Paper Type and UV Coating Guide for Direct Mail.
UV coating, or ultraviolet coating, is a very glossy, shiny liquid coating applied to a printed paper surface and cured on a printing press or special machine using ultraviolet light. The coating hardens, or cures when it is exposed to the ultra violet radiation.
UV coatings also tend to accentuate the roughness of, or any defects in, the surface of the paper. Some printers insist that UV coatings require the use of coated paper stocks because uncoated papers allow the coating to sink into the sheet, leaving little of it on the surface.
Several types of compounds are used to coat paper; UV coating chemicals include polyethylene, calcium carbonate and kaolinite. These compounds are refined and mixed with viscosifiers that help them adhere to paper. A UV coating machine is used to apply the coating after printing.
When it comes to coated vs uncoated paper, the main difference is the way the paper is manufactured. Coated papers have a coating on them (typically clay), so they’re “sealed.” This restricts the amount of ink that is absorbed into the paper, allowing the ink to sit on top of the paper, in a crisp defined dot.
This grade is not suitable for printing with UV inks. The top-coated grade of thermal paper is the type used in letterpress of flexo-graphic label printing. These papers have special secondary top PVA coating applied, giving them product resistance to water, ice, fats and grease.
This type of coating is cured by passing under an ultraviolet light that quickly dries and hardens the coating, creating a coating with a super high sheen and offers the most protection between varnish, aqueous and UV. Having a spot UV coated element on your printed piece will really make it stand out.
Coated paper is also more susceptible to scratches and mars. Coated Paper Deterioration Rate. Coated paper may deteriorate slowly to quickly, depending on the kind of coating used on the paper. Paper that was coated with the resin used early on in paper coating will normally degrade more quickly.
SEEING PHOSPHOR BANDS on U.K. STAMPS. This is a skill that every collector of British stamps has to learn. It is an easy skill, and once learned, you wonder why you couldn't ever do it before ! We often find collectors, usually fairly new to the game, who have heard about phosphor bands, but can't see them.
It can be a gloss or a matt coating. It 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.
Disdvantages: Coated papers are more difficult to write on, especially with a pencil. They may also not work well with your desktop printed (laser or ink jet). For this reason letterhead, forms and other types of printing that you intend to write or print on are typically printed on an uncoated paper. In recent years many paper coating do seem.
UV coating is a clear liquid that is spread over the paper like ink. It can be used as a spot covering to accent a particular image or logo on the page or as an full page (flood) coating. UV coating gives more protection and shine than varnish or aqueous coating.
Instant dry (or cast coated) papers do not have the PE barrier between the paper and the ink and so the ink is absorbed by the coating AND some will drop deeper into the paper. The result is that there is a higher concentration of ink on the surface of the micro porous paper and it will take longer to be affected by UV light and will remain vibrant and colourful for longer.
Coated paper has a surface coating (made from, clay, chalk and latex) that effects the absorbency, smoothness, gloss and weight of the paper. Generally, this coating will make the paper more receptive to the printing of text and images, so that detail is sharper and colour is brighter and denser.
