From King Tutankhamun’s beautifully gilded coffin to elaborate, mass produced packaging design of the 20th century, metallics and foils have been widely used throughout history to apply ornament to a surface. Until recently the most popular way to produce a metallic lustre to a printed substrate has been hot foil stamping. Other methods include the use of metallic spot colour inks and metalicised paper. This may all be about to change with the introduction of cold foiling. While cold foiling technology definitely invites new and exiting graphic opportunities, there are also limitations that should also be considered (as there are with any production method).
Hot foiling is a letterpress process that works by using a heated die to cut and press a foil from a moving roll onto a substrate. A wide variety of colours and finishes are available from matte to holographic foils. One of the main advantages of this process is its tactile quality. Because the foil is literally stamped into the paper, it produces a nice three-dimensional quality. This process can also be integrated with embossing to heighten this effect.
Another key advantage of hot foiling is the fact that it can be applied to a wide range of stocks, specifically uncoated stock (that cannot be cold foiled). Also the lustre of the foil itself seems richer and brighter.
The disadvantages of hot foiling include the limited colour range and the expense. Typically a hot foiling job will be done after the CMYK printing process. Because there are two processes for the printer to set up, this will usually add to the overall cost. Also the cost of making the ‘die’ is much more expensive than simply creating a standard offset printing plate which cold foiling requires.
Cold foiling on the other hand is an in-line process that can be overprinted in full CMYK colour. This is its main advantage. Cold foiling works by firstly making a standard offset printing plate of the area you would like foiled. The plate then transfers a strong adhesive to the stock, which is then pressed against the foil with impression rollers. The foiled image is then stuck to the stock and UV cured. The un-foiled area is taken up onto a take up roll and recycled. The stock then passes through the standard CMYK inking and finishing process.
A significant advantage of cold foiling is the detailed line work that can be achieved. Lines as small as .05mm are visible with an 8pt serif font producing good results (10pt sans). Screen rulings up to 120lpi show all of the dots but up to 200lpi can also produce decent results. Because cold foiling is a part of the offset printing process, registration is far more accurate that hot foil stamping, which requires a completely different set up.
Overprinting the foil can produce spectacular images with a whole new world of graphic possibilities becoming available with the technology. The foil effect is still visible with up to 350% ink coverage on the top! The fact that only coated paper can be used is disappointing however this lends its use to applications such as large marketing campaigns, intricate labels or packaging design that asks for a unique point of difference.
To set up artwork for cold foiling simply create a separate channel in the photoshop file labelled “foil” or create a spot separation also labelled correctly.
Although cold foiling has been used extensively in Europe and Asia, it is very new to the Australian market with PrintLinx in Port Melbourne being the only supplier.
by Nicholas Meadows
From King Tutankhamun’s beautifully gilded coffin to elaborate, mass produced packaging design of the 20th century, metallics and foils have been widely used throughout history to apply ornament to a surface. Until recently the most popular way to produce a metallic lustre to a printed substrate has been hot foil stamping. Other methods include the use of metallic spot colour inks and metalicised paper. This may all be about to change with the introduction of cold foiling. While cold foiling technology definitely invites new and exiting graphic opportunities, there are also limitations that should also be considered (as there are with any production method).
Hot foiling is a letterpress process that works by using a heated die to cut and press a foil from a moving roll onto a substrate. A wide variety of colours and finishes are available from matte to holographic foils. One of the main advantages of this process is its tactile quality. Because the foil is literally stamped into the paper, it produces a nice three-dimensional quality. This process can also be integrated with embossing to heighten this effect.
Another key advantage of hot foiling is the fact that it can be applied to a wide range of stocks, specifically uncoated stock (that cannot be cold foiled). Also the lustre of the foil itself seems richer and brighter.
The disadvantages of hot foiling include the limited colour range and the expense. Typically a hot foiling job will be done after the CMYK printing process. Because there are two processes for the printer to set up, this will usually add to the overall cost. Also the cost of making the ‘die’ is much more expensive than simply creating a standard offset printing plate which cold foiling requires.
Cold foiling on the other hand is an in-line process that can be overprinted in full CMYK colour. This is its main advantage. Cold foiling works by firstly making a standard offset printing plate of the area you would like foiled. The plate then transfers a strong adhesive to the stock, which is then pressed against the foil with impression rollers. The foiled image is then stuck to the stock and UV cured. The un-foiled area is taken up onto a take up roll and recycled. The stock then passes through the standard CMYK inking and finishing process.
A significant advantage of cold foiling is the detailed line work that can be achieved. Lines as small as .05mm are visible with an 8pt serif font producing good results (10pt sans). Screen rulings up to 120lpi show all of the dots but up to 200lpi can also produce decent results. Because cold foiling is a part of the offset printing process, registration is far more accurate that hot foil stamping, which requires a completely different set up.
Overprinting the foil can produce spectacular images with a whole new world of graphic possibilities becoming available with the technology. The foil effect is still visible with up to 350% ink coverage on the top! The fact that only coated paper can be used is disappointing however this lends its use to applications such as large marketing campaigns, intricate labels or packaging design that asks for a unique point of difference.
To set up artwork for cold foiling simply create a separate channel in the photoshop file labelled “foil” or create a spot separation also labelled correctly.
Although cold foiling has been used extensively in Europe and Asia, it is very new to the Australian market with PrintLinx in Port Melbourne being the only supplier.