How to Prepare a File for Embellishment: Practical Guide

What is embellishment?

Embellishment = adding a visual effect to printed material beyond standard printing.

Good to know:

• Embellishment can be applied to both sides of paper

• Varnish must not interfere with the safety zone of 2,5 ~ 5 mm from the fold or cut

• Minimum thickness of material – 200 g/m²

• Maximum thickness of material – 450 g/m²

When to use:
Ideal for book covers or other printed materials where such special visual effects can stand out.

How Partial Varnish differ from 3D Partial Varnish 

Before preparing data, you need to decide what type of embellishment you want:

Partial Varnish

• Lower relief

• Finer details

• The minimum font size that allows embellishment with varnish is 14 pt

• Partial Varnish graphics must not be thinner than 0.15 mm

• A more affordable solution

3D Partial Varnish

• Distinctive relief

• Thicker limitations (high risk of varnish merging in small gaps)

• The minimum font size that allows embellishment is 16 pt

• Partial Varnish graphics must not be thinner than 0.3 mm

• A more expensive solution

   

Partial Varnish

What you need to know

Partial Varnish = glossy layer only applied to selected areas of printed material.

Effect:

• Contrast between matt paper and glossy varnish

• Highlighting of text, logos, images

• A more subtle effect than foil (but still distinctive to the eye and touch)

Limitations:

• The foil must not extend beyond the cut or fold – may cause the varnish to crack

• Not possible to embellish the entire surface of the printed material

Types:

• Partial Varnish – subtle gloss

• 3D Partial Varnish – distinctive relief

   

Graphics preparation: Partial Varnish (step by step)

Step 1: Prepare your basic print graphics

Your file in Adobe InDesign / Illustrator /PDF with complete graphics for printing (CMYK, cut, correct resolution, etc.).

Step 2: Create a new layer

Separate the areas to be covered with foil (logo, text, etc.) into a separate layer.

Step 3: Set Spot Color

For Partial Varnish:

• Swatch Name: spot_gloss

• Color Type: Spot Color

• K: 100%

For Partial Varnish:

• Swatch Name: spot_gloss_3d

• Color Type: Spot Color

• K: 100%

Step 4: Set Transparency

IMPORTANT: Set the following for all Partial Varnish objects:

Window → Effects → Transparency → Blending Mode: Multiply

NOT Overprint! – causes errors during subsequent processing

Step 5: Add a note

Please add a note saying that the graphics contains partial varnishing and information about its location.

Limitations for Partial Varnish (IMPORTANT!)

Exception for index:
From a height of 20 mm of the main text, it is possible to make upper and lower indexes.

Negative varnishing: 

What is it?
Negative varnishing = the varnish covers the whole surface, except certain areas (e.g. the text is not varnished, only the background).

How to prepare this?

• Create an object with a spot colour (spot_gloss alebo spot_gloss_3d)

• Remove graphics (text, logo, etc.) from the object (cut out)

• It must not be covered with a white or other coloured layer (causes errors in the preview)
   

Limitations:

• Negative text must be at least 18 pt (Partial Varnish) or 22 pt (3D Partial Varnish)

   

Checklist before sending

• Swatch Name je správny (spot_gloss, spot_gloss_3d)
• Color Type: Spot Color
• K: 100%
• Transparency: Multiply (not Overprint)
• Minimum font/line sizes observed
• Safety zone observed
• Varnish does not extend beyond the cut or fold
• Embellishment not applied to the whole surface
• Comment on embellishment in the order