Paper can have many different varnishes applied to it to give it a different finish. You can have high gloss varnish, or a matte varnish, depending on what context your work is in. Varnish is usually applied to the entire paper to make it more robust without adding too much weight to the stock, making it more appropriate for publications such as magazines and brochures.
Spot UV varnish:
Spot UV varnishes are applied to the printing surface and hardened using UV light during the printing process, resulting in a glossy coating on the stock, in any design that you want. This effectively gives a texture and focal point to your design, as other areas of the printing surface are untreated.
Foiling:
Foiling uses metallic foil applied to the printing surface using heat and pressure. This results in adding reflective properties to the stock and adds an aspect of luxury to the design. It is mainly used on one specific area, such as a logo or title of a book.
Embossing:
Embossing gives the page more texture and depth. It works by creating a stencil, usually out of metal and is pressed into the page. Shadows and highlights are produced in the design at whatever angle you hold it from, which can't be produced by any other method. Usually, embossing is combined with other techniques such as foiling, to enhance the effects of both techniques.
Letterpress:
Letterpress is one of the oldest techniques. Some printers may also call letterpress debossing, as you can create depth the opposite way to embossing using this technique. Traditionally, letterpress was used to apply ink to the page. as a form of relief printing, to put large portions of text onto the page.
Fragrance burst:
More commonly known as scratch and sniff, fragrance burst finishing is very popular with magazines and leaflets, generally advertising perfumes. Most scents can be re-created, and there's many more opportunities than sampling just perfume and aftershaves. Using the scratch and sniff finish can stimulate the reader and make them more engaged with the design.
Metallic and Fluorescent inks:
Although they're quite a simple finish and have been used for some time, these inks still offer a large visual impact and attention grabbing factor. You can achieve this by screen printing, or replacing the ink in the printer, e.g. replacing the magenta in a regular printer with fluorescent pink.
Thermochromic:
Using heat sensitive inks has a wide range of possibilities. You could use them to respond to touch, or the temperature change in a room. You could have it reveal a hidden message, or make it so the artwork changes completely. As the inks are available in varying temperatures, this process can be employed for moisture, chill, cook and heat reactions, as well as touch.
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