Create impact with two types of paper

Expanding a full bleed image over the first or last spread of a magazine is a great way to create impact. When you have two different kinds of paper for the insert and the cover, it's good to be aware of their different printing properties. It's about both the looks and the feel – the visual and tactile experience.

We asked Ola Olson from the printer Larssons Offsettryck about what the printer can do to make the spread look great. Read his tips for graphic designers and for printing companies and look at the examples here below.

What can the printer do?

In our example, the magazine cover is printed on Holmen Iggesund Invercote G, which has one side coated and the other side uncoated. The insert is printed on Holmen TRND, a light-weight uncoated paper with great readability and a natural, smooth surface.

Colour profiles

Make sure the designer has used the correct colour profile for the paper. The ICC profiles are custom print profiles calibrated for different papers connected to the specific method of printing; a calibrated colour-ID. Read more about ICC profiles.

Adjustments for the temperature

If the cover and the insert papers have different colour temperatures, print the paper with the warmer colour temperature first. It's easier to adjust the colours slightly and make them warmer, when printing on the paper with the less warm colour temperature. The colour temperatures can be defined by ocular inspection from a trained eye in good light or the L*, a* and b* values.

Inspect and compare the results

Make sure the colours of the insert and the cover matches by inspecting and comparing the print results. It's possible to make slight adjustments of colour saturation in the printing press. Remember that the colours will need a little extra time to sink into the uncoated paper, and they will look slightly less saturated after the ink has dried. Therefore, changes from the original colour profiles should only be made with the greatest care.

What can the designer do?

You can definitely achieve consistent and satisfying, beautiful print results on uncoated paper. Image preparation and knowledge is key.

Be bold and curious

Combining different papers, such as a coated paper on the cover and uncoated paper for the insert, can spark new inspiration into the design process. More and more magazines are switching to uncoated papers. Be curious and learn about the advantages of the paper's tactility and image reproduction. Make your design as bold and exciting as you want to, and remember that colourful images really do come out very well on uncoated papers. It's only if your images are very dark, and full of low-contrast details, that you may feel you have embarked on difficulties.

Preparation is the key

To secure the quality of the images it’s very important to get the pre-press right. In addition to using the suitable colour separation settings, dot gain and total ink coverage settings should be optimized for the paper grade. Talk to your printing press supplier and pre-press staff. If they are not used to working with uncoated paper grades we strongly recommend you to contact one of our technical support managers. We are happy to assist.

Use the correct FOGRA or ICC profile

To get the best colour match to proofs and to help the printers make the best possible print result, it is essential that you use the correct FOGRA or ICC profiles. The recommendations include FOGRA and ICC profiles, lpi (lines per inch), maximum tonal value (TIC or TAC value) and paper classifications for ISO12647-2 2013. This information is very important to both the printer and publishers.

ICC print profiles for download

All ICC profiles that we recommend for printing on our products can be downloaded from the European Colour Initiative website.