Art Paper Design and Printing Points Analysis (I)

Art paper, also known as fancy paper or special paper, is very different from ordinary printing paper. The appearance of these papers is rich in color and unique lines, and most of them are processed through special paper processing equipment and processes. Because of its unique charm, art paper has attracted the attention of merchants since it entered China in the early 1990s. It has been applied to exquisite book covers, albums, brochures, invitations, greeting cards, high-grade office paper, and business cards. , high-grade packaging paper and so on. At the same time, there has been an amazing increase in usage. However, due to the lack of understanding of the structural characteristics and printing performance of art paper, various problems often occur in the application process, resulting in no small waste. In the following, we will discuss some issues that need attention in the prepress design, printing, and postpress processing of common art papers.

Art Paper Design Points

The characteristics of art paper itself determine that in the field of packaging and printing, it is not the value of the reproduction of the product mainly based on graphic arts, but the full use of the unique color and texture of the art paper, and then appropriate design. The unique glossiness and color difference of art paper will bring people different feelings. When these different paper personalities are combined with the design, they need the designer's ingenuity to use the individuality of the art paper to convey the design intent, so that the individuality of the paper becomes a part of the design, and it is perfectly integrated with the design style, so as to show a unique artistic effect. . In the prepress design, the following points should be noted.

1 according to the characteristics of the product to choose the appropriate art paper

When designing, we should make full use of the emotions and emotions expressed by the original lines and colors of art paper, and achieve a simple and beautiful artistic effect through the simple design of the finishing touch. Therefore, sometimes it is not necessary to reproduce the effect of the product with a large area of ​​printed text, which can also save printing costs and reduce costs. For example, selecting colorful art papers and matching the inks according to the characteristics of the products will create a strong contrast between ink color and paper color so as to attract customers' attention. Of course, some art papers with higher transparency can also be selected to make use of their translucency and to be rationally designed to enhance the artistic sense of the product.

2. Understand the silkiness of art paper, and consider the stiffness required for product packaging

The effective use of art paper has the characteristics of good strength, flexibility, stiffness and elasticity, which can increase the appearance stiffness of packaged products and improve the grade of the products. In the design of the carton, it is often necessary to confront plain paper and art paper, and at this time, pay attention to the orientation of the paper. It is a common practice to align the plain paper as the liner with the direction of the silk of the art paper to increase the stiffness of the carton.

3. Use a special post-printing process

Mainly used embossing, UV glazing, hot stamping and other processes. Due to the long fiber content in art paper, it has good stiffness and toughness, and is usually thicker and is suitable for embossing processing to improve the artistic effect and grade of the product. Many art papers have a rich texture and a special texture. This feature can be used to make it in sharp contrast with the gloss produced by UV glazing in order to achieve special artistic effects.

4. Choice of printing methods

If the product is required to have a bright color and the ink layer is thick, screen printing should be considered. However, if you want a clear feeling, you should consider using offset printing. The choice of printing method will have an important impact on the final product.

5. Selection of printing ink

Many customers would like to use silver ink and gold ink in order to pursue a gorgeous appearance. However, in the design process, according to the characteristics of art paper and the printing process, a reasonable layout should be designed so as to not only be beautiful, but also fully consider the gold, Silver ink features and printing process requirements, try to avoid printing failures that should not occur. In general, gold and silver inks are mainly used in the field parts or color blocks, and it is better not to design them as gold or silver for very small intaglio texts, yang texts, and hierarchical transitions. In the process of plate design, the order arrangement of gold and silver ink should be taken into account to ensure the metallic color. Also consider the requirements for gold and silver ink for art paper. If the absorption of ink on art paper is very strong, the linking material will be quickly absorbed, and the metal pigment in the ink will float on the surface of art paper, lose its luster, become weakly attached, and even fall off. The strong acid art paper easily reacts with the metal powder, causing discoloration and loss of luster in the metal pigment. When printing gold and silver ink on art paper, it is usually necessary to first coat the background ink. For example, when printing silver ink, first lay a light layer of white ink. This can not only improve the gloss of the silver ink layer, but also strengthen the silver ink on the paper. Adhesion. Some products, after printing gold and silver inks, should also consider UV coating or water-based coating, or laminating to prevent the metal pigments from discoloring or falling off.

(to be continued)