Foiling Printing

Foiling

1. What is it?

  • Foiling is a print process that involves transferring metallic foil on to the printed substrate
  • Foil blocking can be used on its own or as a process running along side flexo or letterpress.
  • There are two ways of foiling: cold and hot

2. Hot foiling

  • Uses heat to transfer metallic foil onto the substrate

Advantages

  • Better quality
  • Sharper images
  • More shades available

Disadvantages

  • Requires expensive tooling

3. Cold foiling

  • Uses a printed adhesive to transfer metallic foil onto substrate

Advantages

  • Quick set-up
  • No expensive tooling as only a standard plate is required
  • A developing technology

Disadvantages

  • The quality is not as good as hot foil and can lack of brightness
  • Not suitable for fine details