Spot / selective varnish, glossy or matte

Did you know that we can also make cards on colored material?
It is an ideal solution for prestigious club cards or exclusive business cards, among others.

The use of selective varnish on the surface of the card creates unique and original graphic possibilities. The card ennobles with varnish is a real piece of art.

The effects of using varnish refine the appearance of the cards and are an element that distinguishes it from other cards offered on the market.

Our offer includes three types of selective varnish:

• glossy convex

• glossy flat

• matt flat

All of the above-mentioned ones fulfill the decorative option, while only one of them may also be of practical use. What’s more, the varnish, although it is on the lamination, is very well protected (hardened with UV light).

So let’s take a look at all types of spot varnish on cards, starting with convex varnish.

The convex varnish is available only in the glossy version, but it is perfect for plastic cards covered with smooth matte lamination and glossy lamination. It is true that the varnish looks better on a matte surface, because the contrast between the background and the elements specified with the aforementioned varnish is visible then.

The varnish, during its application, acquires a different thickness. It depends on the size of the graphics. Small elements will always be more convex than elements with larger surfaces. To illustrate this, we have prepared graphics showing the difference.

The card graphic shows a cherry with water drops. These drops can be highlighted by using a selective varnish, so you need a special separate file consisting of 100% black color.

Importantly, you should keep in mind the previous advice on the size of the elements. In this case, small and medium-sized spots will be best emphasized.
For the largest water droplets, the varnish may spread to the edges, forming “shafts” along the edges. As a result, the varnish on large spots will be rather flat than convex. Unfortunately, this is completely dependent on the specificity of the varnish and there is no help for it.

In practice, it looks like the photo below. The small characters are clearly convex, while the hexagon is flat with only its edges underlined.

Nevertheless, convex varnish is one of the most popular options for decorating a card. Usually, we cover it with a logo or a pattern consisting of many small elements, such as a leaf structure.

When discussing the topic of convexity, one cannot forget about a very important advantage of this varnish. It can be applied as the Braille.
The height of the Braille character will then be 0.22 mm.

Another type of plastic card decoration is flat glossy varnish and flat matte varnish. And they are usually used on reverse lamination, that is:
• glossy varnish on matte lamination,
• matte varnish on glossy lamination.

Unlike the previously described convex varnish, this one in the flat version looks the same on all sizes of elements. This varnish can even cover most of the card’s surface, creating fantastic and unique patterns.

Below, matte varnish, then glossy varnish.

When designing a card, there are some technological limitations to remember, here are some of them:

• if flat personalization (barcode, numbering) is made on the card, you cannot use convex varnish on the same side

• spot varnish increases the thickness of the card, so the less quantity of cards is packed to the box

• the distance between glossy flat / matt varnish and flat personalization cannot be less than 5 mm.

Consult the application of the convex varnish technique on your card with our company expert!