How to prepare a file for embellishment

How to prepare a file for embellishment: Practical guide

What is embellishment?

Embellishment = adding a visual effect to printed material beyond standard printing.

Good to know:

Embellishment can be applied to both sides of paper
Varnish / foil must not interfere with the safety zone of 2,5 ~ 5 mm from the fold or cut
Minimum thickness of material – 200 g/m²
Maximum thickness of material – 450 g/m²

Two main options:

Metalic Foil (gold, silver) – metallic gloss
Partial Varnish – glossy layer in selected places

When to use:

Ideal for book covers or other printed materials where such special visual effects can stand out.

How Partial Varnish and Metallic Foil differ from 3D Partial Varnish and 3D Metallic Foil

Before preparing data, you need to decide what type of embellishment you want:

Partial Varnish / Metallic Foil

Lower relief
Finer details
The minimum font size that allows embellishment with varnish is 14 pt, and 16 pt for embellishment with metallic foil
Partial Varnish graphics must not be thinner than 0.15 mm
Lines for embellishment with foil must not be thinner than 0.8 mm
A more affordable solution

3D Partial Varnish / 3D Metallic Foil

Distinctive relief
Thicker limitations (high risk of varnish merging in small gaps)
The minimum font size that allows embellishment is 16 pt
Partial Varnish graphics must not be thinner than 0.3 mm
Lines for embellishment with 3D foil must not be thinner than 0.8 mm
A more expensive solution

Type 1: Partial Varnish

What you need to know

Partial Varnish = glossy layer only applied to selected areas of printed material.

Effect:

Contrast between matt paper and glossy varnish
Highlighting of text, logos, images
A more subtle effect than foil (but still distinctive to the eye and touch)

Limitations:

The foil must not extend beyond the cut or fold – may cause the varnish to crack.
Not possible to embellish the entire surface of the printed material

Types:

Partial Varnish – subtle gloss
3D Partial Varnish – distinctive relief

Graphics preparation: Partial Varnish (step by step)

Step 1: Prepare your basic print graphics

Your file in Adobe InDesign / Illustrator /PDF with complete graphics for printing (CMYK, cut, correct resolution, etc.). For details on how to prepare data for printing click here.

Step 2: Create a new layer

Separate the areas to be covered with varnish (logo, text, etc.) into a separate layer.

Step 3: Set Spot Color

For Partial Varnish:

Swatch Name: spot_gloss
Color Type: Spot Color
K: 100%

For 3D Partial Varnish:

Swatch Name: spot_gloss_3d
Color Type: Spot Color
K: 100%

Step 4: Set Transparency

IMPORTANT: Set the following for all Partial Varnish objects:

Window → Effects → Transparency → Blending Mode: Multiply

NOT Overprint! – causes errors during subsequent processing

Step 5: Add a note

Please add a note saying that the graphics contains partial varnishing and information about its location.

Limitations for Partial Varnish (IMPORTANT!)

Exception for index:
From a height of 20 mm of the main text, it is possible to make upper and lower indexes.

Negative varnishing:

What is it?
Negative varnishing = the varnish covers the whole surface, except certain areas (e.g. the text is not varnished, only the background).

How to prepare this?

Create an object with a spot colour (spot_gloss or spot_gloss_3d)
Remove graphics (text, logo, etc.) from the object (cut out)
It must not be covered with a white or other coloured layer (causes errors in the preview)

Limitations:

Negative text must be at least 18 pt (Partial Varnish) or 22 pt (3D Partial Varnish)

Type 2: Metallic Foil (gold, silver)

What you need to know

Foils:

Gold
Silver

Limitations:

It is not possible to combine multiple foils on a single printed material (e.g. gold + silver)
The foil must not extend beyond the cut or fold – may cause the varnish and foil to crack
Not possible to embellish the entire surface of the printed material

Types:

Metallic Foil – finer relief
3D Metallic Foil – distinctive relief

Graphics preparation: Metallic Foil (step by step)

Step 1: Prepare your basic print graphics

Your file in Adobe InDesign / Illustrator /PDF with complete graphics for printing (CMYK, cut, correct resolution, etc.). For details on how to prepare data for printing click here.

Step 2: Create a new layer

Separate the areas to be covered with foil (logo, text, etc.) into a separate layer.

Step 3: Set Spot Color

For Metallic Foil:

Swatch Name: spot_metallic_foil
Color Type: Spot Color
K: 100%

For 3D Metallic Foil:

Swatch Name: spot_metallic_foil_3d
Color Type: Spot Color
K: 100%

Step 4: Set Transparency

IMPORTANT: Set the following for all Partial Varnish objects:

Window → Effects → Transparency → Blending Mode: Multiply

NOT Overprint! – causes errors during subsequent processing

Step 5: Add a note

In the file note (or when ordering), please specify, for example:

The graphics contains Metallic Foil (swatch: metalic)
Foil colour: GOLD / SILVER (select)

Limitations for Metallic Foil (IMPORTANT!)

Exception for index:
From a height of 20 mm of the main text, it is possible to make upper and lower indexes, but there is still a risk of letter bowl flooding.