Commercial Printing on Uncoated Paper
Photos and text will not be as crisp if printed on an uncoated press sheet, but this might actually be the effect you want. Let’s say you’re designing a brochure print job for a paper company and you want to showcase the environmental benefits of a certain paper stock. An uncoated sheet might just project the muted “look” you want. The crispness of the gloss coated sheet, or even the dull coated sheet, might actually conflict with the earthy, environmental tone you’re trying to convey.
That said, inks printed on uncoated paper seep into the substrate because there’s no coating to support the ink film (this is called “holdout”). Process inks and spot colors can seep into the fibers and look dull. Talk with your commercial printing vendor about this. He will be able to “open” the separations to allow for a lighter coating of ink on press. When this lighter amount of ink seeps into the paper (causing “dot gain” as it spreads), the more open screens (with smaller halftone dots) will compensate for the dot gain, and the overall effect will be more pleasing. The images won’t appear to be over-inked.
This does, however, require a fair amount of skill on your custom printing supplier’s part, so you may want to discuss your goals with your printer early in the process and/or attend a press inspection to check the overall results.
Read more at https://www.printindustry.com/blog/2014/05/custom-printing-a-few-thoughts-on-paper-stocks/
