1st time printing metallic- help and advice sought

[intolight]

new to the forum- hello - and new to printing with a metallic. What i want to do is to print a metallic with some color showing through under it in places. Not sure if this can be done or how. From reading posts on this web site the information i've found says you can screen metallics but they are super opaque and will overprint everything.

Here is a link to the piece:
http://intolight.biz/metallic/
The large brown circular stamp is the metallic, which you can see some of the green wavy shape showing through. The file was created in InDesign CS3. The metallic shape was brought in as a solid bitmap and set to 64% opacity and overprint fill.

Not sure if this is the way to achieve the results or what results i would get from printing this way or if there is another way. Would appreciate hearing from any who knows how to do this. Also wouldn't mind hearing advice on any general information that i might need to know about printing with metallics.

thanks for any help
gregory

ps.Also some of the text is set to a metallic ink. Not sure if this is a good idea and will be readable.

[PrintDriver]

I'm curious on this one, 4-color print guys.
Can you set a metallic to 64% opacity?

[GraphixNPrint]

PD & intolight; for our metallics we set the file up CMYK and add a spot channel that is 100% k for the metallics coverage area. This method will produce the metallic coloring closest to the underlying color.

If your looking at a single metallic, such as Pantone 877C we use a separate layer that is 100% k for where the spot metallic will go. In this method you get a pure metallic of the color you choose.

[Kool]

Metallic is super dense and will overprint any color below it. I never tried running it as a screen so I'm not sure about that.

[budafist]

We've run metallics as duotones with black for photography (so it would have had plenty of screens). It works. That's all I can say.

I can't remember if we print metallic first or black first though.

64% screen would just mean that you have dots further apart on the plate, it's not like the metallic is diluted to 64% strength or anything ;)

So it being an opaque ink shouldn't affect a screen.

[PrintDriver]

I wasn't sure about the metallic bits and whether it would stay metallic looking. We have trouble with that in silkscreen. Just wondered if it was the same on press.

[budafist]

Screens of metallic don't look as sparkley as solids. I guess you need that solid coverage to be able to see the flecks.

[garricks]

It depends on the substrate, too. Coated stock will cause the ink to sit pretty on top of the coating. On uncoated stock the ink will soak in some. I remember a coworker printed with metallic on uncoated a while back, it makes a very dull metallic. I don't remember if she screened it, though.

[grfxboy]

My worry would be that the color (assuming PMS877) of the metallic and the "greenish wave" would produce a very ugly dark baby poo color, when screened this way.

I have screened metallics and lost alot of the flakes...it looked flat when printed, but never in this way. I would suggest to have a knock out screen

[jimking]

As stated, you can screen back your spot metallic and overprint the 4/c image underneath. Coated stock should be used for metallics and screening back the image will cause it to lose luster. If push comes to shove, you could have the wave (images) show through the white areas of the metallic globe only.