Where it works
- Over a matte laminate or matte coating, which gives the contrast.
- Logos, wordmarks, icons, repeating patterns and photos.
- Folding cartons, rigid box wraps and some labels.
Where it struggles: on uncoated, kraft or recycled board without a matte base (the gloss soaks in and barely shows), very fine lines or small type, and across folds where the coating can crack.
Setting up spot gloss in Packaroo
Packaroo calls this finish spot gloss. Give a layer the Spot gloss finish and draw the gloss area on it as a solid shape. Do not use transparency or gradients: the coating is on or off. For a gloss logo over a printed logo, place the gloss shape exactly on top; the printer may ask for it 0.1 to 0.2 mm smaller to hide slight misregistration.
The 3D preview shows the gloss areas shining as you turn the pack. On export, spot gloss arrives in the spec pack as its own plate. Spot gloss works on mailer boxes, folding cartons and labels.