Cold Foiling 

Cold Foil Printing is an in line process that works on rotary letterpress and rotary flexo presses closely duplicating hot foil stamping … but cold foil printing is faster, more efficient, and does not require the costly dies associated with hot foil stamping.

In commercial use for many years by a select few, the latest refinements in cold foil technology are now available to label printers.

Regular anilox rollers and photopolymer plates transfer UV curable adhesive onto a wide variety of stocks. It can be applied in spot or solid print matching most artwork or design imaginable.

 

The specially formulated UV-curable adhesive is first printed with a standard photopolymer plate onto the web substrate. The specially formulated foil is then laminated onto the wet adhesive. This laminated construction is passed through the UV dryer. The UV dryer cures the adhesive through the foil and a foiled image is created. The remaining foil is then removed and wounded onto a waste wind up.

 

 WHY USE COLD FOIL?

Throughout history, foil has been used to honour and adorn people, places and events. Pure gold was the primary source of foil. After the painstaking task of pounding gold into thin layers, the foil was then formed into armours, caskets, statues and shields. It was also used on important documents as a seal or certification of authenticity. Today, foil is being used more than ever. It is a valuable tool used to enhance illustrations, packaging, and labels. Cruise the shopping aisles, and you will realize the most noticeable products are imprinted with foil.

HOT STAMP VERSUS COLD FOIL

Traditional hot foil stamping has always been expensive and difficult to produce. Printers seldom have specialized foil stamping facilities in-house, typically because of the high cost and specialized nature of die production. The result - foil orders are printed off line or shipped out to third parties, adding significant time and cost to projects.