[e.boal]

I no very little about print...I have designed a cover for a document that I want printed high gloss...it is completely black with white text...this might sound stupid but is a 'white ink' printed onto a black surface or a white page printed completely black leaving everything else white?

Is there anything I need to do for teh printer to be able to print my work?

[steveb]

Not a stupid question, at all.
There are two ways to do this - the ways you describe. The difference is in COST.
Black ink is part of the regular printing process (it's the K in CMYK, meaning Key). So the normal way of producing your cover would be to print black ink on white paper of the weight (thickness) you need. Then another glossy ink covers the entire thing and there you have it. Version 1.

The second way is to print with a special white ink which has to be ordered specially and printed on a non-regular press because it has no place in the normal printing process. If the base colour is dark - as it is in this case - there's a good chance that the white ink will look a little dull, unless it's an ultra expensive ink more like thick paint which dries to a beautiful glossy finish but the process is very expensive. And then, depending on how shiny the black material is, you might still want to apply the glossy varnish ink, making it even more expensive.

Whatever you decide on, you will almost certainly end up sending a PDF file with the cover design to the printer. But before you do, get a quote from a couple of local printers, explain to them clearly what you want, and ask them what they in turn need from you to produce what you want. If they're worth doing business with, they'll be happy to help.

[e.boal]

Excellent advice...thank you very much! Exactly what I was looking for!

[steveb]

Glad to help!

[austers]

(it's the K in CMYK, meaning Key)

Now I finally know what the K stands for lol!