A magnetic field is applied to planarize magnetic pigment flakes relative to a surface. In many applications pigment flakes tend to align parallel to each other and to the surface to which they are applied. In some printing operations, pigment flakes that are applied parallel to the substrate are pulled out of plane when the print screen or printing die is lifted off the substrate. If the pigment flakes include a suitable magnetic structure, a magnetic field can be applied to subsequently align the flakes or enhance the alignment of the flakes in the plane of the substrate if the carrier that the flakes are dispersed in is still fluid, enhancing the visual quality of the printed image, especially with optically variable pigments.