Matte, gloss or soft touch: choosing a cover finish

Your cover is the first thing a reader touches, and its finish shapes that moment. After the cover is printed, it is sealed with a thin layer of film called lamination. That layer protects the ink and sets the look and feel. You have three to choose from: matte, gloss and soft touch.

What lamination does

Lamination is a clear film bonded over the printed cover. It does two jobs:

• Protection. It guards the ink against scuffs, moisture and the wear of being carried in bags and stacked on tables.
• Look and feel. It decides whether the cover shines or stays quiet, and whether it feels slick or soft.

The film is very thin, so it does not change your design. It does change how colors read and how light plays across the cover.

Matte

Matte lamination has a smooth, low sheen surface. It feels calm and refined, and there is very little glare, so the cover reads well under bright lights and in photos.

Colors look a little softer under matte than under gloss, and very dark colors can look slightly lighter. Most designs still look rich, and many literary novels, memoirs and nonfiction books use matte for its understated feel.

One thing to know: matte can show scuff marks and rub marks, especially on large areas of dark color. A cover that is mostly black or deep navy will show handling more than a light cover.

Gloss

Gloss lamination is shiny and reflective. It makes colors pop, deepens blacks and gives photos a crisp, vivid look. It is a natural fit for bold, colorful designs and for books that need to stand out from across a room.

Gloss is also tough. Its hard, smooth surface resists scuffing and wipes clean easily, which makes it a practical choice for children's books and books that will be handled a lot.

The tradeoffs are glare under direct light and fingerprints that show on the shiny surface, though they wipe away.

Soft touch

Soft touch lamination has a velvety, almost suede like feel. It looks similar to matte, with a very low sheen, but the texture is what people notice. Readers often run their fingers across it without thinking.

It gives a book a premium, tactile quality, and it pairs especially well with foil and spot UV, because the shine of those effects stands out against the soft surface.

Soft touch tends to mark more easily than gloss. It can pick up scuffs and oils from hands, which show most on dark covers. Like matte, it softens colors slightly compared with gloss.

Which suits your book

There is no wrong answer, but some pairings are common:

• Literary fiction, memoir and nonfiction. Matte or soft touch, for a quiet, considered look.
• Genre fiction with bold art. Gloss, to make strong colors and imagery jump.
• Picture books. Gloss is a practical choice for durability and easy cleaning. Matte suits gentler, painterly art.
• Gift editions and special releases. Soft touch, often with foil or spot UV, for a book people want to hold.

Look at the books you admire in your genre. Notice how they look in a stack, and how they feel when you pick them up. That is often the quickest way to decide.

Adding foil or spot UV

You can add foil or spot UV on top of your lamination to highlight parts of the cover.

• Foil is a thin metallic layer, such as gold or silver, pressed onto areas like a title or an author name.
• Spot UV is a clear, glossy coating applied only to chosen areas, so they shine against the rest of the cover. It is most striking over matte or soft touch.

Both need a separate mask file that shows exactly where the effect goes. Our guide to preparing a foil and spot UV mask walks through it step by step.

Hardcovers and dust jackets

On a hardcover with a printed case wrap, the finish protects the printed wrap around the boards. If you add a dust jacket, the jacket is what readers see and handle first, so think about how the finish will look and wear there too. Tell us if you want the case and the jacket finished differently. The cover template for your specs shows the full layout for the case wrap and the jacket.

Choosing with confidence

Finishes are much easier to judge in person than on a screen, and colors shift a little under each one. Order a sample pack to feel matte, gloss and soft touch side by side. When you are ready, choose your cover finish and any add ons in the spec picker as you start your book, and your quote will include it.