Finishes

What a Finish Actually Looks Like

The hardest part of specifying print is judging a finish from a written description. These are the treatments that come up most often.

Foil, Deboss, Coroplast, Fabric and Board

Finishing Is Where Two Quotes Stop Matching

A fanned stack of thick business cards in cream, navy and kraft stocks, the top card carrying a gold foil mark, edges showing the board caliper
Gold Foil on Uncoated Cover, Three Stocks, Edges Showing Caliper
A navy uncoated presentation folder at an angle, small gold foil mark in the lower corner, cream sheets visible in the pocket, window light raking across the board texture
Foil on Uncoated Navy Cover, Pocket Folder, Board Texture Visible
Rigid two piece box in navy with a gold foil mark, printed tissue and a foil seal
Rigid Box, Gold Foil, Printed Tissue and Seal
A retail end cap display built from printed navy styrene panels, curved header card with a gold mark, die cut side wings and three shelves of plain cartons, in a supermarket aisle
Printed Styrene End Cap, Die Cut Header and Wings
A navy corrugated plastic yard sign on an H stake in a lawn, single colour gold mark, flutes visible across the face
Coroplast Yard Sign, One Colour on Navy, Flutes Visible
Four folding cartons in ascending sizes with navy, kraft and gold panels
Tuck End Cartons, One Design Across Four Sizes
Folding carton with a metallic gold panel, navy and kraft printing
Tuck End Carton, Metallic Gold Panel
A tensioned fabric banner on a black stand in a trade show hall, deep navy with a large gold mark and a short service list
Dye Sublimated Fabric Banner, Tensioned Stand
Six packaging pieces including cartons, a foil hang tag, a shipping box and a blind debossed cover
Foil, Blind Deboss, Metallic Panels and Shipping Boxes

Visual representations. These illustrate finishing options and are not photographs of completed jobs.

Why It Matters at Quoting

Each Finish Is a Separate Pass

Foil, embossing and spot gloss are not inks. Each is its own operation, often on its own equipment, and sometimes in a different facility from the printing. That is why two quotes for the same piece can differ so widely, and why we route finishing-heavy work to partners who do the finishing on their own equipment.

How a project runs

From specification to a suitable manufacturer to delivery.

See how we work