Are you looking for that extra piece of flair to add to your print project? You may want to consider our clear or silver toner. The clear resembles a spot UV or varnish coating, and the silver is actually a metallic toner.
Both of these unique toners operate independently of the machine’s standard CMYK toners, so you can get creative with sending the sheets of paper through multiple times. With the clear, you can send the sheet through up to 7 times to create a texture. The silver can be sent through a second time to overlay onto a color – converting almost any shade into a metallic version of itself.
Let’s go over how to create files that utilize these cool features of our digital press. They are both fairly similar in the way they’re set up. We’ll cover how to do it in Adobe InDesign, but the basic concept of what needs to be done is the same across all programs.
Of course we can also add these elements to your artwork if you don’t have the time ;)
Silver
STEP 1: Create a spot color with the exact name “Silver” – the name must have the first letter capitalized, and the rest lowercase. The actual color doesn’t matter (e.g. 100% Black is fine). The press will read the name of the color and convert it to the specialty toner.
STEP 2: Place your Silver spot color where you’d like it in the artwork.
STEP 3: Export the PDF. That’s it. If you need help creating the PDF, check out our Bleed and Crop Marks 101 post.
NOTES: If your project is printing on pure white paper, we’ve found that you’ll achieve the most optimal metallic shine by setting your Silver spot color to a tint of 40%. If you’re interested in using the silver toner to create another color (like gold) let us know and we can supply you with a preprinted sample sheet. This sample sheet includes various percentages of the silver overlaid onto other colors.
Clear
STEP 1: Create a spot color with the exact name “Clear” – the name must have the first letter capitalized, and the rest lowercase. The actual color doesn’t matter (e.g. 100% Black is fine). The press will read the name of the color and convert it to the specialty toner.
STEP 2: Place your Clear spot color where you’d like it in the artwork.
STEP 3: Convert all the fills and strokes using the Clear spot color to Overprint (in the Attributes panel). The Multiply layer effect will also produce the same outcome.
STEP 4: Export the PDF and make sure the “Create Acrobat Layers” box has a check mark in it. If you need help creating the PDF, check out our Bleed and Crop Marks 101 post.
NOTES: In addition to adding an extra glossy look to any piece, you can also get creative with watermarks or other subtle design elements. Since the standard CMYK digital toners already produce a glossy finish, you may not see the clear on a full-color image – in fact, it will produce a matte finish when multiple layers are applied. This is a really cool effect that we discovered through testing the limits of its capabilities. If there are lots of light colors or white in an image, it will give you that even gloss throughout. We can also add some interesting raised texture to your images with the multi-pass option.
Let us know if you have any questions or would like a printed sample pack of these specialty toners. Check out our other How-To posts for more helpful info, or give us a call at 949.988.7777. We’re happy to walk our customers through any issues they’re having with a print job.
-Scott
Graphic Artist at MT Litho Print Services