Everything You Need To Know About Adding A Varnish To Your Prints

This post will cover everything you need to know about adding a clear ink varnish to your prints. We’ll cover what a varnish is, how it’s done, what types of varnishes can be done, as well as why varnishes are used.

Clear Ink Varnish

Our clear ink varnishes are available in either gloss or matte. Gloss varnishes are often used to add a high gloss look to an artistic print, while matte varnishes are used in a variety of applications and can cut down on glare. Both types of varnish are typically done as a visual choice, because the varnish doesn’t offer better protection than a laminate it’s primary benefits are the look. Varnishes are very popular when it comes to indoor art prints, and is a great way to make a decorative print look extremely high end.

The varnish is applied using our flatbed printer, and is done by printing multiple layers of clear ink over the top of the print. A varnish is typically printed on immediately after the color print is finished to make sure that the print is still clean. Whether the varnish is gloss or matte actually depends on the curing process. If the clear ink is UV cured immediately it will have a matte finish, if the clear ink is given a moment to spread out and settle before being cured it will be glossy.