You can emphasize specific elements of your artwork by applying UV Coating only to designated areas.
Printed materials stand out from the crowd with Spot UV Printing. Therefore a well thought out design is as important as setting up an accurate printing file for Spot UV Printing.
Please see the following instructions for the most commonly used design programs to get stunning results with Spot UV Printing:
InDesign
- Open your InDesign document. From top menu, go to Window > Color > Swatches > New Color Swatch.
- Name new swatch „Spot UV“, select „Spot“ as Color Type. Set Black (K) to 100%, and C, M, Y to 0%. Click OK.
- Select all elements to which you would like to apply Spot UV. From top menu, go to Edit > Copy then "Paste in Place". This creates a duplicate of your selection on top of the original.
- Select the copied object on top layer and change the color to Spot UV in swatch palette.
- From top menu, go to Window > Output > Attributes and check "Overprint Fill". If strokes are used, set stroke to "Overprint Stroke" as well.
- Export as Adobe Acrobat to check separations. Go to Advanced > Print Production > Output Preview and check "Simulate Overprinting".
Illustrator
- Open your CMYK file. From top menu go to Window > Color > Create New Swatch.
- Name new swatch "Spot UV", select "Spot Color" from color type menu. Set Black (K) to 100%, and C, M, Y to 0%. Click OK.
- Select all elements to which you would like to apply Spot UV. From top menu, go to Edit > Copy then "Paste in Front". This creates a duplicate of your selection on top of the original.
- Open the color palette and change selection to "Spot UV".
- From top menu, go to Window > Attributes and check "Overprint Fill". If strokes are used, set "Overprint Stroke" as well.
- Save as a PDF and open in Adobe Acrobat to check separations using "Output Preview". Go to Advanced > Print Production > Output Preview and check "Simulate Overprinting".
Photoshop
- Open your CMYK file. Select the area to which you would like Spot UV applied.
- From top menu, go to Window > Channels > New Spot Channel.
- Name the Spot UV Channel "Spot UV". Click on the color, ensure K is set to 100%, and C, M, Y are all set to 0%. Click OK on both windows.
- To check if areas are assigned correctly, turn off the Spot Preview to see only CMYK.
- Turn off the CMYK Preview to see only those areas where Spot UV will be applied.
- Save as PDF and ensure the check box "Spot Colors" is selected.
- Open in Adobe Acrobat to verify your separations using "Output Preview". Go to Advanced > Print Production > Output Preview and check "Simulate Overprinting".
You can also download our instructions on how to apply Spot UV as a PDF document.
If you have further questions or need assistance in preparing your print ready file with our File Preparation Service, don't hesitate to contact us by email to support(at)printsafari.com.
