Spot Varnish in Sign Design

Commercial printers use a printing technique called spot varnish. It’s a technique that they have used forever. The term refers to a printing a coating of varnish onto selects parts of a design. Usually the varnish is glossy. But it doesn’t have to be. Spot varnish can also be matte or satin.  Whether the varnish is glossy or not is inconsequential. The uses of printing spot varnish are all the same: either to draw attention to a specific part of a printed page or to serve as a decorative design element.  

In designing a sign or a point-of-purchase display, spot varnish can also be very effective. Butch “SuperFrog” Anton sent me a picture (shown below) of an example of how he used this technique in creating a subtle decorative border for a menu board.

Mounted just below the menu board (pictured) is a metal match box with chalk in it as well as a bottle of Rapidtac and a cloth for cleaning between uses.

For this project, Butch refurbished a menu board that had been in service for five years. After applying RTape ChalkTalk® chalkboard film to a metal plate in the center of the sign, Butch plotter cut the border design using RTape ProGrade™ paint mask.  The design was reverse weeded and applied to the ChalkTalk® covered panel. He then brushed Frog Juice onto the border image area and removed the mask.  

When the Frog Juice was dry, Butch applied the cut vinyl reading “Welcome to the Lake” and the airbrushed vinyl graphic of the loon of the lake to the sign. The ChalkTalk® menu board was ready for use. On today’s lunch menu are Bloody Marys. I have a feeling that someone’s not going back to work this afternoon.  

What a great idea, Butch! What do we call this sign technique? Spot Frog Juice?

About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.

Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer.  Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.

Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for  publications, such as  Signs Canada, SignCraft,  Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and  Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.

© 2015 Jim Hingst