Printing gradient over metallic silver

Question

I have a logo design that contains gradient which I want to be printed on a metallic silver paper. Should I add a white plate with white gradient behind the logo but I am afraid white area will show through the gradient. Will it be fine if I just use the logo with gradient without white plate? But according to my knowledge every colored area except black should have a white plate behind it when printing over metallic silver. So I have two concerns, If I don't use white plate behind logo it might not get printed properly or If I use white gradient plate behind it might show white area instead of metallic silver paper. If you say I can use my logo that contains gradient without white plate and it will be printed fine over metallic silver, my problem will be solved.

Answer 1

The white color is showing because, in offset lithography, the white color is opaque, and the red (or M+Y) is much more transparent. There are a few options you can make in this cases:

• don't use the white plate behind red (only for the lettering). In that case, you will get a darker, rich color with a metallic effect, and it looks great, but it depends on the look and feel you wish to accomplish. If you need a strong red, avoid this option.
• if using a white background, the gradient shouldn't be the same as the red gradient, because you'll encounter the issue you already have. The gradient should start somewhere around the position of the letter "P" in your logo and end around "T". Basically, it should be shorter, and than you won't see the white behind the red gradient.
• the third option is to start the white gradient with 50-70% white, and finish in 0%, so that you don't have a solid white at all in that area. What you`ll accomplish with this approach is to get a nice red, but it will get some depth to it, because a small amount of metallic paper will shine through and interact with the transparent red. This way you get the best of both worlds - using the advantages of a more expensive metalized paper and the opaqueness of white. You may need to make a test with reducing or enhancing the pressure of white plate during the print process to get the right result.