JDS Industries’ Ultra Smooth White Leatherette sheet stock provides a bright, smooth surface designed to give UV printers more creative options—from quick, single-layer prints to dimensional designs featuring raised textures and gloss effects.
Available in 12″ x 24″ sheets, Ultra Smooth White Leatherette comes in two versions: one with a heat-activated adhesive backing for a strong, permanent bond and another without adhesive for applications that require more flexibility in how the material is mounted or used.
The smooth, ultra-white surface is especially well suited for UV printing because colors can be printed directly onto the material without requiring a white underbase. That can help reduce both print time and ink usage while still producing bright, accurate colors.
The material is also laserable. Because the bright white top layer is slightly thicker than standard leatherette, however, laser settings may need to be adjusted by slowing the raster speed or increasing power.
From Flat Printing to Dimensional Texture
One of the advantages of Ultra Smooth White Leatherette is the ability to create very different effects from the same artwork.
A design can be printed as a simple, single-pass color image with no white underbase or texture. The same artwork can then be modified to add texture throughout the design or to selectively raise individual elements such as lettering.
This makes it possible to create:
- Flat, single-pass color prints
- Full or all-over texture
- Selectively raised design elements
- Raised lettering
- Gloss effects
- Combinations of texture and gloss
The process demonstrated here uses CorelDRAW to prepare the artwork and RasterLink with a Mimaki UJF-6042 printer to create the dimensional print.
Step 1: Prepare the Color Artwork
Start with the finished color artwork at the desired print size. In this example, a 2.5″ x 2.5″ PNG with a transparent background is used.
The color artwork can be sent directly to the printer without a white underbase. Because the leatherette itself provides a smooth, bright white surface, the color layer can be printed directly onto the material.
This provides a useful baseline for comparing a standard flat print with the dimensional versions created next.
Step 2: Identify the Areas You Want to Raise
Next, create a black-and-white version of the artwork that identifies which portions of the design will receive the dimensional build.
In this workflow:
Black areas represent the portions of the artwork that will be raised. White areas remain flat.
Adjusting the black-and-white artwork allows you to control exactly where the dimensional effect appears.
For example, you can make large portions of the design dimensional for an all-over textured appearance. Or you can isolate specific elements—such as a few words or letters—to create a more selective raised effect.
When preparing these different layers, keep each file at exactly the same size and position. Maintaining consistent placement allows the texture and color layers to align correctly when they are brought into RasterLink.
Step 3: Build the Texture Layers in RasterLink
Once the black-and-white texture file is imported into RasterLink, the dimensional build can begin.
Duplicate the texture artwork four times, creating five plates. Each plate is then assigned a mono color based on the black portions of the artwork.
The layers are built using black, yellow, magenta and cyan, with white used as the final top layer.
Building the texture with multiple ink colors distributes the build across the print heads instead of repeatedly adding more of the artwork’s finished colors. The final white layer also creates a suitable base for the color artwork that will be printed over the dimensional build.
Combine the plates before sending the texture build to the printer.
Step 4: Control the Height with Overprints
The number of overprints determines how much dimensionality is added.
A lower number creates a relatively subtle texture, while additional overprints produce a more pronounced raised effect.
In the demonstration, five overprints create a noticeable but moderate texture. Increasing the setting to eight produces a much more dramatic effect, particularly when used to raise only selected lettering.
The ideal setting will depend on the appearance and tactile effect you want to achieve.
Step 5: Print the Color Layer
After the dimensional layers have been printed, send the original color artwork over the texture build.
Because the texture and color files were created at the same dimensions and positioned consistently, the color artwork aligns with the raised areas beneath it.
The result is the original full-color design with selected areas physically elevated from the surface.
Get Creative with Texture, Gloss and Dimension
The same piece of artwork can produce dramatically different finished results depending on how the layers are constructed.
Keep the artwork flat for a fast, straightforward print. Add texture throughout the image for an all-over dimensional effect. Select individual letters or graphic elements to create contrast between raised and flat areas. You can even add gloss layers to introduce another level of visual and tactile interest.
All of these effects can be produced using the same Ultra Smooth White Leatherette surface.
That flexibility gives decorators the opportunity to choose between fast, efficient production and more elaborate dimensional designs—or experiment with combinations of color, texture and gloss to create something entirely new.
Whether you’re creating a simple full-color print or exploring dimensional UV effects, Ultra Smooth White Leatherette provides a versatile blank canvas for putting your creativity to work.
Ready to learn more? Contact JDS Industries, visit us online or connect with us on social media for more information about Ultra Smooth White Leatherette and other personalization products.