV, though, it is a completely digital process. It therefore does away with expensive dies, set-up and make-ready. The raised effect – to a depth of some 20-50 microns – is created by layering up the polymer above a substrate using the digital printhead to create an embossed 3D effect.
The result is a tactile finish similar to that of braille: feel the Raised Spot UV as you run your fingers over it! This results in Raised Spot UV embellishment introducing a Wow! element to printed matter, especially to items that should project a top-end corporate image or a high-quality product.
What makes Spot UV so special?
In a nutshell, it is the ultimate in deluxe printing techniques! It provides a unique and exceptional way to introduce oneself and to make a lasting impression, thanks to the high clarity and eye-catching varnish that adds real contrast, depth and durability to a design. The thick UV varnish also lends a smooth, tactile quality to products, giving businesses the perfect means of promoting themselves and their products or services with something that no recipient will want to throw away! In fact, they are more likely to want to emulate it themselves. For example, almost half of well designed and expertly printed mail item can still be influencing recipients and driving purchases up to 28 days after delivery according to JICMail.
All of this means that there is a lot more opportunity for designers and printers to help clients make a lasting impression with high-gloss Spot UV than simply making logos on business cards shiny to heighten their impact: presentation folders, brochures, flyers, posters, book covers, slip cases can now all be substantially enhanced by this embellishment.
Spot UV Common uses
Whether standard or raised high-gloss Spot UV is applied, this is a popular choice for high-impact business cards, folders and book covers, where text, images, design patterns or even photos can be accentuated.
Spot UV Business Cards
Printed on a minimum of 350 gsm board, either with soft or matt lamination, business cards present many exciting design opportunities for making them impressive, memorable and durable and so help clients to make those important first impressions of their businesses and/or their products. Here, the minimal use of UV varnish for maximum effect is crucial, whether using Blind Spot UV or Spot UV over a colour to highlight logos, text, social media icons or product features or textures.
Spot UV Flyers
Flyers are such a tangible form of marketing that the way they feel to the touch really influences how consumers perceive your brand. Adding Spot UV to your clients’ flyer designs adds an extra layer of interest and makes their promotion stand out.
Spot UV Folders
Spot UV on a matt folder cover creates a luxury feel for your clients’ high-end brands. Spot UV on presentation folders is bound to impress conference delegates, clients at product presentations and recipients of their bundled marketing materials at events.
Other novel spot UV uses
Raised high-gloss Spot UV can also be used to simulate textures, so that embellished items look and feel completely realistic – and tactile. For example, the texture of chocolate, of metal, tiles or tyres, or of a football, is easy to replicate authentically – with breathtaking effects on both clients and other recipients of such printed items.
When to use high-gloss Spot UV (expert opinions)
| Insight | Source |
|---|---|
| “It is best used over a matt or a soft-touch laminate of some kind, for strongest contrast and maximum effect.” | Flexpress |
| “The effects you can create with spot UV can be stunning and enhance the quality of your brand.” | Lighthouse |
| “Spot UV offers a simple way to enhance print. You can use spot UV as an additional and subtle element such as a pattern or texture within an overall design, giving depth and contrast to the existing layout. You can increase the visual interest of an item using spot UV to highlight particular graphical elements, such as a brand logo or other important elements that require added prominence.” | Euan Lockwood CWS Digital East Midlands Branding & Design Agency |
| “Spot UV is a great way to create a luxurious or corporate feel. Whether it is to cement a brand tone, or set apart an element of the business, spot UV can be a really useful tool. In the age of digital, tactile approaches to print design can be an effective way to grab your users attention.” | Fran Collins a dozen eggs Loughborough Branding Agency |