Why use the Cold Foil process? - Cold foiling beats hot stamping and metalized substrates hands down! ( cold foil foiling dieless kold )

Cold foiling beats hot stamping and metalized substrates hands down!

Why use the Cold Foil process?

The high cost of an engraved cylinder makes
rotary hot stamping inefficient for short runs.

Foil is widely used today on a rotary hot stamp system. It provides fine edging and a smooth foiled image. This system is used in-line on a web press. The process utilizes an engraved cylinder in which the image is heated. This can be accomplished either electrically or through heated oil. Narrow web presses typically incorporate an electric system while wide web presses employ an oil heated unit. The heat causes the foil to transfer onto the substrate. The width of the job and the amount of coverage affects the maximum running speed. This system involves a large initial investment and, since it uses an engraved cylinder, is inflexible to design changes and impractical for job testing. The high cost of the engraved cylinder also makes it inefficient for short runs.

The platen hot stamp system is quite economical,
but runs at very slow speed.

The second most common use of metallized foil is on a platen hot stamp system. This system is mostly used off-line where foil is required on a preprinted substrate. It is widely used in the offset printing industry and in the manufacture of special occasion ribbons. This process utilizes interchangeable flat plates which are heated electrically. The heated plate then descends and applies pressure onto the substrate. The substrate is either hand fed or webbed through the machine. A platen hot stamp system is quite economical, but runs at a very slow speed. Because of this, installation for an in-line process can be complicated. The types of graphics are usually limited to text and bold images. Since this process is time consuming, it's suitable only for very short runs.

Metallized substrates can substantially
increase the cost per label.

For years, metallized substrates have been widely used in the gravure printing of gift wrapping papers. This application is now gaining acceptance in the packaging industry. Typically, the printer will print on top of the metallized substrate to cover the areas that do not require a foiled image. Although metallized substrates accept water-based, solvent-based, and UV-curable inks, there are still some issues regarding adhesion and foil integrity in the blister packing industry. Since overprinting is required, this application is quite limited. Metallized substrates can be purchased in sheet or web form but the additional expense substantially increases the final cost of the job.

Process Comparison

	Cold Foil Printing	Rotary Hot Stamp	Platen Hot Stamp	Metallized Substrates
Maximum Speed	350 fpm	150 fpm	120 cycles/min	350 fpm
Initial Cost	None	High	Medium	None
Job Cost	Low (photopolymer plates)	High (engraved die)	Low (plates)	High (substrate)
Graphics	Half tone to full flood	Limited to text & bold images	Limited to text & bold images	Limited to trapping
Design Changes	Flexible	Inflexible	Flexible	Flexible
Ideal Run	Long and short runs	Long runs	Short runs	Long runs

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