What is Aqueous Coating?

This clear coating provides a high gloss surface which protects the surface from dirt, smudges, fingerprints and scratch. Aqueous coating improves postcards durability as they go through mail or inserted in pockets. It is also applied on brochures, catalog covers, flyers and other visual ads.
Aqueous coatings are applied to printed sheet right after the inks. Directly after the coating is applied, the sheets are sent through a heated air system that quickly dries the coating. The printed sheets can progress to the finishing department in a matter of minutes, as opposed to traditional varnishes which may need hours or even days to dry.

This type of coatings provide marvelous rub and scuff resistance. They give protection that far exceeds standard varnishes. It protects the product from harmful elements from the shipment through to end use. They are available in gloss and matte finishes.

In http://www.airportprinting.com, it discussed several pointers about aqueous coating. “A variety of finishes can be produced in a flood coating, as follows: High Gloss Coating is the glossiest finish but can coat only one side of the sheet. Regular Gloss Coating produces a shinier finish than a gloss varnish, but not as glossy as High Gloss.” One of its remarkable advantages is that you can coat both sides of the sheet.

The said website also provided typical situations requiring an aqueous coating. They are the following:

Your printed piece will be heavily handled: Aqueous coatings will protect your project by providing more scuff resistance than varnishes and still yield brilliant metallic inks. In addition, aqueous coatings won’t yellow with age, as varnishes do.

Your deadline was yesterday: Applying a flood aqueous coating in a job printed on two sides is more time efficient because it is fast drying. There is no drying time required between coating the first and second side. Your job can be handled immediately, even in the bindery.

When a No. 2 paper doesn’t cut the mustard: Aqueous coatings can enhance lesser grade papers by yielding a glossier and smoother finish. A big advantage of aqueous is that it requires only minimal amounts of powder, which yields a better gloss than varnish.

Your printing budget was reduced: Aqueous coating is the least expensive coating option. You can print multiple colors plus the aqueous coat-coating in one sheet-pass.