Cover and printing techniques

Cover graphics and printing play a very important role in any project as these elements give the reader a very first impression of a book. Cover images may be printed directly on the coating, usually in four-colour offset printing, but there are also many possibilities to add a special touch with lithography or letterpress printing, or by choosing a coloured paper and overprinting text and graphics using screen printing or heat printing techniques.

Dopo la stampa, il libro viene assemblato tramite la legatura. Esistono carte specifiche per questo processo, caratterizzate da un’elevata resistenza all’abrasione, allo strappo e alla luce, solitamente sottoposte a trattamenti anti-graffio e anti-impronta. La legatura cartonata (hardback) è realizzata rivestendo degli elementi in cartone, i due piatti e il dorso, con un foglio di carta. Una delle sue varianti più utilizzate è la bodoniana, caratterizzata da due piatti rigidi e da un dorso flessibile.

Grammatura suggeritaX
Piatti: da 500 gsm a 700 gsm
Rivestimento: da 100 gsm a 140 gsm

Text-only books

For text-only books, matte paper is usually used, preferably natural, to avoid any unpleasant effects caused by reflected light. For the same reason it is better to opt for a whiteness which is not too bright or for light colours which contrast well with the text. In all cases, the degree of opacity must be taken into consideration as the retro text could end up being too visible thus interfering with reading (although well-calibrated transparency can become a very interesting feature). Finally, grammage and the way fibres lie are important factors to remember, because the way a book feels in the hands is an essential part of the reading experience.

Coloured papers

One of the most frequent uses of coloured papers is for covers and for endpapers, but it is not rare to also find them on the inside pages of books. Four-colour printing on coloured paper is complex, but can be worthwhile, as long as chromatic consistency to the original image is not required. Alternatively, printing a white ink layer first with HP Indigo or screen printing for example may prevent the colour of the substrate from interfering with the image. You can achieve very interesting effects by processing the images in a creative way. For example, by printing the negative of an image with a bright covering ink on dark paper. Coloured paper is also an excellent solution to highlight the different sections of a publication, easily drawing the reader’s attention to a specific page.