Picture this: it’s January 2015 and we’ve just finished printing our latest Lynx promo, On Press with Lynx. As usual, the print jumped off the page with vibrant colors, the promo felt great in our hands and the images depicted the heart of the pressroom and the key to achieving optimal quality on your print job—the pressman. While it’s been six years since then, several of the strategies we used relative to ink are just as relevant today.

1. Metallic Ink

Yes, metallic ink can print beautifully on uncoated papers. Put the metallic ink in the first press unit and overprint your fine text and line work. Keep in mind that metallic inks may take longer to dry than standard process colors. Plan for extra time to ensure adequate drying before backing up your job. This will prevent the large pigment flakes in the metallic inks from picking.

2. Build a Rich Black

Although a solid single-color black will print well with good uniformity and acceptable density, building a 4-color black will give you incredible color depth. We like to use 100% black, 40% Cyan, 30% Magenta and 30% yellow.

3. Rearrange Your Rotation

If you are printing large blue solids or screens, consider moving the Cyan towards the end of your ink rotation. Cyan ink can be challenging with respect to ink mottle. By moving it to the end of your color sequence, you will see a much smoother ink lay.

We used these strategies in the printing of On Press with Lynx to create a piece with intense color and sharp images. You can wait to see this exceptional demonstration of the quality that can be achieved on uncoated stock. Or….go for it and use these suggestions to help make your next piece really stand out.

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