Batch Inclusion film or bags derive their name from the fact the bag itself,along with contents,is actually included in the production batch or during rubber compounding. The bag, once melted and dispersed, becomes part of the product being made. Batch inclusion bags typically hold chemical additives for large scale industries, such as synthetic rubber and plastic compounding. Often the additives involved are difficult to handle, weigh to little or are used to hard to dispense automatically. These could include colorants, fillers, resins and even some polymers for large scale mixing. Because the bag and its contents become part of the batch, the user will realize a cleaner environment, along with other benefits such as reduce labor cost, reduce disposal cost and clean up cost, better hygiene. The bags or film has a number of benefits like more efficient use of raw materials and a more consistent mixtures of compounds. Also, you will find the use of material in a sealed bag allows for a reduction in storage space when compared to an open container, such as metal containers or plastic and sometimes paper bags. As sealed bags can pile in a bin, cardboard boxes, tubs, or carts.
The two most common reasons for adding a coating over your printed piece are for protection: to avoid scuffing the ink, if you have included areas of heavy ink coverage; and for aesthetic reasons: to draw the reader's eye to particular items, to add depth and interest to your printed piece. First consider why you are coating your job.
When making a decision, keep in mind the following:
- Dried inks show fingerprints and scuffing, especially in dark solids.
- Press coatings (like varnish) cost less than bindery (off-press) coatings (like UV coating and laminates) since bindery coatings are applied over dry ink at slow speeds. Because the chemicals used in aqueous coating damage press rollers, this coating is more expensive for the printer/binder to apply than varnish; therefore, the extra cost is passed on to the client.
- Varnish is the least effective way to prevent scuffing, particularly when publications are multiply shrink-wrapped (as opposed to singly shrink-wrapped) prior to shipping. Bindery coatings like UV coating and laminates are far better for protecting loose books in transit. Even aqueous coating is much stronger than varnish and can therefore withstand books shifting around in transit without scuffing.
- All printers can apply varnish, but not all printers can apply laminates, UV coating, or aqueous coating.
- You cannot print (ink-jet or by hand), glue, or foil stamp over coatings, so you need to leave an uncoated window if you want to do any of these (coatings should be the final finishing step on a printed piece).
- You should only varnish coated stock, or the coating will seep into the paper and be lost.
- Some coatings deepen the ink color they cover, yellow with age, and/or discolor white paper.
VARNISH
Varnish is essentially ink without pigment. It requires its own printing unit on press. It can be wet-trapped (printed in-line at the same time other inks are laid down), or dry-trapped (run as an additional pass through the press after the initial ink coating has dried). The latter often provides a glossier finish. Varnish comes in gloss, dull, and satin (in-between dull and gloss), and can be tinted by adding pigment to the varnish.
From an artistic standpoint, you can play a dull-varnished portion of the sheet against a portion without varnish or with a gloss varnish. This contrast can give emphasis to certain areas and/or give the impression of depth.
UV COATING
UV Coating is a clear liquid spread over the paper like ink and then cured instantly with ultraviolet light. It can be a gloss or dull coating, and can be used as a spot covering to accent a particular image on the sheet or as an overall (flood) coating. UV coating gives more protection and sheen than either varnish or aqueous coating. Since it is cured with light and not heat, no solvents enter the atmosphere. However, it is more difficult to recycle than the other coatings.
UV coating is applied as a separate finishing operation as a flood coating or (applied by screen printing) as a spot coating. Keep in mind that this thick coating may crack when scored or folded.
AQUEOUS COATING
Aqueous coating is more environmentally friendly than UV coating because it is water based. It has better hold-out than varnish (it does not seep into the press sheet) and does not crack or scuff easily. Aqueous does, however, cost twice as much as varnish.
Since it is applied by an aqueous coating tower at the delivery end of the press, one can only lay down a flood aqueous coating, not a localized "spot" aqueous coating. Aqueous comes in gloss, dull, and satin.
LAMINATE
Laminates come in two types: film and liquid, and can have a gloss or matte finish. As their name suggests, in one case a clear plastic film is laid down over the sheet of paper, and in the other case a clear liquid is spread over the sheet and dries (or cures) like a varnish. Laminates protect the sheet from water (including perspiration from the hands) and are therefore good for coating items like menus and book covers. For more money, one can even specify a porous, lay-flat laminate (the interior of which is covered with numerous "V"-shaped cuts in the plastic that minimize the "curl" one often sees on paperback book covers due to moisture seeping into the uncoated side and causing it to expand). Laminates are slow to apply and costly but provide a strong, washable surface. They are the superior choice for protecting loose books in transit.
What kind of coating you should get depends of course on what you're printing and what that printing is intended for.
dbanig@prflexbag.com