Foil, spot UV, and lamination — write a finish map

Order of operations

Typical path in the catalog: design → materials → Kodak CTP → Heidelberg print → lamination or varnish → converting. Foil and spot UV are extra passes. Say if foil sits under or over laminate. Wenzhou Taishan Printing Co., Ltd. runs this path in Longgang on wrap sheets and cartons — manufacturer since 2000, not a trading desk adding “luxury” as a line item.

Heidelberg 8-open 4/5-color, XL-75 4/5-color, and CDX102 4/5/6-color print the sheet. Kodak CTP plates CMYK and spots. Die-cut and folder-gluer follow a locked blank. Finishes that are not on the map will not appear on the box because someone liked a mock-up.

• Print first: CMYK and named spots.
• Lamination or varnish: gloss, matte, or none — and which panels.
• Foil: colour/film, panels, under or over laminate.
• Spot UV: which graphics, and after which film.

What a proof shows

A digital mock-up is not foil. Ask for a printed wrap sheet or a structure sample with the actual stamp. Holographic wrap is a film, not a CMYK trick. Screen gold is not a foil plate.

A colour-proof article on this site covers sheets versus screens. Finish is the same rule: the pass you will audit must exist on the sample. Confirm on the RFQ which sample clock you need — white structure, printed sheet, or stamped wrap.

Do not stack every effect

Foil + heavy UV + deep emboss on a small logo fights registration. Pick the one the brand actually audits. A finish map with three effects on every panel is not more premium; it is more make-ready and more risk.

Grey-board cores (catalog 1.5–3 mm) and MDF cores (1.5–7 mm) carry the wrap. Stacking finishes does not replace naming the core. Write core and wrap first, then the map.

• One hero finish per small logo, unless you have approved a stacked sample.
• Large solid foil areas called out as coverage, not as “gold everywhere”.
• Emboss/deboss as its own line if it exists — not mixed into UV in the email.

Foil as a plate, not a JPEG glow

Hot foil needs a plate and a position. Write which panel: lid top, spine, base, or a carton face. RGB glow in a JPEG is not a plate. If the foil must match a PMS-adjacent metallic, say you need a stamped sample — this article does not publish a shade chart.

Holographic foil and holographic wrap film are different materials. Name which one. Portfolio photos of gold lids are structure references, not SKUs with locked foil dies.

Spot UV registration

Spot UV sits on named graphics after print, usually after a film choice. Fine type and heavy flood UV on the same small mark will fight. Show which panel each UV sits on. A flood UV on a whole lid is a different pass than a 12 mm logo.

If artwork is not ready, still write “spot UV on logo, lid only” versus “no UV”. Estimating without that line guesses a pass. Confirm on the RFQ. Do not paste a competitor’s unboxing video as a specification.

Gloss versus matte lamination

Gloss and matte lamination are films. Varnish is not the same pass. Write gloss, matte, or none, and whether both sides of a carton wrap. Soft-touch, if required, is a named film — not the word “velvet” in a brief.

Foil under laminate and foil over laminate look different and register differently. Say which. The plant at Cendong Road laminates and varnishes in-house among 50+ machines on 20,000+ m² — still only the map you wrote.

• Gloss / matte / none, per panel if mixed.
• Foil under or over film.
• Varnish versus lamination, not used as synonyms.

How to list finishes line by line

List foil, spot UV, and gloss/matte lamination as separate lines. Show which panel each finish sits on. A mock-up is not a Heidelberg production sheet. Send the map with inner size and core via taishanprint.com (EN/ZH/ES), [email protected], or WhatsApp +86 138 6598 7984.

Request current certificate scans if FSC or food-contact will appear on the pack. Do not invent certificate numbers. Confirm the finish map on sample before production. Wenzhou Taishan Printing replies as the converter in Longgang.

• Panel + finish + under/over film.
• Foil film named (not “gold filter”).
• UV: spot versus flood, and which graphic.
• What the sample must prove: colour, stamp, or both.