UV Coating: High Gloss Print Coating Explained

Your printed marketing materials may be your best opportunity to get your customer’s attention in today’s increasingly competitive arena. Why not make them really shine, and catch their attention? You may want to check out the advantages and benefits of UV coating.

What is UV or Ultra Violet Coating?

UV coating, or ultraviolet coating, is a very glossy, shiny liquid coating applied to a printed paper surface and cured on a printing press or special machine using ultraviolet light. The coating hardens, or cures when it is exposed to the ultra violet radiation.

UV coating makes your printed piece eye catching, and is perfect for products such as postcards, hand-out sheets, presentation folders, business cards and catalogs, or any product that can benefit from a rich, glossy and dramatic look. Our high-gloss flood UV coating can even be applied to synthetic paper like SmartFlex^®!

What are the Benefits of UV Coatings?

Ultraviolet coating has several advantages over other coating methods such as aqueous coating or varnish. They include:

Very high shine finish

When UV is used on deep, rich colors, like blues and rich blacks, the result is an almost wet appearance. This can be highly effective with image-rich projects, like product catalogs or photography brochures. The stunning shine it creates is why it is so popular for certain designs and products.

Good abrasion resistance

If your printed piece is going to be handed out or travel through the mail, the combination of a visually appealing piece and durability makes UV coating a great effect for postcards, brochures or business cards. The UV coating allows the mailed piece to resist smudging and marking and allows it to maintain a professional, high quality appearance due to an extremely hard finish, one known for being both chemical and abrasion resistant

High clarity

UV coatings make details pop and stand out and are perfect for photographic images and company logos. Check out our free sample pack to see for yourself the impact this coating makes to photos.

Environmentally friendly

UV coatings are free of solvents and do not emit volatile organic compounds, or VOCs when cured.
Paper with UV coatings can be recycled with all of your other paper.

Instantaneous drying time with UV light exposure

By drying so quickly, the use of UV coating helps reduce production time, enabling earlier shipping and delivery times.

Cons: When is UV Coating Not the Best Option?

While UV coating works great for a wide variety of printed pieces, there are several instances where UV coating is not a good fit.

When using Metallic Inks
On text weight paper under 100#
When the piece has Foil Stamping
Anything that needs to be written on
The addressed portion of a mailing piece

More Ways to Make You Shine

Coatings allow you to really make your printed piece stand out. Depending on what kind of result you want to achieve, coatings work to enhance the desired outcome. Use UV coating to make those rich, full color photos stand out, allow your strong graphical elements to pop, and really showcase your products.

Spot UV coating is another great way to add dimension, it is utilized by only applying UV coating to certain locations on your piece. This effect highlights certain spots and draws the eye so you can direct the reader’s attention.

Soft Touch^® coating is a great option when you want to add a velvety, matte look and feel to your piece. Its tactile appeal makes it a perfect option for postcards, brochures, business cards and hangs tags. Words cannot describe how luxurious this coating feels. Use the button below to request samples to see and feel the difference between all of our coating options.

Video showing how UV Coating works. Printed sheets going through our UV coating machine.

Have questions about using UV Coating on your printing?

Call 800-930-2423 now to talk to a print expert.

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