Spot UV Finishes (Spot UV Varnish Packaging)

Spot UV Coating is a carry over term that is used in plastic bag printing to refer to areas of gloss coating on a otherwise standard bag.

The Spot UV Process used to create these "spot" areas of gloss is different when printing plastics when compared to papers.

The default finish of most plastics (with a few exceptions) is gloss. The glossy finish of plastics is one of the reasons they are pretty difficult to print.

With paper, a spot varnish is applied to select area and then cured with Ultraviolet light. But with most flexible plastics printing the process is a bit different.

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Spot UV Pouch Finishes: How to Use Spot Gloss Varnish Finish

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Spot UV is a finish which combines Matte and Gloss effects. The real power of this finish combination comes in its ability to highlight important graphics and make them stand out from the rest of the bag. With recent advances in spot UV technology, we now offer Spot UV on both digital and plate printed pouches. Here are some of the best ways to use Spot UV on your pouch.

There are three primary approaches that can yield very nice visual results when employing spot gloss in a design. First is spot UV as a wallpaper. Second is spot UV on a logo, and finally using Spot UV on photographic elements.

Spot Gloss
Wallpaper Pattern

Using Spot gloss to develop a background wallpaper style pattern creates a nice visual for the bag. It makes the background have more prominence. Typically companies choose their logo for the repeating pattern, to subliminally reinforce the logo in the consumers mind.

Spot Gloss Logo

The most classic use of spot gloss is to highlight the company's logo. With this approach the logo "pops" from the luxurious matte background and draws the customer's eye. A variation on this use of spot gloss is combining spot gloss with a metalized finish.

Spot Gloss On Images

Another common way to use spot gloss is to apply spot UV to photographic elements. With this approach as with the other two, the base of the bag is a matte finish. Gloss helps high color images look clear and allows fine detail to show through.

FAQs about Spot UV Printing

Q: Can spot gloss / spot uv effects be combined with a matte lamination?

Yes, with CarePac you can save even more with our everyday, wholesale pricing available on our stock bags. Contact us for a setup quote today.

Q: Are haptic coatings like Soft-touch Matte Finish able to be combined with Spot Gloss?

Soft-touch coatings (as opposed to soft-touch laminations) can be combined with spot gloss areas. But, often too many gloss areas limits the effectiveness of the soft-touch haptic effect. Ideally soft touch matte finishes should be used to cover most of the bag, and limited gloss areas or a matte lamination spot used on labels, a pocket or other special areas.

Q: What are the benefits of incorporating spot gloss into our bag design?

When used effectively spot gloss creates appealing contrasts between the matte of the bag and the areas that are being highlighted. With the increased used of matte finishes the use of spot gloss as grown as well.

Q: How are Spot Gloss elements created on Matte Finish bags?

While the default finish of most plastics (with a few exceptions) is gloss. The glossy finish of plastics is one of the reasons they are pretty difficult to print. The typical method of creating spot gloss areas on a matte bag involves a type of "Knock out" process where a matte varnish is applied to all the areas other than the spot gloss areas. Creating the appearance of small areas of gloss.

Spot UV Finishes (Spot UV Varnish Packaging)