Print Finishing Options

Finishing is an important final step to the printing process. It’s what adds aesthetic value to your printed documents and adds brand appeal to your communications. Many printers refer to this stage as the post-press stage. This resource contains a summary of available types of finishing for both digital and offset printing.

Cutting

This can be in three common forms:

• The first being the ordinary guillotine cut that executes straight cuts very well. Kiss cutting is the other method which is commonly tied to vinyl cutting.
• Die Cut – Your normal guillotine cutter will cut your final product in a straight manner. But what if you require special shapes on your final product? This is where die cutting comes in. The process involves creating a die board (with blades meant to cut and others meant to crease on the folds) which will then be placed on a die cut machine. The board will then be pressed on the sheet of paper to reproduce the desired shape.
• Kiss Cut – this is a form of die cutting where a very light impression cuts through the peel-off portion of pressure sensitive labels, not through the backing material.
• Round Edge Finish – This is a method of finishing that gives your final document rounded corners (or rounded edges). It gives your document an extra edge to stand out from the crowd.

Lamination

This finishing applies a thin film to your printed works to add to its aesthetic value as well as an element of protection. A gloss finish has a shiny reflective finish, a matte finish has a non-reflective finish, while a velvet finish is non-reflective and gives that premium velvet texture to your document.

Lamination can come in four types:

• Gloss Lamination – uses a thin glossy film and can be done on one or both sides of the paper. Heat is applied to attach the film permanently on the paper.
• Matt Lamination – uses a thin film with a matte finish and can be done on one or both sides of the paper. Heat is applied to attach the film permanently on the paper.
• Hot/Cold Lamination – for hot lamination, a pouch plastic pouch is used then using heat, it is attached to the paper. A cold lamination film has its own adhesive.

Binding

Books can be bound in several ways. This includes the below:

• Perfect Binding
• Spiral Binding
• Case Binding
• Saddle Stitch Binding
• Wire-o-wire Binding
• Tape Binding

Folding

Involves folding the final print. This can be done using a machine or manually. Items that can be folded include brochures, pamphlets, booklets etc. Sometimes folding requires creasing (see below). The folding can be done as below single-fold, bi-fold, trifold and more depending on your unique requirements.

Creasing

Sometimes when you fold cardstock papers, the paper can crack in the middle. To alleviate this, we use creasing by using a blunt steel wheel that doesn’t cut the paper to create a line where the paper will be folded. This helps ease the tension on the paper and avoiding cracks on the paper.

Perforation

This creates a temporary cut-off area where the final user will tear off, in a guided manner, the part required.

UV Finish

This is a glossy coating that can either be applied to the entire document or sections of it (spot UV) to give that added standing out feel. It is getting less and less preferred to lamination as it doesn’t offer as much protection as the lamination.

Foil Stamping

This process applies a shiny metallic finish (sometimes matte) to your finished product with the added advantage of texture.

Embossing

Also referred to as thermographic printing, it gives your final printed product texture through a raised layer that gives it a unique touch. This has limited application and is recommended to use if speed of delivery is not your priority.