Brochure Printing with Custom Inks

Custom inks make an ordinary brochure look and feel extraordinary.

Metallic inks and spot UV add sparkle and shine. Spot Pantone inks ensure consistent colors, and scented inks can make people crave your product.

Metallic inks are full of tiny metal particles. The metal bits catch the light and add shine to a brochure at a lower cost than foil stamping. Metallic doesn’t just mean silver and gold – we can print a wide array of metallic colors, including bright blue, vivid purple and elegant bronze.

Smells are closely linked to memory, and scented inks create a lasting impression. We offer scratch-n-sniff and coated light rub inks, and we can also work with the specialty glue that’s commonly used to hold perfume samples in magazines. Imagine an apple pie scent wafting from a bakery brochure or the smell of freshly cut grass coming from a brochure for a lawn care company.

In Spot UV printing, we apply a coat of glossy varnish and then quickly cure it with an ultraviolet light. Because the varnish dries ultra-fast, we get shimmery details that make people want to run their hands over your brochure and say “Wow – that’s amazing!”

Spot inks in Pantone colors allow us to print a brochure using a four-color printing process, and then print certain areas (such as the company name and logo) in Pantone Matching System colors. Also known as PMS Spot printing, this process ensures color consistency across all your marketing materials.

Using Custom Inks

Custom inks are incredibly versatile, but there are some design considerations:

• Metallic inks work best on glossy coated stock.
• Scented inks can be mailed as long as the scent isn’t exposed. You can put a coating on the scent or design it to be covered by a fold.
• Spot UV works well on any thickness of paper stock. We recommend using a matte finish paper so the extreme shine of the UV coating will really stand out. One of the best ways to ensure a good matte finish is to put soft touch coating on your project before the spot UV – a process known as “Silk Spot UV.”

How Custom Inks Make Your Brochure Stand Out

Brochures traditionally promote products or services, and they’re great for product descriptions, company promotions and glossy photos of tourist destinations. But brochures are also good for public information campaigns, maps, menus, invitations, coupons and lists of services.

 

Keep your brochure text concise and easy to read. Use special printing effects in key spots to attract attention to the front of the brochure and to the call to action. This helps people notice your brochure and focus on what’s important. When combined with custom inks, brochures can really make your message stand out and build your brand identity. Choose colors, textures and custom printing options that reflect the image you want to project.

• Multicolored metallic inks might make a party planner seem fun and festive, while spot UV could help brand a product as cutting edge.
• Spot Pantone colors help create a brand identity around your colors.
• Use smells to brand your business. When people open a café brochure and smell coffee, they’ll associate it with that fresh roasted aroma.

Custom inks let you get creative. Use different metallic inks together to create a distinctive design. Or combine scented inks for a unique sensory experience. Layer Spot UV on top of an image to accentuate a message or product. Think of a car wash brochure where the clean car really does sparkle.

 

Custom inks help you create unique custom brochures that brand your business and set your marketing on a path to success.

Using Embossing on Brochures

Embossing gives brochures an interesting texture that just begs to be touched.

Embossing uses a pair of dies to create a raised image on paper. The male, or bas relief, die presses up, while the female, mold shaped, die presses down. The resulting image pops out on one side and has an interesting recessed (or debossed) look on the other.

Embossing has long been used for raised seals on official documents, and it can give brochures that same elegant and timeless look. But embossing also looks great with bold text and modern graphics. Embossing can be used alone (known as “blind embossing”), or it can be combined with foil stamping or specialty inks to create a 3-D effect that seems to lift text and images right off your paper.

Planning Your Embossed Brochure

Because embossing leaves a pattern on both sides of the paper, it can do double duty in your brochure design. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• The reverse side of embossing is indented, and text and images won’t print well there. Design your brochure so you can leave the debossed area blank without it looking awkward.
• Embossing works best on thicker paper stock
• Embossing can create a high level of detail on some papers, while other papers will produce a bolder, deeper image.

Get the Most out of Embossed Brochures

Brochures are a popular way to describe products, businesses, and services brochures are also great for presentation handouts, menus, maps and resumes.

Because brochures have plenty of space, they’re a good choice for detailed product information, your company story, or a glossy photo spread. Take advantage of the extra space, but keep the look clean and easy to read. Give your readers enough information to spark their interest, but don’t overwhelm them with too much detail.

Give your brochure a strong call to action that clearly tells readers what you want them to do next. Whether it’s call to order!,visit our website to learn more or please RSVP, place embossing near the call to action to help draw attention to it and encourage your readers to act.

If you’ll be mailing your brochure, put the embossing on the front or back of the folded piece. The raised texture will instantly stand out in your recipients’ hands, inviting them to look inside.

Use embossing in combination with die cutting to create a three dimensional image at the top or front flap of your brochure. People love to interact with shapes and textures, and embossing combined with die cutting helps ensure your brochure will be read, saved and shared.

Use embossing to project an elegant, upscale image.

• Embossing says “quality” on brochures for high-end products and professional services.
• Embossing makes invitations to fundraisers and other events feel special.
• Combine embossing with foil stamping to give your graphics an irresistible 3D effect.

Embossing makes ordinary brochures upscale and touchable. When combined with other techniques such as foil stamping or die cutting, embossing creates a memorable brochure that people can’t wait to get their hands on.

Black and White Digital Printing

Printing for Less is well equipped to help your black and white digital printing be a success. Whether you are a professional photographer who relies on clear, crisp halftones or an executive who needs rich, solid blacks for form printing, we will deliver. We offer an assortment of papers and finishes that ensure your printed piece exudes high quality.

Nature understands the beauty found in contrast. Black and white can be striking; zebras, penguins, and pandas are prime examples. Likewise, creative use of black and white digital printing can create stunning printed materials. We are willing to work with you to achieve custom black and white effects. We offer white ink that looks fantastic on black and dark colored papers.

Benefits of Black and White Digital Printing:

• Fast turnaround times
• Variable Data Printing capabilities, personalize each piece with a specific name or image
• Accommodates low-quantity runs
• Large, single piece posters or artistic photo prints can be produced
• White ink can be printed on dark colored papers
• Personalized support backed by a 100% money-back guarantee
• Crisp, clean images with detailed gray tones
• Allows you to print a different bar code or coupon code on each individual piece, or numbers for forms

Ideal Products for Black and White Digital Printing:

• Forms, including carbonless forms
• Invoices
• Manuals
• Postcards
• Mailers
• Envelopes
• Notepads
• Booklets – Saddle Stitched, Coil Bound, or Wire-O Bound
• Stickers and Labels
• Large Images or Posters
• Invitations and Cards

We can print black and white on synthetics, premium papers, plastics, fine art cottons, and stocks up to 130#. When you are ready to print black and white, we have the expertise and equipment to get it done right. Our award-winning customer support and industry-leading quality will make your black and white digital printing project a success.

Premium Paper

“Anyway you want it, that’s the way you need it, anyway you want it….”! Classic song, powerful message. Printing for Less is all about giving you what you want (premium papers) the way you want it (fast & budget-friendly).

Premium paper is sometimes referred to as designer paper, fancy paper, or specialty paper. Regardless of what you call these quality papers, Printing for Less is ready to help you decide which paper best suits your personal printing project. Call 800-924-2041 now and talk to one of our friendly print experts for a personalized quote or samples!

Premium Paper Benefits

• Provides luxurious textures
• Compliments design, lending personality to a printed piece
• Allows for double sided printing that does not show through
• Facilitates outstanding print performance
• Enhances tactile interest
• Expands options, choose from crisp and conservative, to rugged and edgy

Paper 101:

Ask almost anyone where paper comes from and they will tell you, trees. And they would be correct, in most instances. However, many premium papers are manufactured from linen, cotton and other raw plant fibers. Some paper is even made of synthetic materials like polyolefin, often used when waterproofing is needed, like divers maps. Designer paper can meet an array of needs that standard paper cannot. Paper comes from three primary resources:

1. Sawmill chips and scraps that are the by-product in the lumber production process.
2. Small trees that are harvested from tree farms for the sole purpose of making paper.
3. Recycled paper. Many papers are able to be recycled up to seven times before the fibers become too small to re-purpose.

The fibers of diverse tree species vary in strength and length. For example, pine and spruce trees are perfect for manufacturing strong papers, like shipping containers. The drawback is they are not smooth, making them a poor choice for printing.

Oak and maple trees have shorter, weaker fibers, yet produce a much smoother surface more conducive to printing and writing. Most papers today are a carefully selected combination of wood fibers to achieve the desired brightness, strength, and tactile experience. Many papers are coated with fine clay that improves the surface with a slight gloss.

Paper is a sustainable resource. Currently, over 50% of paper manufactured in the U.S. each year is recovered from the wood waste of lumber production. Still more is recovered from properly recycled consumer paper waste. Many papers are made from 100% Post-Consumer Waste, meaning fully recycled. At Printing for Less, we firmly believe in taking responsibility for good environmental stewardship. We offer many premium papers that are made from 100% PCW.

Fun Fact: Did you know wasps make paper? They chew wood to make a fiber paste that they spread thin, creating their nest.

Printing for Less Premium Printing Papers: Your BEST Value

Printing for Less understands that you need the very best options available at fair prices. While designer paper stocks add sophistication and tactile interest to professional print pieces, they can also add to the cost of the printing project. Printing for Less keeps a line of premium papers in-house to lower turnaround times and cost, while maintaining the highest quality standards in the industry.

Our premium papers are comparable to branded designer paper stocks you may be familiar with. We are happy to mail you a sample of our in-house premium paper stocks so you can feel the texture and structure of the papers for yourself.

More about using recycled paper for green printing.