Can we talk about the guy who swore matte lamination ruined every flyer he made?

At a zine swap in Portland last summer, this older designer told me to never use matte lamination on anything with small text because it kills the contrast. I thought he was being dramatic. So I went ahead and ordered 500 bookmarks with tiny type and matte finish for a local band. After they arrived, I could barely read the tour dates from three feet away. The colors looked dull and the lines got all blurry. Has anyone else run into this problem with matte coatings, or did I just pick a bad printer?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_piper2d ago

That sucks. I've seen matte lamination wreck plenty of small text, especially on dark backgrounds. It's a real thing with cheaper printers, not just you being dramatic.

the_viola2d ago

Ever tried requesting no lamination on the fine print? Works wonders for me.