METALLIC INK Part 1

WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT METALLIC INK?

First of all, what is metallic ink?

It is essentially varnish (a vehicle) with flecks of real metal (such as aluminum or bronze) suspended in the liquid. As the liquid dries, the metal flecks rise to the surface and begin to reflect the surrounding light.

Metallic inks, unfortunately, are far more susceptible to rub-off than conventional inks. (That is, you can accidentally scrape off the ink with a fingernail or just by rubbing part of the brochure or flyer, or whatever, against another part of the printed sheet.) Therefore, to maximize rub-resistance, it is prudent to choose a coated or smooth uncoated--rather than rough uncoated--paper substrate. You may also want to varnish the printed sheet for protection. (You would do this after the press sheets have dried.) This presents its own problems, however, since over-printed varnish can dull the metallic sheen. To minimize this, your printer may choose to add back a little metallic ink into the varnish to maintain the ink’s reflectivity. (Unfortunately, although this will accentuate the metallic sheen, it may dull down the other, non-metallic inks on the press sheet. So it’s a bit of a trade-off.)

As with any rule, there are always exceptions. Sometimes you will need to print metallic ink on a textured, uncoated press sheet for design reasons. In this case, to minimize rub-off, ask your printer about running a thicker film of metallic ink, or perhaps even a second hit of the ink printed after the first one has dried.

The key to success with metallic inks is “dry-trapping,” which means that your printer will lay down the metallic ink in the first pass and then let the press sheets dry completely before printing the other inks or varnishes in a second pass.

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*[Steven Waxman is a printing consultant. He teaches corporations how to save money buying printing, sells printing services, and teaches prepress techniques. Steven has been in the industry for twenty-five years, working as a writer, editor, photographer, graphic designer, art director, production manager, and print buyer.]