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How Does Foil Printing Work?
What do humans and magpies have in common? We both like shiny things! The only difference is, unlike our feathered friends, we have the capability to create shiny things to our exact choosing thanks to the wonderful art of foil printing! So, cold foil printing, hot foil printing, and our personal favourite, digital foil printing all involve different methods and yield different results.
So how exactly does the magic happen? Let’s investigate the more traditional ways of foiling and why we here at Aura Print use the best in digital foiling technology to make sure that you get the best, shiniest, longest-lasting foil print in the business!
Foil Fever for the Win
Foil printing adds a touch of luxury and shine to any printed product you can think of. Simply put, it uses metallic or coloured foils applied with heat and pressure (depending on the method) to greatly enhance eye-catching designs on a variety of materials.
The ability of foil printing to elevate the perceived value of a product, along with its increasing versatility in colours and finishes, is making it a hugely popular option in the printing industry. As the market for foil printing continues to expand, so does our investment in the latest technology and the colours available to you!
What Exactly is Foil Printing?
Foil printing takes its inspiration from gold book covers and gold-embellished stationery of the Middle Ages. This is when skilled monks handcrafted sacred texts and debossed the leather covers, before adding gold leaf into the crevices they created. There were also other methods using natural pigments from flowers mixed with mercury and painted onto paper by hand – a beautiful but often lethal combination.
These foiled artefacts were treasured and protected because books were a rarity. In fact, during these times, most people except the monks were illiterate, and books rarely had a cover. By 1840, most books had a book cover and gold embellishments, and metallic gold illustrations became much more common.
Fortunately for us, foiling is a much cheaper, easier, and safer process today thanks to a variety of methods. Let’s look at both the traditional application and the best clear foil printing technique that we use today.
The Foil Printing Process
Digital gold foil printing (along with the many other colours we offer) can all be achieved by the following 3 methods.
Hot Foil Printing
In the 20th century, hot stamping was invented using metallic pigments on a carrier film and a metal stamp of your design (known as a die). Essentially, the die is heated to very high temperatures and then pressed into paper with the foil carrier film between the two. The hot stamp then pushes the foil into the card with a debossed effect.
Hot foil printing requires a metal stamping plate to be manufactured for each design from a solid block of metal. This means if a company wants to print foil business cards for its employees with each of their names in metallic foil, you'd need to have a die made up for each one.
With the hot foiling technique, because of how the foil is pushed into the paper, you can see the rough contours of the paper, so the light does not reflect as much as the other methods below. This also means that the foiled areas can be inconsistent, sometimes it can look patchy when the colour doesn't get into the grooves in the paper.
Cold Foil Printing
The cold foil method was created to eliminate the need for the costly metal stamp-making process. It is, therefore, a little faster and cheaper because it doesn’t require the plates to be manufactured for each design.
There are two steps to the cold foil method, first, glue is applied to the surface only in the places where you require metallic foil highlights. Then the foil carrier film is applied to the top and put through a pressurised roller. This makes the foil stick to only the places where glue is present.
Because this process simply sticks the foil onto paper with glue, it can work on thinner materials and is better for embossed foil printing because it does not need to deboss the surface area. It is sometimes claimed to be more environmentally friendly because there is no heat and no need to manufacture plates for each design. However, it still uses similar materials with the addition of glue.
Digital Foil Printing – The Aura Print Way
Digital foiling is a faster process where the artwork is sent from a computer to the printer and then the foil artwork is printed in layers. It does not require a stamping plate to be manufactured. It’s a dry process and does not use solvents. Another advantage is that it can print far more intricate details in much better quality than hot foil stamping methods.
The digital foil method takes the best of both cold and hot foil methods where instead of the glue of the cold foil method, you print down toner from a digital printer which acts as the glue. Because the toner is digitally printed, the quality and detail you can achieve is unmatched. Once the toner is printed down, the card is then run through heated rollers with a metallic foil film. The heated roller re-heats up the toner so it becomes sticky to make the foil adhere to only where the toner is present.
Another advantage is that you can combine the foil with colour print on the same machine giving you a huge range of options when it comes to printing customers' designs.
We offer the largest range of foil colours and paper types. Plus, our foiling method is compatible with more finishes than other methods, making it ideal for foil flyers, brochures, business cards and even custom foil playing cards. Here’s a handy infographic to recap:
DIY Foil Printing Made Easy
If you're dazzled and think you'd like your very own foil business cards or prints, then we're here for you. We offer the largest range of metallic foil colours - including cool holographic foil! We also have more paper types than any other foil printing company. This means that our products such as our custom foil printed cards have near endless combinations that you can choose from.
Don’t worry if you’re not too confident about setting up your artwork for foil printing. You can look at that article, or you can contact one of our experts who will be happy to guide you through the process – making your own premium quality foil products has never been easier!
Our Tips for Custom Foil Printing
It’s worth noting, that to give you the very best finish and product longevity, all our foiled products need to contain a laminate layer. Our soft touch laminate ensures that your foil looks much more reflective when printed on top of the laminate and keeps it looking its best for a very long time.
Thankfully, with our soft-touch laminate, you can still recycle our foiled products. Simply put them in the recycling bin with the rest of your paper and card waste if you no longer require them. This makes a very big difference on environmental impact and just goes to show how digital foiling is so much better for the environment.
Our Commitment to Sustainability
At Aura Print, we strive to be more than a digital printing and foiling company; we champion sustainable practices in a sector acutely aware of its environmental footprint. Our dedication to green initiatives extends well beyond responsible foiling as we aim to positively transform all facets of our printing operations.
We are excited to provide a wide selection of recycled and compostable paper options, enabling our clients to choose prints that are entirely biodegradable and compostable if desired. By selecting these sustainable choices, you receive superior print quality while also supporting environmental health.
Advancing our commitment to eco-friendly printing, we proudly utilise plant-derived toners for a completely vegan printing cycle. Our use of vegetable-based inks ensures our screen printing is cruelty-free and aids in simplifying the recycling process, lowering pollution levels, and enhancing the overall quality of our prints.
As technological advancements continue, we stay ahead by integrating the latest eco-conscious printing technologies that use energy-efficient settings. These innovations notably decrease the energy used per print, further reducing our ecological impact and fostering a more sustainable future.
Our path to sustainability is marked by continual education and advancement. We understand the importance of our role and persistently engage in proactive measures to decrease our environmental impact while delivering top-notch products and services.
Whether you are drawn to the dazzling effects of foil printing or in search of a wholly compostable and vegan printing option, Aura Print is equipped to meet your needs. Together, let's forge a brighter, more sustainable, and conscientious future.
Foil For All
Now is the time for you to turn your foil design visions into reality. Bedazzle with foil business cards, make your brand leap off the shelf with our foiled swing tags, make your invites magical with our foiled wedding stationery! There is simply no end to what you can create with our premium foil and paper stocks.
If you would like to handle our stocks and see our beautiful foils in the flesh, you can order a metallic foil sample pack, otherwise do get in touch with us today for any further advice or to get your foil products started.
