What Is Aqueous Coating?
Aqueous (AQ) coating is a water-based finish applied inline during the offset printing process. It dries quickly, protects the printed surface, and gives the finished piece a professional, polished look. This coating is available in gloss, matte, satin, or even soft-touch variations, depending on what you’re going for. In short: it’s that subtle layer that makes your printed piece feel finished.
Aqueous coating prevents smudges. It resists fingerprints. It helps colors pop. And it gives brochures, booklets, postcards, and packaging that extra bit of professionalism—without the higher cost of UV coating or lamination.
Without Aqueous Coating, It Might Feel Like Something’s Missing
Suppose you order new four-color product brochures, maybe a booklet, or just some direct mail postcards. Without aqueous coating, you may notice that the paper feels rougher than you expected. The colors look a little dull. Maybe there’s a scratch across the black ink. That “high-end” look you hoped for didn’t quite come through.
In the quest to simplify the production process, some printing companies are cutting out the very features that make print more durable, more vibrant, and more memorable. At Custom Printing, we see it differently. Aqueous coating isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s a standard.
Aqueous costing is also environmentally friendly. It is water-based and it emits very few volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It’s non-toxic, which helps keep waste clean. It also allows the coated material to be more easily recycled or repulped compared to other finishes like plastic laminates. Aqueous coating is designed for sustainability, producing less solid waste and requiring fewer toxic cleaning agents for equipment cleanup.
We use it on the majority of our offset jobs because it makes your printed piece better. And our family didn’t spend the last five decades perfecting our craft just to start taking the little things away from your final print project.
Think of AQ Like This:
- Brochures: AQ helps them resist scuffing when folded and handled.
- Presentation folders: AQ makes the colors look deeper and richer. And it keeps them that way.
- Mailers: AQ protects from minor moisture and abrasion in the postal system.
- Catalog covers: AQ adds a subtle gloss or matte finish that boosts your brand’s perceived value.
In fact, if you’ve ever felt like your printed marketing didn’t “hold up” as long as you wanted, or didn’t quite match your vision, there’s a good chance it lacked AQ coating.
So Why Would Any Printing Company Get Rid Of This Great Feature?
The short answer is: not all print companies prioritize finishing quality the way our family does.
When a shop replaces multiple offset presses with a single perfector, they often gain speed on 2-sided jobs, but they lose the flexibility to apply aqueous coating inline.
And they’ll often say: “Customers don’t notice.”
But we notice.
Print Is Tangible. The Finish Matters.
In a digital-first world, print has to make an extra impact. Every detail, from the paper stock to the coating to the trim, says something about your brand. Aqueous coating is one of those details that sets you apart, even if most people don’t know what it’s called.
We don’t speak negatively about other printing companies. But we do want to remind our customers that not all print is created equal, and shortcuts don’t always save you money.
- Does your current printing company offer aqueous coating on your projects?
- Have you ever held a brochure or mailer and felt like it was “missing something”?
- Are you confident your print materials are making the right impression, visually and tactically?
If you’re not sure, let our team walk you through the options and show you side-by-side examples so you can see and feel the difference.
Your Brand Deserves the Best
That’s why we never took AQ coating off the table.
In addition to our digital printing capabilities, we still run traditional offset presses that allow for inline aqueous coating. We do it because it’s the right choice for most print jobs. It’s about giving you a better product, every time.
So the next time you’re designing a direct mail piece, catalog, or company brochure, ask yourself:
“Will this be coated?”
And if not, why not?
We’d be happy to coat it, for durability, for protection, for that unmistakable quality feel.
Curious to see the difference?
Contact us for samples of aqueous-coated print projects, or to get a quote on your next brochure, mailer, or catalog. Your print should do more than deliver information. It should feel right in your customer’s hands.
Let’s make something worth holding onto.