Brochure printing - front cover finishes

So your brochure is finally ready, after days and weeks of copywriting, choosing images and planning layouts. You’re happy that your brochure is just right for its intended purpose, and now you’re ready to go ahead with the final stage... printing. You want your brochure to be something special, something that a potential client will want to keep picking up and looking through. But the many options for different printing finishes seem mind-boggling. This is where you need someone to guide you through the various possibilities.

At Swallowtail Print, we have helped many clients to add the finishing touch to their brochures. With a whole range of finishing options available. Our dedicated team of experts are keen to share their knowledge and advise on the best finishes and paper choices for your publication. Our aim is to make your hard work look as good as possible when it’s printed. Please contact the team to arrange a time to discuss your brochure printing ideas or requirements.

Below we have listed some of the finishes that could turn your work of art into a masterpiece!

Embossing

This is where an area of your page is raised slightly to create texture and emphasis. It has a slightly 3D appearance, with shadows and highlights, and creates a tactile experience as you can literally feel the shapes or words. Debossing or Letterpress is the opposite effect, with words or images indented down into the paper. Both embossing and debossing can bring a classy feel to your brochure, and is often used with high-end, premium products.

Metallic foil stamping

A splash of gold or silver on your front cover can be achieved by foil stamping, where a metallic material is applied using a mixture of heat and pressure. It is a hugely eye-catching finish, adding a sense of luxury and prestige to your printed brochure. There is a wide range of metallic colours, plus other colour ranges such as neons. 

Using metallic foil stamping and metallic inks

Spot UV varnish

To highlight an aspect of your brochure cover or inside page, it is possible to add varnish to just one element on the page, creating a shiny contrast with the rest of the untreated page. It immediately draws your reader’s attention to that place and can be used to emphasise your logo or key messages within your brochure.

Die cutting

An extremely effective finish on a brochure front cover can be die-cutting shapes out of the paper. It creates an interesting and tactile experience and can reinforce your brand by die-cutting some of your brand shapes or maybe even the logo itself.

Lamination

This is where a very thin layer of plastic is applied to your brochure, giving the pages a protective coating. This is an especially useful finish on a brochure that needs to be durable and sturdy. Laminates generally come in a matt or gloss finish, they are also available in an a soft-touch finish, which adds a fine, velvet like finish to the surface of the cover and a durable anti-scuff finish, which provides better scratch resistance.

Tactile and high impact finishes

Biodegradable laminated films

We can offer customers a range of oxo-biodegradable alternatives for laminating. These films are available in matt or gloss and provide excellent protection and durability, making them ideal for magazine and brochure covers.

Oxo-degradable laminates retain the same properties and strength as conventional plastics but have the benefit that they will degrade in landfill and do not produce methane in the process.

Please contact us if you would like more details.

Antimicrobial coatings

We offer range of Anti-Microbial water-based coatings that can be applied to a variety of printed materials.

Protective antimicrobial coatings

Get in touch

So maybe this has given you a few more ideas for your brochure’s finishing touches. If you would like to find out more, then get in touch with one of our sales team, they will be happy to advise you.