FINISHING

Finishing refers to the many processes and techniques applied after a job has been printed. It requires strong attention to detail as finishing can make or break a print job. It is considered a value-added process and includes laminating, trimming, mounting, embossing, foiling, and die-cutting 

The way a brochure is folded can affect the way it is received. Folding options range from large-volume machine folding to intricate hand-folded custom jobs. Documents that need to be hand folded will take much more time than machine folding and are therefore generally more expensive. 

Ideally, paper heavier than 150 gsm should be scored before folding. Scoring or creasing ensures the sharpest possible fold is achieved and can help prevent the paper stock from “cracking”. 

Scoring and creasing are two different processes used to create even creases in thick paper or card stock to assist with folding. 

“Scoring” creates a depression when a metal (male) rule hits the paper with a “flat” steel or rubber surface behind it. Scoring happens on the inside of the fold and simply weakens the sheet to aid in folding.

“Creasing” uses a male and a female die to create the crease. There is a recessed area behind the paper to allow the board to create a “paper board hinge”. Creasing refers to the “internal de-lamination” (layer failure) of a sheet by compression along the line where the folding needs to occur.

When the sheet is bent (folded) at the crease, all the outward force that normally would split outwards or “crack” the sheet is directed inwards towards the weak, delaminated line. As the fold continues, the sheet further de-laminates internally and a rounded bead is formed on the inside of the fold, absorbing all the force, while the outside of the folded piece remains smooth and unbroken.

Paper drilling describes the technology of drilling round holes into paper. 

Hollow paper drill bits are clamped into a driven spindle which drills into the pile of paper. Unlike hole-punching, where only one or a few sheets can be punched at once, a larger number of sheets can be processed with a paper drilling machine. Drilling machines used to drill down into stacks of paper can be a range of sizes and allow different locations on the paper. Drilling is most commonly used for paper that needs to be placed into binders or printed jobs that need to be bound with a snap ring or a Chicago screw. 

Eyelets are metal rings that are inserted into a hole in a substrate such as a canvas or vinyl. They are flared on each side and their purpose is to prevent the substrate from tearing. 

A common use for eyelets is with outdoor banners where eyelets reinforce holes so that the banner can be hung with rope.

Eyelets come in a variety of styles, colours, and sizes.

Mounting is simply the process of adhering a print to another substrate. I common process would be “mounting” a poster to a “foam core” board so that the image is “rigid”. 

There are several ways to achieve a thicker, more rigid image:

• Wet mounting involves printing a paper poster and “wet mounting” it to a thicker substrate. This involves the use of a water-based adhesive which bonds the image to the rigid board. However, this is a skilled and difficult process as the moisture in the adhesive can also affect the printed material in unpredictable ways such as temporarily changing the size, shape, and character of either the paper or the board being mounted.
• Spray Adhesive involves the use of spray adhesives. This is suitable for smaller jobs only where the convenience outweighs the disadvantages. The problem is that the adhesive does not penetrate into the surfaces of the bonded areas as fully as it would with other mounting methods. As temperature and humidity change, the two substrates are likely to expand or contract at different rates and the artwork may pull away and bubble. The risk of this situation happening increases as the size of the product increases and for this reason, many sprays cannot be used with artwork above a certain size.
• Self-adhesive stocks refer to any stock that has an even coating of adhesive applied and then covered with a silicone liner to prevent it from sticking to anything else. The image is printed directly onto this self-adhesive stock. Then the liner is pulled away as the “sticker” is adhered to the other substrate with pressure. A common situation is printing on a Self-Adhesive Vinyl (SAV) and then mounting this onto a rigid board using a pressure roller.

Perforation is the process of punching very small holes into paper in a straight line to allow easy separation of two sections. Examples of perforated work can be found in checkbooks, raffle tickets, coupons, entry forms, and more.

There are different types of perforator blades used for different projects. The different options available for perforating are based on the number of teeth around the circumference of the blade and the type of teeth the blade has. The teeth are the small raised edges used to punch tiny holes in paper. Different perforating blades have different amounts of teeth that punch different amounts of holes per inch. The more holes punched per inch, the easier the paper is to tear.

The actual teeth themselves can also vary between small fine pins, elongated small blades, or larger circular punches.