Clear Coating protects the graphics on the box from scuffing. Aqueous or water based coatings are environmentally friendly more easily recyclable.
Aqueous Coated Boxes do not yellow as easily as oil-based varnishes do over time. Aqueous Coated Boxes are more environmentally friendly and more recyclable because aqueous coatings use water-based inks and coatings instead of oil-based or grease-based inks and coatings.
Aqueous Coated Boxes are do not require you to “spot” the varnish to avoid the glued areas. Oil based varnish finishes repel both glue and ink placed on top of it. Often, other parts of a printed box or card must also be free of varnish so that it can be written or printed on at a later date. An example would be the need to mark a carton with a part number, lot number or bar code after being filled with product.
Varnished boxes consist of three typical types.
The first is the popular aqueous varnished box. Aqueous is a water-based coating and offers some advantages over petroleum-based varnishes. First, it is compatible with water-based glue. Secondly, it does not yellow with age. Thirdly, some people prefer the gloss over petroleum-based varnish. Finally, it is more scuff-resistant than typical petroleum-based varnish.
A second common clear coating is a regular petroleum-based varnished box. Varnished boxes of this type are not compatible with glue and, therefore, must be “spot” applied. This means that the glue area must be free of varnish as well as areas that you might want to print post filling the box.
The third typical varnished box employs UV-coating which use ultra violet light to dry. It is, in effect, a plastic coating. UV varnished box finishing is not easily recyclable. It produces a very high gloss and can be used for one of three typical purposes: to make the overall box glossy; to make a box water repellent or it is often used as a spot coating to highlight certain aspects of the graphics.
There are more “finishing” specialties that can be done to enhance the graphics of a package. These include embossing, debossing, and foil lamination.
