Coatings that protect your print.
A clear layer over the whole box that guards the print and sets how it looks and feels. Choose a laminate film for the most protection and a premium feel, or a varnish for a lighter, lower-cost finish.
Request a free quoteChoose your coating
Two kinds of coating, each in the finishes people ask for most.
Lamination
A thin film over your print - matte, gloss or soft-touch - that protects the box and changes how it looks and feels.
Learn more
Varnish
A clear liquid coating - matte, gloss or semi-gloss - that finishes and protects the print at a lower cost than lamination.
Learn more Not sure which?Ask us in your quoteCoatings, in detail
What is a packaging coating?
A clear layer over the whole printed box that protects the print and sets its finish.
Every coating does two jobs: it stops the ink rubbing, scuffing and marking, and it decides whether the box looks matte, glossy or somewhere between. There are two kinds - a laminate, which is a thin film, and a varnish, which is a printed liquid.
Lamination or varnish?
Lamination protects more and feels more premium; varnish is lighter, lower in cost and easier to recycle.
Choose lamination for gift boxes and premium boxes that are handled often or kept. Choose varnish for cartons and mailers, large runs and eco-minded packaging, because a film makes board harder to recycle.
Matte, gloss or soft-touch?
Matte is calm and glare-free, gloss makes colours brighter, and soft-touch adds a velvety feel.
Matte and gloss come as both lamination and varnish, with semi-gloss varnish in between. Soft-touch is at its best as a laminate, and a lower-cost soft-touch varnish exists for larger runs.
Can I add foil or spot UV on top?
Yes - and they stand out most on a matte or soft-touch coating.
A calm, matte background makes metallic foil and glossy spot UV catch the light. We mark every finish on your digital proof so you can see how they sit together before anything is printed.