1.5-Use of finishes- paper/board

Question 1

Why are finishes used

Answer 1

• they protect the material from absobing moisture
• protect against decay/corrosion
• protect against insect attack
• enhance the appearance of the final product

Question 2

Paper and board finishing- lamination via encapsulation

Answer 2

-a desktop laminator and the sheet of paper is encapsuled by a polymer or film roll

Question 3

Paper and board finishing- lamination via a surface coating

Answer 3

liquid lamination e.g. signage or film lamination e.g. menu cards

Question 4

Paper and board finishing- embossing

Answer 4

creates a raised design on the surface of the paper or card to give a visual and tactile effect (greeting cards)

Question 5

Paper and board finishing- debossing

Answer 5

produces an imprinted depression that sits below the surface of the paper or card

Question 6

Paper and board finishing- varnishing

Answer 6

clear, non pigmented ink use on pre coated papers and boards to enhance the colour as well as offer some protection against dirt, fingertips and water

Question 7

Paper and board finishing- UV varnishing

Answer 7

• provides a smooth finish
• usually high gloss or matt, and abrasion and chemical resistance
• applied to a sheet via a set of rollers, then passed under a UV light to cure

Question 8

Paper and board finishing- spot varnishing

Answer 8

applied in specific areas or spots rather than to the whole surface area

Question 9

Paper and board finishing- foil blocking

Answer 9

heat and pressure applied to a metallic paper to create areas of depth and texture to add aesthetic impact

Question 10

Why are paper and board printing processes used

Answer 10

• colours, images and text can provide aesthetic appeal
• information can be printed to communicate specific data
• printing processes often use the term substrate (the material on to which the print ink is applied)

Question 11

Paper and board printing processes- screen printing

Answer 11

• can be carried out in a workshop with minimal set up costs due to basic screens
• screen has open areas for ink to pass through
• different screen for each colour
• slow process with a reasonably high cost per product
• used for small print runs of items e.g. posters, textile t shirts

Question 12

Paper and board printing processes- flexographic printing

Answer 12

• flexography, offset lithography and digital pritning use a four colour process (CMYK)
• these colours are printed on top of one another in various quantities onto the substrate surface
• colours must line up exactly for a non blurry image
• simple process, fast drying water based inks
• used for newspapers, comics, catalogues, labels, carrier bags, gift wrap

Question 13

Advantages of flexographic printing

Answer 13

• high print speed
• ideally suited for long runs
• prints on a wide variety of substrate materials
• low equipment/consumables costs
• low maintenance

Question 14

Disadvantages of flexographic printing

Answer 14

• the cost of printing plates is relatively high but they last for millions of print runs
• takes a large amount of substrate to set up the job- excess material may be wated
• time consuming to change for any aterations to the print content

Question 15

Paper and board printing processes- offset lithography printing

Answer 15

• extremely versatile printing process capable of producing one colour, five colours and a ten feature machine
• used for printing medium and long print runs of runs of products e.g. books, business forms, magazines

Question 16

Advantages of lithographic printing

Answer 16

• consistently high image quality
• suited to higher volume print runs of 1000
• quick and easy production
• long life of printing plates as they only come into contact with printing blanket

Question 17

Disadvantages of lithographic printing

Answer 17

-expensive set up and running costs for small quantities

Question 18

Paper and board processes- digital printing

Answer 18

• widely utilised resource for printing products due to speed
• produce full colour, highly detailed print runs with the option of different designs
• high and low volume print runs so printing promotional materials e.g. business cards
• ideal for mass customation e.g. printing of specific names on drinks cans due to fast drying inks