Our print finishes

Mixam offers a wide range of finishes. Learn about the different finishes and find the perfect final touch to your next print project on this page. From matt, gloss and soft touch lamination, to spot UV and UV varnish, we offer a quality and consistent finish across all product types.

  1. Lamination
  2. Matt lamination
  3. Gloss lamination
  4. Soft touch lamination
  5. UV varnish
  6. Spot UV
  7. No finish

Lamination

Lamination adds a plastic coating to the finished product. It’s a durable finish, offering protection from cracking and scuffing, and prolongs the life of the item.

Lamination also looks and feels great. Ideal for hardcover books and catalogues, lamination prevents paper from tearing, folds from cracking, and ink from transferring or rubbing onto fingers.

Lamination can elevate the quality and durability of a finished print project, but it can also alter the final colour of a product ever so slightly.

Lamination is highly recommended for ink-heavy projects.

Matt lamination

Matt lamination is our most commonly used finish, and is recommended for use with silk paper. If you’re ever in doubt as to which finish to use with a cover or staple bound booklet, choose silk paper with a matt lamination.

Unlike its gloss counterpart, matt is muted and offers a classy, understated finish. It’s also a good option for flyers, posters, and business cards to prevent scuffs and scratches.

Flyer with matt lamination

Gloss lamination

Gloss - which, as the name suggests, offers a high gloss finish - is recommended for gloss paper to further enhance the brightness of colours and intensity of shine.

Typically used for ‘glossy magazines’, which tend to be perfect bound with silk paper pages, a gloss cover with gloss lamination offers a super shiny, high contrast, premium finish. It’s the perfect combination for your next magazine or brochure.

Booklet with gloss lamination on the cover

Soft touch lamination

A lush matt finish, soft touch lamination is (unsurprisingly) soft to the touch. It’s a great option for business cards, as the pleasant, tactile sensation often catches people by surprise and makes quite an impression.

Soft touch isn’t as commonly used as our other laminations. However, with an almost moleskin leather-like feel, it can add a premium look to hardback and paperback books and other products.

Booklet with soft touch lamination on the cover

UV varnish

UV Varnish is an ink applied to paper stock to give the page a smooth finish. It offers less protection than lamination, but it does seal the printed material, helping to preserve and protect it.

Usually a varnish is applied from edge to edge, and is a good alternative to laminate.

We offer two options for UV varnish:

  • UV Gloss: a high gloss finish, visually similar to gloss laminate
  • UV Matt: dulls the colour, but it’s not as noticeable as matt laminate
Booklet with UV varnish on the cover

Spot UV

Spot UV - also known as Gloss UV - is a high gloss finish applied to specific areas of a print product. The result is creates captivating contrast, making it the perfect choice for premium business cards and luxury brochures.

For the very best results, we recommend selecting a matt laminate, then a Spot UV finish to draw attention to a particular area of your design. Visually striking, it’s a terrific option for highlighting a brand name or a logo, or to help make a design feature more prominent.

How to set up Spot UV

3D UV is a similar finish to the Spot UV; the only difference is that the ink is thicker. This raises it from the surface, which adds prominence and texture. This is ideal for a unique, high-end look and feel.

Hard case book with spot UV on the cover

No finish

There are a number of reasons why you might not want any type of finish on your print project, both practical and artistic.

If you intend for your product to be recyclable, don’t apply a laminate finish. Paper is shredded when recycled, and the plastic coating from lamination can be a contaminant.

Using an uncoated paper can help you achieve a rustic, artistic, eco-friendly look. The paper retains an earthy, natural texture if left unfinished. Please be aware that it will be more susceptible to rubbing, tearing, and marking.

Please note

We don’t offer lamination for uncoated, natural, or recycled papers.

This is because uncoated papers absorb a lot of ink, so they aren’t a good candidate for laminate coatings. If the laminate is applied over an uncoated paper that doesn’t have enough ink coverage, it will start to peel off.

If you’re choosing uncoated, natural, or recycled paper, you probably appreciate the more natural appearance and feel of it. Any type of lamination would negate the aesthetic effects of those paper choices.

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