Printing guide

Foil application under heat (hot stamping)

Application of a layer of foil (on printed or unprinted material). The operation is carried out at high temperatures (100 to 160 °C) and by applying contact pressure between the foil, the substrate and the heated platen. Foil machines can work by flat action or by rolling (cylinder).

Perforating

This is the mechanical operation carried out with a knife with an interrupted edge, producing a partially cut line. This makes it easier to remove an area of the product (separating the stub from the ticket). If the print is to be varnished with UV varnish, when using shades that contain Reflex Blue, Blue 072, Violet, Purple, Rhodamine Red or Rubine Red, base inks with a lightfastness above 5 units (special UV-resistant inks) should be used in mixing.

Gathering

The operation of making the book block by putting the sheets in order, in the natural sequence of the pages.

Inserting

This is the process by which a magazine block is made, by placing the sheets one inside the other, in the natural order of the pages.

The printing process

It denotes the process by which ink is transferred from the inking unit to the plate, from the plate to the blanket, and then from the blanket to the sheet of paper. The printing process takes place by compressive contact.

Laminating (mounting)

The operation of gluing two sheets together, whether paper on board or board on board, with the adhesive applied to the unprinted side.

Creasing

Mechanical deformation of the substrate surface for its later folding; it is recommended for substrates above 150 gsm.

Packing

Packing is the process of banding with paper, banding with elastic, trays, and film-wrapping a magazine. This operation can be done by banding stacks (stacks of the desired size) with a paper band or elastic, placing products in trays or in boxes with specially designed dividers, shrinking products in stretch film or in a polyethylene film sleeve.

Binding the volume

It can be done by perfect binding, stapling, spiral binding or gluing.

GD type boards

GD boards are duplex boards made 100% from recycled raw materials, with a coated top layer. Duplex board is recommended for making packaging used in the non-food, pharmaceutical and food industries (industries where the product does not come into direct contact with the packaging), and for rigid advertising materials (stands, hangers, displays, etc.). It supports full-colour printing as well as special colours. Varnishing or lamination after printing is usually recommended.

Gluing (padding)

An operation similar to manual perfect binding, except that the cover is not attached to the book block, notepad, etc.

Punching

The operation of making holes in indicated places on the product using a special punching machine.

Folding

The process of folding sheets of paper in different ways (single, double parallel, cross, concertina), observing a certain order of the faces. It is recommended for substrates between 40 gsm and 170 gsm.

Protective varnishes

To avoid problems in the later processing of the printed material, caused by insufficient ink drying, or to give a pleasant appearance, varnishing with protective varnishes is recommended:
Silk: only has a protective effect and gives no gloss.
Gloss overprint offset varnish: gives gloss and protection, resisting rubbing and scratching.
Matt offset varnish: gives the print a matt appearance and increases its resistance to rubbing and scratching.

Perfect binding

A book is made by attaching the cover to the previously gathered book block. Automatic binding is done with hot-melt glue on binding machines, and manual binding is done with PVA glue. The operation can be carried out at the head or at the spine.

Offset paper

Offset paper is the most absorbent printing substrate. Full-colour images and special colours can be printed on it. It is recommended for the interior of books, brochures, etc. As a rule, offset paper is not varnished. Using weights above 150 gsm, images can be obtained in excellent technical conditions.

Special boards

They are available in a wide range of weights, colours and textures. They can be printed in full colour as well as special colours, and are intended for advertising. We recommend coating with protective varnishes to avoid problems in later processing of the printed material, caused by insufficient ink drying, and also to give a pleasant appearance.

Offset printing

Offset printing uses the CMYK system. This involves processing the four basic colours needed to process an image in print, and is carried out on the basis of the halftoning principle. In this way the surface of the paper is partially covered by dots in the four basic colours, so small and so dense that the human eye blends the effects of the white surface and of the surface covered by dots, seeing a unified image.

In terms of colour, images are directly influenced by the characteristics of the type of substrate, that is, by its whiteness and the texture of its surface. The more absorbent a substrate is, the lower the contrast and brightness of the printed image will be.

Besides classic inks (CMYK and Pantone), there are colours with special properties (pearlescent, scratch-off, for non-absorbent media, or thermosensitive inks that react to rubbing with a metal object), with which special prints can be made.

Double-coated paper

It is available in matt, gloss and single-coated variants. This type of paper supports full-colour printing and special colours. Its weights range from 90 gsm to 135 gsm. Double-coated paper is most often used for advertising materials, and varnishing the print is recommended.

UV varnish

This is the varnish with the best rub resistance (for machines fitted with UV lamps). UV varnish can be applied over the whole surface or selectively. Selective application is done by screen printing, so lines thinner than 1 mm should be avoided.

GC, UC boards

They are made entirely from virgin pulp and are used in the manufacture of packaging for the food and non-food industries (whether or not the product comes into direct contact with the packaging).

Folding

Folding sheets of paper in various ways (single, double parallel, cross, concertina), observing a certain order of the faces. It is recommended for substrates with weights between 40 gsm and 170 gsm.

Numbering

The operation by which a unique serial number is applied to each unit of the product.

Metallised boards or boards coated with PVC film

They are used mainly in advertising, light industry and the toy industry (for labels), or in cosmetics. They support full-colour printing and special colours, which are then varnished or laminated.

Rotary die cutting

The operation of cutting a product with a given outline, carried out with a die in the shape of a straight prism.

Label paper

This substrate is coated on one side only and is available in weights from 60 gsm to 100 gsm. Full-colour images can be printed as well as special colours. Varnishing the print is recommended.

Double-coated boards

Double-coated boards are matt, gloss or single-coated and have weights between 150 gsm and 350 gsm. Varnishing or lamination of the print is recommended. To make folding easier, creasing the sheet is recommended. They are used for advertising materials, book covers, magazines, etc.

Lamination (plastic film)

The operation of covering the substrate on one or both sides with a layer of plastic film; it is recommended for substrates heavier than 170 gsm. It can be done with gloss or matt film.

Embossing

This is the mechanical deformation of the substrate, intended to raise certain design elements in relief. It can be done in two variants: micro-embossing (fine deformation of the substrate surface using various textures) and multilevel embossing (deformation of the surface at several height levels).

Spiral binding

This is the process of making a catalogue or a calendar. In the first stage the block is made by gathering the leaves in the correct order, then it is punched with a special punching tool, and in the last phase the coil is attached and closed.

GT type boards

GT boards are triplex boards made 100% from recycled raw materials. Compared with the GD type they have an additional bottom layer of white or brown (KRAFT) paper. They are recommended for making packaging used in the non-food, pharmaceutical and food industries (industries where the product does not come into direct contact with the packaging), and for rigid advertising materials (stands, hangers, displays, etc.). They support full-colour printing as well as special colours. Varnishing or lamination after printing is usually recommended.

Flat die cutting

The operation by which a product with a given outline is cut out of the sheet of paper.

Self-adhesive papers

They are available in different gloss, semi-gloss, matt and metallised variants. They are most often used for stickers, self-adhesive labels, etc. They support both full-colour image printing and printing in special colours, after which they are varnished.

Creasing

This is the process of mechanical deformation of the substrate surface for its later folding; it is recommended for substrates above 150 gsm.

Stapling

Attaching the inside of a magazine to its cover with wire staples. Before starting the stapling operation, the inside and the cover must be inserted into each other, thus forming the blocks. After stapling, the magazine goes to final trimming. Do not forget that the number of pages must be divisible by four.

Scratch off

Applying a layer of scratch-off ink over a certain design element. UV varnishing or lamination of the sheet beforehand is required.