Description: How today’s printing companies are capitalizing on print-enhancement technologies Keywords: print finishing, print-finishing technology, decorative techniques, metallic foil, glitter foil, holographic foil, decorative coatings, metallic decoration, perfect binding, UV coatings, return on investment, ROI, Victoria Gaitskell

1. Metallic
Innovation
MOST
TRUSTED
PRINTER
TRADE ONLY
BY OVER
55,000
RESELLERS 4over.ca
PA_Sept_4Overlug.indd 1 2018-08-13 10:43 AM
TM
Explore.
TRADE
O N L Y
A DIVISION OF THE MPI PRINT GROUP
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
PA_MPIcoverlug_Sept.indd 1 2017-08-14 12:08 P
June_KBALug.indd 1 2018-05-22 9:33 AM
CUT COSTSTODAY & INCREASE PROFITS
Printing, Digital &Wide Format
Sign up today
www.star-printexpress.com
Asia Pulp & Paper Canada (APP)
The Industry’s Most Extensive Paper Portfolio
• Coated Text and Cover
• Uncoated Offset and Opaque
• Office /Bond and Digital Paper
• Packaging Grades & Custom
Sheeted Board Products
www.appcanada.com/sales@appcanada.com
+1 905 450-2100 +1 800-446-3336
PA_APP Front Cover Lug.indd 1 2017-04-20 10:22 A
CANADA’S PRINTING AND IMAGING MAGAZINE PRINTACTION.COM / SEPTEMBER 2018 / $7.50
Metallic
Innovation
PM40065710
PRINTACTION

2. 14 PRINTACTION · September 2018 PRINTACTION.COM
How today’s printing companies
are capitalizing on print-
enhancement technologies
By Victoria Gaitskell
W
ith an abun-
dance of new
print-finish-
ing technolo-
gies flooding
the market,
printers may
wonder how
to separate
the glitzy effects from bona fide business
opportunities. To aid in this dilemma,
PrintAction turned to an assortment of
business leaders for their thoughts on how
to leverage new finishing technologies.
New opportunities
“A common theme our clients express is
that print enhancements help make a print-
ed product more ‘permanent,’” says Ri-
chard Kouwenhoven, President and COO
at Hemlock Printers in Burnaby, B.C.
“A strength of print as a medium and
how it differentiates itself from digital
properties in the marketplace is that it
produces an actual physical object that
feels neat to hold and is special to the re-
cipient.The renewed energy around using
print to do something special is quite ex-
citing for the industry.”
Jeff Taylor, Senior Vice President of
Manufacturing and Operations at Hem-
lock, says in the 1980s and 1990s, it was
mandatory for companies to summarize
their business successes in a printed an-
nual report. Today Hemlock has seen a
resurgence with large companies using
print to reinforce their brand, celebrate
special events, and orient new hires. For
example, fast growing tech companies are
now communicating their culture and
values to personnel through recurring
magazines and perfect-bound books.
POSTPRESS
DESIGNS
APPLICATION
An example of foil
decoration using
Print Panther’s MGI
JETvarnish 3DS
and iFOIL S. Using
MGI’s inkjet and hot
foil stamping
processes, the
system provides
digital spot UV
coating in plain 2D
and 3D formats,
plus embossed and
foil textured
effects.
PHOTO COURTESY
PRINT PANTHER

3. PRINTACTION.COM September 2018 · PRINTACTION 15
Hemlock’s most popular finishing options
include UV and other specialty coating
treatments and a variety of decorative
techniques on coloured substrates, espe-
cially for covers. “We research different
stocks to add tactile interest and different
embellishmentsto makethe product stand
out, such as metallic, glitter or holograph-
ic foils and coatings –which can be applied
overall or heavily in what we call a ‘high
build,’ or only in certain spots to add a
tactile element, such as grit. Some of our
more elaborate projects might combine a
dozen of these different methods. They
give the piece a higher perceived value,”
Kouwenhoven explains.
Hemlock says it has been focused on
developing new perfect-bound products
since its 2017 purchase of a Muller Martini
Allegro Perfect Binder. “We use perfect
binding as a way to enhance the look and
quality of the final piece and make it
unique by adding functions such as pock-
ets, flaps, insets and overhanging covers,”
Taylor says.“After doing R&D on finishing
equipment and trends, we thought we
needed this state-of-the-art equipment for
our customers. We can’t figure out why
more of our peers in NorthAmerica aren’t
investing in finishing equipment of the
same calibre.”
Finishing versus decorating
Jeff Peterson, Executive Director of the
Foil & Specialty Effects Association
(FSEA) in Topeka, Kansas, distinguishes
between more utilitarian as opposed to
more decorative postpress operations.
“One of the things I’d like to do is create a
better definition of some of the terms used
in postpress. I hear the term ‘print finish-
ing’ a lot, but I define it as any type of
process that could be used after printing.I
prefer to use the terms ‘print decorating’
or ‘print embellishments’ for the more
decorative versus the more produc-
tion-oriented bindery operations.”
Peterson adds that in practice the line
between production and decorative finish-
ing processes is still blurred. For example,
in lamination, if the film you are using has
a leather or holographic pattern, then you
are decorating the printed sheet as well as
protecting it.
At Print 18, Peterson will lead a pres-
entation on the foil-decorating methods
available today, how they are performed,
and which applications are best suited to
each method. “There are new metallic
foil-decorating methods on the market
today that weren’t available just several
years ago,” he says.
Know thy customers
Nikos Kallas, President of Metropolitan
Fine Printers Inc. (MET) in Vancouver,
B.C., believes the days of ‘buy it and they
will come’ are over. “Your clients aren’t
going to spend double the money on a new
finishing feature just because it looks cool,”
he says.“The key is helping your clients be
more successful.Everyone needs to justify
their investment in terms of ‘What’s it go-
ing to do for me?’ They are interested in
new technology that can help them make
more sales or build better brand awareness,
all within a reasonable cost.”
Kallas recalls a job MET did for a tele-
com company to sell NFL ticket subscrip-
tions. “It [was] a booklet with a cover
made of artificial turf. It was targeted to
only 1,000 recipients and very expensive
to produce.Although the client reported a
high return from the project, they didn’t
wantto repeatthe financial risk by printing
it again.
“A lot of the decorative specialty stuff is
meant for short run, not long run.”
He emphasizes the need to tailor the
offering to the individual client. For ex-
ample,a client sellingtoilet paper probably
doesn’t need raised UV on the packaging,
but may want to try a new synthetic, en-
vironmentally friendly wrapping to im-
prove sales. In other cases, “beautiful
graphics that pop off a sheet will be worth
the investment, if the resulting product
makes the consumer spend five more
seconds looking at the piece. If a client is
printing a black-and-white catalogue, you
might convince them to go colour and add
PMS [Pantone Matching System] Metal-
lic, spot UV and raised foil.”
Meanwhile, Taylor says Hemlock only
invests in new technology if the team is
100-percent convinced they have the vol-
ume or can grow the volume of business to
support it. The firm also uses an annual
advisory group to gain market insight and
feedback. “We ask them how we can en-
hance our services and their environment-
al standards...and what direction techno-
logically they’d like to see us take, which
helps us steer away from a shiny objectthat
might sound exciting but our customers
will not support,” he says.
Research before buying
For commercial printers considering the
acquisition of new finishing technology,
Peterson suggests partnering with a finish-
ing company first that is already running
that technology to see the types of poten-
tial business it attracts. “Eventually the
printer may get to a level where bringing
the technology in-house makes sense...or
decide the partnership is more cost-effect-
ive and it makes more sense to [keep] do-
ing what they do best.”
Before purchasing Canada’s first MGI
JETvarnish 3DS and iFOIL S in 2016,
ChristineYardley, now President of Print
Panther of Oakville, Ont., travelled to
Chicago, Ill.,to witness it up and running
at another printing company.She says the
trip helped her gain much greater clarity
in terms of how the equipment would
physically fit into Print Panther’s own
space and the types of jobs it is capable of
doing.
Following the acquisition, it tookYard-
ley’s team between six to nine months to
fine-tune their handling of software,
graphic design and materials to make the
new equipment work best for their jobs.
“Nowwe’re very fussy about the printwork
we take in from other printers,”she says.“I
call it ‘preferred trade’ because we under-
stand our sweet spot and stick to what
we’re good at.”
Continuous investment
In Mississauga, Ont., C.J. Graphics’
240,000-square-foot facility houses North
America’s first Scodix Ultra Pro with Foil.
Installed in 2015, the system produces foil
with run lengths from one up to 10,000,
designedto enhance packaging,brochures,
business cards, invitations, book covers
and other products.
In 2015, the company also acquired
Canada’s first Highcon Euclid II+ system,
described as the first fully digital cutting
and creasing machine for converting paper,
labels,folding carton and micro-flute.The
Euclid, supporting both conventional and
digital press production, incorporates
Highcon’s patented DigitalAdhesive Rule
Technology (DART) and polymers to
produce creases, as well as high-speed
laser optics to cut a range of substrates.
“It takes a while to build up the market
for it, there is no question, but I can tell
you we have two major accounts – one out
of the U.S. and one out of the U.K. – be-
cause of those machines,” said Jay Manda-
rino,C.J.Graphics President and CEO,in
an April 2018 interview with PrintAction.
“We are very sales driven and we have al-
ways invested in technology and it has
made us successful.You have to find new
stuff all of the time.”
The facility’s advanced digital finishing
department also features a wide range of
off-line coating devices, and lamination,
die-cutting, foil stamping and blind em-
bossing equipment and services.
Growth potential
The market for decorative finishing tech-
nology and processes will continue to
grow, Peterson predicts.“There are more
alternatives out there now to achieve a
decorative metallic look or UV coating,
so whatever the application, you can
choose the right way to go. Printers are
looking for ways to separate themselves
from competitors [by] creating eye-catch-
ing graphics.Labels and cartons are going
to continue to be important to brand
managers. I think all these factors will
help keep metallic foils and coatings rel-
evant for years to come.”
METALLIC
INNOVATION
PrintAction’s cover
was produced by
Xerox on its new
Iridesse Production
Press using silver
and clear dry inks
in addition to
CMYK. The
iridescent back-
ground was
achieved using 20%
magenta on a silver
underlay, creating
brilliant shimmery
hues when layered
under CMYK. Silver
and clear spot
effects accentuate
the overall design.
Top: The Feel packaging has a soft-touch
coating applied and is foiled stamped with
rose-gold foil. Bottom: The 8X covers have a
flood dull coating with clear foil and emboss-
ing, with folders that have a delustered
laminate and are clear foiled and embossed.
PHOTOS COURTESY HEMLOCK PRINTERS