Here at PrintUK.com, we can produce printed media on a host of different substrates, typically we print on: silk, gloss or uncoated (offset) finish, depending on your requirements. Whether you’re creating a printed brochure, a poster or a leaflet, it’s important to choose the right finish. Your printed media’s finish can alter its overall aesthetic dramatically. This can change the way that viewers perceive both the printed media itself and your brand. But what are the key differences between uncoated, gloss and silk finishes, and which one is right for you?
Gloss finishes
A gloss finish gives your printed media a shiny and ultra-vivid look. According to the article on the website ‘eHow: The Advantages of Matte & Glossy Finishes, this type of finish can make “colours in photographs appear more vibrant” and ensure that “images appear sharp”. The vibrancy and sharpness of this gloss finish means that it stands out and is ideal for quickly grabbing viewers’ attention. We suggest using a gloss finish for posters and flyers because they have to be highly visible in order to attract the gaze of passers-by.
However, it’s worth noting that gloss finishes aren’t perfect. Because of their shininess, gloss-finished pieces of printed media can suffer from glare and become hard to read in bright light. If light hits a gloss-finished piece of media at the wrong angle, its contents can be rendered illegible. We therefore suggest that you don’t use gloss finishes on pieces of media that have to be read carefully, such as thick brochures or leaflets.
Silk finishes
Silk finishes are as smooth and vibrant as glossy finishes. However, they don’t have the same shiny quality. Of course, this means they are slightly less eye-catching, but it also means that they aren’t as badly affected by glare. Ergo, we think silk finishes are ideal for text-heavy forms of printed media, such as brochure printing and detailed printed leaflets. These printed advertising materials can be distributed through direct mail campaigns, so they don’t need to be quite as visually striking as posters and flyers: they just need to be aesthetically appealing and easy-to-read. We have found that typically there is more print carried out on silk paper rather than gloss for the majority of commercial business print requirements.
Uncoated (matte) finishes
These finishes lack the smoothness and vibrancy of glossy and silk finishes. However, matte-finished paper tends to remain in good condition longer than either gloss-finished paper or silk-finished paper. Both gloss and silk-finished papers tend to pick up dirt and fingerprints rather quickly. We therefore suggest using a matte finish for printed media that contains vital information that recipients will need to keep. Remember that prospective customers are less likely to keep hold of a piece of media if its condition deteriorates. An uncoated paper tends to be perceived to be of higher quality so printed brochures for hotels, spa’s and other high end luxury businesses tend to have their print on an uncoated paper.
Do remember that the paper type that you choose will affect the colours of your overall printed product.
Interested in brochure printing and design? Check out one of our previous articles which will help convince you to use printing in your business marketing mix: Why Printing Is Still So Important For Big Business
Whatever type of printed media you need, we can produce it with the finish that’s right for you. Check out our range of popular products today at PrintUK.com