Silk Screening & Blocking in London Silkscreen Silkscreen is one of the oldest printing methods historically used in ancient China. Although we like to keep up with all aspects of modern printing techniques, it is still a very effective way of printing. It is a great way of reproducing Gravure finishes and colours as it uses the same ink technology that the original presses used for this process.
Screening produces second to none finishes including metallic, pearlescent, diffuser effect, and high build varnishes (gloss, satin and matte). Merck pigment colours are used along with all other conventional uses for the process.
We utilise this process along with Litho proofing which is available for conventional drying and as UV which enables us to complete printing on all forms of substrates including tin, metal and other difficult surfaces.
Our team are constantly experimenting with new effects and pigments to expand the wide use of this printing technique. Metallic and pearlescent effects are widely used by our clients, providing a trusted choice for printed packaging. The Merck range of effects, additives and powders have expanded the horizons in finishes that are available. In today's ever expanding consumer market, tactility and uniqueness in new designs are starting to become widely promoted by high end consumer brands.
Some of the more recent effects that have become popular use soft touch varnishes and tactile varnishes including sandblasted finishes and high build UV. These can be used throughout the screening process and they provide more choice for you and your clients, opening up the possibilities for designers to include these new processes in their designs.
Screening can also print very fine detail work and is not just used for large solid colours. When litho, screen and foil techniques are used together most if not all finishes are achievable.
Foil Blocking, Embossing, and Debossing Again foil blocking, embossing and debossing have been used for many years in all forms of printing, from Christmas cards to high end drinks cartons, cigarette packs, and more.
We have 4 dedicated machines that can foil block, emboss, deboss and cut out almost any substrate.
Most people associate foil with shiny gold and silver but advances in technology have enabled many effects that can now be applied using foil blocking. Some of these effects include:
Transparent holographic foils Gold and silver holographic foils Pearlesant foils Tint foils Gloss varnish foils Solid colour foils Matte foils including metallic (limited range on the metallic foils) Satin Foils including metallic Embossing and debossing is a tried and tested form of finishing and is used in most packaging to embellish product standing.
We have built a reputation for very high levels of quality in our embossing and debossing detail, and are able to maximise the best out of this process. We can create a variety of finishes including feathered, shallow emboss (like a gold bar), and rounded emboss.
Debossing and embossing can also be used for creating textured finishes on packs or labels, from wood grain type finishes to pinhole patterns on foil.
New Cold Foiling We have just completed the testing stage of the cold foiling process and are happy to have now added this to the list of services that we can offer.
The range of foils available are not as large as the the normal hot foils that we keep in stock, but new colours are being added on a regular basis. We mainly use Kurz foils but also have all major foil manufacture's shade cards and many of the most popular foils in stock.
If we don't have a particular colour or shade these can normally be ordered and delivered within 2 days in most cases.
The main advantage with cold foil is that it can be printed on with all pantone colours, meaning that you can produce the whole range of colours in metallic, gloss, satin and matte finishes.
We can overprint hot foils like this but with this type of foil there is a certain amount of distortion when its printed, which could give registration problems. This is not a risk with cold foiling, making it the ideal choice for the printing of pantone colours.
Call Us For more information, call us today on 0208 691 456 contact form to talk to a member of the team.
