No Sugar Coating Around Here!

I recently received this question from a fellow professional in regards to using a varnish vs. aqueous coating on a project:

"Can you weigh in on a debate about coatings? I've received conflicting information from two of the printers I work with on what acqueous coating is versus varnish. Can you give me information about them both, their purpose, their effect on the sheet? And also, are there other coatings I should be aware of? In general, I am using coatings to seal the sheet and prevent ruboff, but I don't want the coating to be evident; in other words, it shouldn't change the feel of the sheet. One printer tells me acqueous is the way to go, the other says it's varnish. Thanks, Janet."

Here was my response:

"Hi Janet! You pose a great question. Here is my take on it:

Aqueous coating: generally used for protection of the sheet and to prevent scuffing of inks. If you are looking for a non-obvious coating to protect your sheet but not give off a glossy look or feel, a dull or satin aqueous is the way to go. This can be done in-line on our sheetfed press. As a side note, we also offer “writeable” aqueous, meaning if you want to protect a sheet but still allow users to write on it with ink or even inkjet addresses on it, we can do this.

Varnish coating: generally used for an aesthetic appeal. There are different types of varnish, like gloss, dull, and satin, but we generally see gloss used. We recommend using a varnish if you are doing a spot gloss piece, because it tends to pop more than the aqueous. This can also be done in-line on our presses.

UV coating: a high-gloss coating that will thicken your piece. This is as close as you can get to laminating without actually laminating. This can be done off-line.

I hope this answers your question. Thanks for asking me and if you have any more, keep ‘em coming! -Kyle"

And that's the truth: I love helping out others and answering questions. If you've got a question that is just really bugging you and keeping you from sleeping at night (or just a normal question), feel free to email me at krichardson@bridgetown.com. Have a great weekend everyone!