Spot Gloss UV
SPOTlight Your Cover
Spot gloss UV is a clear, glossy coating applied to specific areas of your book cover to make them shine and stand out. It’s a great way to highlight titles, logos, or design details with a sleek, high-end finish that catches the light and adds a touch of sophistication.
How Is It Applied?
The process starts by creating a separate mask file to show exactly where the spot gloss UV is to be applied…this acts like a stencil, ensuring precise placement. After the cover is printed, a liquid varnish is applied to the designated area with a screen or plate. The coated areas are then exposed to ultraviolet light, instantly hardening the varnish and creating a raised, glossy effect.
How Thick Can Spot Gloss UV Be?
At Friesens, the basic options are 10 microns (standard level), 50 microns (provides some texture), and 100 microns (the maximum our UV machines can apply in one pass). When going thicker than the standard level of 10 microns, we need to use the Velvet Scuff-Resistant Lamination because we have the best adhesion using this material.
It is possible to go thicker than 100 microns, but you would need to talk to our team for more information.
Remember, photos don’t do spot gloss UV justice, so talk to your Sales or Customer Service Representative to request a sample today!
Spot Gloss UV + Embossing
You can combine spot gloss UV and embossing, but depending on the design and elements embossed there could be concerns with registration. We’d work with you on a solution!
Spot Gloss UV + Foil Stamping
Combining spot gloss UV and foil is possible, but it will require a conversation with your Sales or Customer Service Representative. The shine of the foil can affect the cameras used for registration purposes, but we will work with you to determine an appropriate solution!
Spot Gloss UV + Lamination
Visit our Lamination page for best practices on how to combine spot gloss UV with the various types of lamination we offer.
Helpful Hints
- It is good to minimize the use of spot gloss UV in the gutter of a hardcover case by the spine edges and around the wrapped edges to reduce potential cracking and also provide a sharp edge.
- Applying spot gloss UV along the spine or folded edges of a dust jacket or softcover should be minimized, as over time any edge that is folded is prone to cracking.
- Spot gloss UV is somewhat pliable and can bend. We recommend using the velvet scuff-resistant lamination whenever you have a very detailed design.
- If you are wanting to spot gloss UV very fine lines or type, with the small amount of varnish applied it’s difficult to see in the final product…there isn’t enough area to see a dramatic difference between the matte and the gloss.
- If you want to emboss areas that you also spot gloss UV, we will want to review the design prior to finalizing it. Depending on the design and elements there can be concern with registration.