Due to the fear of contaminating the paper during the printing process, the printing industry is now deriving a new process—sealing and coating. In the past, in order to protect printed products, a film coating technology was proposed; for artistic needs, a matte and high-light process was applied, and now the cover and coating have also been accepted by the majority of manufacturers from what they did not know about 10 years ago. It has penetrated into all areas of image decoration and has its own traces from paper to printing.
In fact, water-based sealing coating can not add any intrinsic value to printed products. It appeared as early as in the 1980s and has not received people's attention. The cover and coating process are relatively complex, involving various factors, but mainly attributed to three aspects: paper, machine and industry attitude.
Since high-quality compliance is a top priority for printers, if a job cannot meet requirements without a cover or other protective coating, the printers will unambiguously take this measure and strive for quality. Of course, the cost is included in the entire printing price. Especially when time permits, printers will adopt similar measures. Although the seal will increase the cost, it can ensure the smooth and safe operation and eliminate the subsequent expenses. This work is worth the printer.
Printers equipped with an in-line coater to seal the envelope did not increase the amount of labor, but the equipment was somewhat invested, but the loss was much less than that caused by the inadvertent contamination of the prints during the production process.
Obviously, whether or not to use a cover seal is basically decided by the printer. The reasons for this are nothing more than production, safety and aesthetic requirements, and the final cost is borne by the user.
Superior Creative Services is a company that undertakes a whole range of work from design to printing to finishing. In a sense, its design ability is stronger than its printing ability. But here, what kind of seals are printed and what is not sealed can not be strictly divided. Their recent 48-page A4-size retail advertising brochure for a Mark Wilson furniture company is one example.
The final design of the print was a solid black panel with a four-color pattern on white paperboard. The plate was printed with ICG Titan CTP and printed with the coated Heidelberg 72 five-color printing press. Postpress film has been decided and budgeted, but the cover has not been included. However, if this product is not sealed, the color of the pure black panel part of the printed product will inevitably infiltrate the background white paper, causing the border to be blurred and affecting the printing quality. The coater used it to play a role, and the black frame of the print was quite clear and did not cause any smear.
The company's operating principle is to provide value-added services to its customers, but the special nature of the job has made it an option for future work.
Water-based coating and sealing can improve the quality of the printing work. Now, some manufacturers have also included the coating equipment in the printing equipment. The related materials are also treated like paper and ink.