You have a message to convey in your marketing. But how can you make that message stand out from the rest? How about by creating print collateral that literally stands out with texture?

Thanks to spot UV technology, it’s now more affordable than ever to add texture—and a tactile experience—to your marketing collateral.

But is a feature like that really a big deal?

In a word, absolutely! Check out these four compelling reasons why adding texture to your print collateral can help nail the wow factor.

1. The Scientific Evidence is In On the Power of Touch—Use it to Your Advantage

First, before we jump right into the texture feature, let’s just start with the feel of higher-quality print products.

In a study conducted by neuroscientist David Eagleman, people who read—and held—company brochures using high-quality coated paper gave higher favorability ratings and were three times more likely to recall company names.

This is in comparison with people who read the same information on both low-quality, non-coated paper and digital tablet screens.

And when you add the kind of tactile experience that spot UV can create, the news gets even better. According to Forbes.com, researchers have found that “Some people have more ‘Need for Touch’ than others; for those people, touch plays a huge role in purchase decisions.”

Closely related, research led by University of Wisconsin-Madison marketing professor Joann Peck has shown incorporating an element of touch in nonprofit marketing collateral increased recipients’ willingness to donate time and money.

2. Create a High-Impact Effect by Engaging a Combination of Senses

So what’s the effect of adding texture to your materials with spot UV? Simply put, you’re engaging not just one sense but two.

Of course that assumes you can compel someone to actually handle your collateral—and that brings up an added benefit of spot UV.

The way that light can reflect off of the spot UV textured coating produces an eye-catching effect, like a fish to an irresistibly shiny and inviting lure.

Then the one-two combo of spot UV culminates when a person experiences the pleasantly surprising effect of touching and feeling what the piece is communicating.

For example, this holiday flyer includes raised textured designs of stars, swirls, and other features. Who wouldn’t want to run their fingers over it?

It’s not hard to understand how that could grab a person’s attention—which is no small thing in a world where your customers are increasingly harder to impress.

3. Highlight Select Elements and Communicate Your Identity More Effectively

Here’s a crucial point to understand about the spot UV feature: Its high-impact effect doesn’t necessarily depend on the quantity of texture your piece has.

To put it another way, the “spot” part of spot UV is important because a little can go a long way.

That means it can be a powerful feature when it comes to selecting specific elements and drawing attention to them.

Consider the following example.

If you were to rub your fingers across the background, you would experience the various surface elevations of coating, from flat in some places to bumpy in others. The footprint itself is raised off the page but smooth in texture.  

Let’s break down what’s happening a bit more:

• Right out of the gate, the piece is extra-noticeable with the way the light plays off of the UV coating. Does that really feel the way it looks?!
• As the piece is picked up and handled, it’s nearly impossible to not run your fingers over the raised water droplet bumps and the elevated footprint. Additionally, the droplets simulate a “wet” feeling thanks to the spot UV.
• Let’s say you’re a pool company or you specialize in luxury showers. Now you’re also effectively driving home a couple of fundamental messages about who you are and what you do—all because of the spot UV feature.
• You’re leaving an impression: Wow, this is impressive! This company really thought this through. That says a lot about who they are.

And remember, this could be one part of a multi-page brochure or just a portion of a flyer. In other words, you don’t have to coat your entire piece with this feature.

4. Take Advantage of an Affordable Print Feature With Built-In Value

Spot UV isn’t the first texture-driven feature in printing. You actually have lots of cool options like foil stamping, embossing, and specialty papers.

But what really makes spot UV exciting is its affordability.

Thanks to advances in the technology, along with improvements to the overall digital printing process, you now have an embellishment feature that requires virtually no set-up costs.

For example, the dye costs that are part of conventional embellishment options are gone with the spot UV option, which is a huge cost saver. That also helps make the spot UV cost effective even for smaller quantity runs.

And don’t forget that the added expense of spot UV can be well worth it when you consider that it can accomplish the following:

• Augment the overall quality of your brand presentation, especially important if you’re selling a premium product or service
• Underscore exactly what it is you want someone to remember about you
• Increase your hit/response by creating a memorable sensory experience that compels people to follow-up with you

Want to learn more about how spot UV can be used in you print collateral?