Overview
Gilder reads what the designer asked for: a spot colour called Gold Foil, Red Foil, Holographic or Spot UV. If the file is plain CMYK, it suggests finishes for you to pick from. You see the foil catch the light, then it writes the files your embellisher needs. The preview is drawn from the same files Gilder saves, so what you see is what goes to the embellisher.
Open it from Home. Open PDF… opens a file — or drop one on the window — and Samples… opens ready-made artwork.
The online edition runs in your browser: your files are never uploaded, and everything it saves is marked as a demo.
How Gilder reads a file
Every spot colour in the PDF is read by its name. A name with one of these words in it becomes that finish; anything else is treated as an ordinary ink.
| Spot colour name contains | Finish |
|---|
| holo, rainbow, iridescent, diffraction | Rainbow hologram — or Prism, Sparkle or Pinstripe hologram when the name also says prism, sparkle/glitter or stripe |
| rose with gold or foil | Rose gold foil |
| foil or metallic with blue, red or green | Blue, red or green foil — a colour word on its own (“Pantone Red”) stays an ordinary spot |
| silver, chrome, platinum, aluminium | Silver foil |
| gold, foil, metallic, gilt, bronze, copper, brass | Gold foil |
| deboss | Deboss (pressed in) |
| emboss, blind | Emboss (raised, no ink) |
| UV, spot UV, varnish, gloss, coating, clear, raised | Spot UV gloss |
The File section shows what the file is and what the designer asked for: each spot colour Gilder found and the finish it took it to be.
Suggestions for plain CMYK files
The Embellishment section lists As designed (when the file marks its finishes) and then the suggestions. Click one to see it on the card.
- Gold headline — the largest type on the page in gold foil
- Silver lettering — all the type in silver foil
- Gold accents — lines, shapes and graphics in gold foil
- Embossed headline — the largest type raised off the sheet, a blind emboss with no ink
- Hologram headline — the largest type in a rainbow holographic foil
- Gloss photographs — Spot UV over the pictures so they pop off a matte sheet
- Gold headline, gloss pictures — foil on the headline and Spot UV on the photographs
- The works — gold headline and accents, gloss photographs
A suggestion that would come out the same as one already listed is left out.
Finishes and what they cover
Gilder has thirteen finishes: gold, silver, rose gold, blue, red and green foil; rainbow, prism, sparkle and pinstripe holograms; Spot UV gloss; emboss; and deboss.
The Finishes section lists each finish on the page. Change a finish there to swap it for another — gold for rose gold, say.
To change what a finish covers, choose the finish under Clicks add to and click objects on the card: a click adds the object to the finish, and clicking it again takes it off. Gilder copies the object itself onto the finish plate, so type and logos stay sharp vectors.
The preview
- Light: Follow mouse moves the light with the pointer, Sweep moves it across the card by itself, Still holds it.
- View: Finished, Print only (the CMYK the press prints) or Finish only (the plates).
- Zoom: scroll the mouse wheel over the card, drag to move it, and double-click or press 0 to fit. The − / Fit / + buttons do the same.
- Pages: ‹ and › step through a multi-page file; each page keeps its own finishes.
Media and white ink
The Media section sets the stock the card is shown on: coated white, uncoated white, kraft board, metallic silver, gold, champagne or rose gold, or pearl shimmer.
On a metallic stock, tick White ink under the artwork for an opaque white printed under the artwork, so the metal only shows where nothing is printed.
Production files
Create files… writes the files to a folder you choose. The Production files section sets how they are laid out:
| Layout | What you get |
|---|
| Separate files | A CMYK file for the press and one file per finish for the embellisher. |
| One file, finishes on layers | The artwork plus each finish on its own layer, in its spot ink, set to overprint. |
| One file, finishes as pages | Each page followed by its finish plates: CMYK front, foil front, CMYK back, foil back. |
Each finish has an ink name — the spot colour name the embellisher’s RIP expects. Change it there to match your machine; Gilder remembers it.
Press sheets and 3D
Gilder does not impose. Impose › opens the card in the ImposeIQ Imposer with each finish as a layer in register; pick the sheet and the marks there — DC, OMR, QR, DDC or DPC — and the plates stay in register through imposition.
View in 3D opens the card in the 3D Viewer: cut out, with its edges, and every finish lit.
Export video
Export video… records the card turning in the light, as it looks now, to a WebM video that loops cleanly — for the customer, the website or the showroom screen.
- Frame: landscape 1920 × 1080, square 1080 × 1080, or vertical 1080 × 1920 for stories and reels
- Length: 4, 6, 10 or 15 seconds
- Motion: the card turns as the light sweeps, or the light sweeps and the card stays still
Unlicensed and online copies record with a DEMO mark.
Settings and samples
The gear button chooses which sections Gilder shows down the side. A section that is off is not used either: with Media off the card is shown on coated white. Unfold every section opens them all again.
Samples… opens nine pieces of artwork. Six are marked by the designer — a Valentine in gold foil, a wedding invitation in rose gold with a blind emboss, a holiday card in red, green and gold foil, a business card with hologram, silver and Spot UV, a concert ticket with four holograms and blue foil, and a letterpress thank-you card with deboss and emboss. Three are plain CMYK, to try the suggestions: a Valentine, a wine label and a party invitation.
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