Full Color Printing - Print finishing

Paper comes in a bewildering array of different finishes, weights and colours, for example there are many shades of white.
It is necessary to consider the size of your print run as this will effect your paper options?
Size matters
Less than 50,000 copies your job will probably go onto a sheet fed offset press. This means that the paper comes in sheets normally A0 in size and this allows for a wider variety of paper texture and thicknesses. Additionally greater accuracy of plate alignment is possible using sheet fed presses
The benefits of sheet fed jobs are

More paper options
Generally better printing results
Smaller runs possible

If you are printing more than 50,000 copies then you will likely require paper suitable for a web offset press. This will come in a roll (rather than sheets) and as such will most likely be a thinner stock than would be practical with a sheet fed printer.
The benefits of roll fed jobs are:

Faster turnaround
More cost efficient(rolls of paper are cheaper than sheets)

Your printer or print manager will be able to advise you on the practicalities of these options for your particular job. As a rule of thumb brochures and magazines are more likely to be printed via a roll fed press whereas magazine covers or any printing that requires an unusual stock will more likely be printed on a sheet fed machine.

Dot gain
Dot gain occurs where the small dots that make up a cmyk image spread to become blobby giving photographic images (especially graduated tones)a speckled appearance (this is called dot gain). A general rule of thumb is that coated papers tend to absorb less while uncoated papers are more absorbent and suffer more from dot gain. Ink viscosity also plays a part in this as well as the pressure used by any particular printing press. Generally this undesirable effect can be avoided by consultation with the printer prior to making film for plates, his press calibration can be allowed for in the plate making process and you should consult him before committing to a particular weight/texture of paper. This is a specialised area where your designer may have limited knowledge and one of the reasons many professional publishers employ the skills of a print manager.

Hickeys
Hickeys are unintentional spots or marks on the in the finished page caused by dried printers ink, dirt or indeed any kind of foreign matter on the plate. This can ruin an entire print run and can only be avoided by your printer cleaning the press regularly and being vigilant when running a job.

Special finishes

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As well as types of paper, there are options on finishes that will effect a printed piece. These can be special inks such as metallics, pastels and hexachrome© colours. Additionally there are options on coated, uncoated and matte finishes that can have a dramatic effect on your print job

Special finishes
Lamination and varnishing are employed extensively in brochure printing as both of these treatments will generally give a page a luster that adds a feeling off quality to a publication.

Lamination
Often with lamination you might not actually see the laminate which is a thin plastic coating heat sealed onto the paper. You will however feel it as it creates a smooth and impervious finish. This will likely be a matt laminate. Gloss lamination is more readably seen and again adds to the tactile quality of a page. Often lamination is only used on a brochures cover as it can add considerably to the cost of a print job.

UV Varnishing
With both gloss and matt finishes available UV varnishing gives a similar effect to lamination although the process is more akin to printing a spot colour. With not quite the same feel as a laminate it has benefits in that it is generally cheaper to employ and can be printed on to discreet sections of a page such as a logo or image. Metallic Inks
These are again spot printed onto a page and can add a bit of oomph to a brochure when used judiciously. They have a reflective quality due to the metallic constituent in the ink. Available in a variety of pantone colours they are best employed fairly simple areas due to the viscosity of the ink.

Hexachrome© colours
Using six colors instead of the standard four, it is possible to expand the spectrum (or gamut) possible on a full colour print job. This system developed by Pantone© allows enhanced visual impact as well as allowing for special colours to be introduced to a print run without the wash ups and spot plates normally associated with additional spot colours.

Foil Blocking
A technique where metallic foil is applied to a page using heat and pressure to create a reflective area. The effect is usually more eye catching than a metallic ink as the foil has a greater reflective properties and sits on top of the paper rather than being partially absorbed as is the case with the ink. The down side of this is that it is more expensive than metallic ink requiring a special dye to be made and will often be carried out in a specialised workshop.

Embossing
The technique of raising up a portion of the page to create a shadow. This, like foil blocking, requires a special dye to be made and subsequently can add significantly to the overall cost of a job.

Die cutting
A metal tool which punches is hole or edge into a piece of artwork ito create a irregular shape in the substrate, usually card or paper. Like a pie cutter in application, A die cutter is often used used to create packaging from a regular sheet, but can also be used in brochure design to create an unusual cover or to knockout a hole for a image to show through.
The cutter is a series of blades set in a block to create a single unbroken but irregular edge and can be combined with scoring to create folds in the paper. These have a significant make ready cost and are usually only used when a budget permits.