Application of specialty paper in printing design
There are many kinds of specialty papers, and the design effects are not the same. This article only introduces the application of several common special papers.
1. Plant parchment (sulphuric acid paper)
Plant parchment is a kind of modified paper that is made by processing thick paper made from plant fibers with sulfuric acid to change its original properties. Being translucent, the paper sheet has few pores, and the paper is tough and tight, and can be waxed, coated, embossed, or creped. Its appearance is easily confused with tracing paper.
Because it is a translucent paper, sulfuric acid paper is often used as a ring lining or slip sheet for books in modern design, so that it can better highlight and contrast the theme and meet the modern trend. It is also used as a title page for books or albums. Gold, silver, or printed text on sulfuric acid paper is unique and generally used in high-end albums.
2. Synthetic paper (polymer paper and plastic paper)
Synthetic paper is synthetic resin (such as PP, PE, PS, etc.) as the main raw material, through a certain process to melt the resin, through the extrusion, extension made of film, and then paper processing, giving the natural plant fiber whiteness, Material obtained by opacity and printability. General synthetic paper is divided into two major categories: one is fiber synthetic paper and the other is film-based synthetic paper.
Synthetic paper is no different from ordinary natural vegetable fiber paper in appearance, and thin film synthetic paper has already entered the market of high-grade printing paper and can adapt to various printing machines. Synthetic paper used on the market today only refers to thin film synthetic paper. If the books, advertisements, and manuals printed on synthetic paper are not marked, the average consumer cannot see any difference between it and plain paper.
Synthetic paper has excellent printing performance, and no “breaking†phenomenon occurs during printing; the surface of synthetic paper exhibits extremely small irregularities, which greatly helps to improve opacity and printability; synthetic paper images are reproduced well. The dots are clear, the colors are soft, the dimensions are stable, and they are not easy to age. Synthetic paper printing effect shown in Figure 3. It is worth noting that when using offset printing, professional synthetic offset printing inks should be used.
Embossed paper
(1) Characteristics of embossed paper
The embossed pattern is formed on the surface of paper or paperboard by mechanical embossing or crumpling. Embossed paper enhances its decorative effect through embossing, making the paper more textured. In recent years, the embossing on the surface of printing paper has become more and more common. Color-stained papers such as offset paper, coated paper, whiteboard, and white cardboard are embossed (printed) before printing, and can be used as “embossed printing paperâ€. Raising the grade of paper also brings higher added value to the sales of paper. Many papers used for flexible packaging often use the method of embossing before or after printing to improve the visual effect of packaging and decorating and increase the value of the goods. Embossing has become an important method of paper processing.
(2) Processing method of embossed paper
There are two methods of processing embossed paper. After the paper is produced, the pattern is added mechanically to become embossed paper. After the flat sheet is dry, it is put into the embossing machine for further processing, and then pressed by two rollers. One of the rollers is engraved. Embossed pattern, the paper will be imprinted after the pattern. Because of the deeper texture of the embossed paper, only one side of the paper is usually imprinted.
(3) Kind of embossing
Embossing can be divided into embossing and embossing. The so-called stencil embossing is based on the printed flower shape, the printed flower shape is pressed into a concave and convex shape, so that the pattern bulges up, can play a beautiful decorative effect.
Not embossed, that is, the pressed pattern is not directly related to the printed pattern. There are many types of embossed patterns. Such as cloth pattern, diagonal cloth pattern, straight stripe, Yalian net, orange skin pattern, straight net pattern, needle net pattern, egg skin pattern, sack pattern, lattice pattern, leather pattern, scalp pattern, linen pattern, gear stripes and so on. This type of embossing without embossing is widely used in embossed printing paper, coated cover paper, patent leather paper, plastic synthetic paper, plant parchment paper and other decorative materials.
Most of the domestic embossed paper is made from offset paper and whiteboard paper. The surface is rough, texture, strong performance, variety. Many art designers prefer to use this kind of paper, and use it to make books or album covers, title pages, etc. to express different personalities.
Pattern paper
Designers and printers continue to seek out ingenious design styles to make the work stand out. Many patterns can make them icing on the cake. This kind of high-quality paper product has a soft touch, a beautiful appearance, and a more refined and noble temperament, which is pleasing to the eye. There are many types of pattern papers, each with its own characteristics, and a higher level than ordinary paper. Pattern paper can be divided into the following types:
(1) Copy paper
Dip-netting is the most traditional and commonly used method for texturing textures on paper. This process is generally inserted in the papermaking process. The wet paper is placed between two absorbent flannelettes, and the texture of the fleece line is printed on the paper. This process is divided into single or double-sided imprints. Such as the ancient stripe paper and other paper nets, the line patterns are looming, texture is soft, some of the imported copy paper contains cotton, so the texture is softer and more natural and tenacity, suitable for packaging and printing.
(2) antique effect paper
Many customers and graphic designers have a soft spot for high-quality, plain, non-coated paper, and they love the warm and rich feel of this type of paper. In addition, book publishers also require more durable paper, preferring fresh and stiff paper to ensure consistent and consistent printing results. The products designed with antique effect paper are quaint, beautiful and elegant.
(3) Dopant and special effect paper
The trend of environmental protection is very popular. Spotted paper came into being. In order to achieve the effect of natural recycling, pulp has been added to a variety of debris. The amount, size, etc. of the doped substance should be controlled properly. If the number of noise spots on the paper is too much, it will destroy the graphic effect. Too little will give people a dirty feeling. Nowadays, there are various kinds of doped papers on the market for users to choose from. Some recycled papers contain impurities such as ore, snow, and petals. The craftsmanship of the papermaking process includes the addition of dyes during the sizing process to cause the paper to form spots or create a parchment effect. This kind of paper is very popular with consumers and it is the first choice for various certificates, book covers, restaurant recipes and wine lists. Due to the appearance of paper with special effects, designers are often used for simple prints and preferred papers for boring typeless manuscript printing, such as various financial statements for annual reports of listed companies, etc. It can make the pages active and eye-catching.
(4) Non-coated paper
Both printers and designers are unanimously admiring the unappealing and nice-looking non-coated papers. In order to achieve good visual effects for prints, they also have a high-end and gorgeous feel. The natural texture of the non-coated serigraphy paper and the printability of the coated paper are combined. Both sides of the paper are specially treated to reduce the water absorption rate of the paper so that the ink remains on the surface of the paper and the texture of the ink is better. The metallic pearl finish series paper can change with the viewing angle of the human eye, and the effect after printing is better.
(5) Just ancient paper
The ancient brand of specialty paper, created in 1888 AD, was originally used in CONQUEROR London castle watermarks until the early 90s of the 20th century. This unique watermark is world-famous. It has become a symbol and code for high-quality commercial, writing, and printing paper. It is marketed in more than 80 countries and regions and is loved by hotels, banks, companies, and even government agencies throughout the world. Gangu paper is divided into several categories: nobility, sliding surface, grain, concept, and digital.
(6) "Growing" pearl pattern paper
The hue of the paper can produce a different color feel depending on the viewing angle. Its luster is formed by the dispersion of light scattered on the surface of the paper and has a "silver flash" effect, so printing patterns with metallic qualities will be excellent. It is suitable for making all kinds of high-grade and exquisite modern prints. High-grade book cover or hardcover book cover.
Smooth and smooth paper, suitable for all types of printing processes and processing methods, such as four-color offset printing, rolling, hot stamping and so on.
It is recommended to use an oxidized conjunctiva dry ink. The gloss of the ink may not be as good as the gloss of the paper itself.
(7) "Star mining" metal pattern paper
The metal “Star mining†pattern paper is a kind of art paper that breaks through traditions and new concepts. It not only maintains the classics and beauty inherent in high-grade paper, but also creatively possesses both positive and negative double-faced metal tones. It is luxurious but not cheesy. It is steady and unobtrusive, making it show a strong temperament that is different from ordinary art paper.
Because of the adoption of a new process, the metal “star mining†never loses the metal quality and the paper surface is smooth. Instead, it adds infinite force to the printing effect. It is suitable for all kinds of printing technologies and special processes, especially the hot stamping process. which performed. When printing, it is recommended that the cable be 130 to 150 lines/inch. When printing on dark metallic pattern paper, the color of the ink should be increased.
Metal "Star" can produce a variety of high-grade prints, such as paper, annual reports and book covers used for product samples and for use in various packaging boxes.
(8) Gold paper
There is a qualitative difference between gold paper and traditional gold foil. Traditional gold foil can only be printed with the aid of transparent materials, and cannot be printed directly. Using 24K gold as the material, the use of nano-high-tech gold paper can not only enable color images to be directly printed on gold, but also retain the style and performance of gold, with the characteristics of anti-oxidation, anti-discoloration, moisture-proof and anti-smashing. Avoid the disadvantages of traditional paper books such as mildew and insects, which can theoretically be stored for thousands of years. The gold paper used in the "Chinese Golden Age" is a new generation of products newly developed, with higher technological content and cultural content. Its appearance is more similar to ancient rice paper and news newspapers, and its flame retardancy has achieved a major breakthrough for the first time. The 20 gold editions of the text are printed in four-color editions of the “Economic Daily†and are illustrated with a total of nearly 160,000 words, 300 gold figures, scenery, and other gold edition images. The gold paper usage and layout are unprecedented. This is an unprecedented scale in the history of gold printing.
In addition, in addition to different paper types, specialty papers are also dyed in a variety of different colors, and the decorative effect is very strong. There are many advantages of specialty papers, but specialty papers also have a fly in the ointment.
First, the price is more expensive. Ordinary embossed paper is much more expensive than the same amount of the same type of paper, so the large quantities of pictures printed with embossed paper cannot be afforded by customers because of price factors, so it is generally only used for the design and printing of front cover or important data.
Second, most specialty papers have good absorptivity and strong penetration. However, due to uneven lines, the ink penetrates into crevices during printing. In particular, large-area field printing plates are difficult to dry and are prone to sticking. When printing a four-color overprinted character image, the tone is more boring. When consumers who do not like soft tone do not understand why the color of the products printed with specialty paper is not bright enough, when printing with special paper, the printing effect must be communicated with the customer to avoid unnecessary losses.
Third, in the printing of colored specialty papers, it is important to note that dark special paper surfaces cannot print four-color images. Can only print metal luster or special tone ink, such as gold, silver, spot colors and so on.
For example, when printing four-color halftone images on the surface of light-colored, light-green, light-blue, light-pink and other light-colored specialty papers, color cast occurs, and in general, the tone shifts toward the surface of the paper. Therefore, it is best not to use color paper to print halftone images when designing. But if you can make it right
