You definitely want to know something about foiling if you’re now concerned about how to make the design unique and increase the brand’s value.
What is Foil Stamping in Packaging Industry?
Foil stamping, also known as “hot foil stamp” or “foil printing”, is a widely used specialty printing process in the packaging industry.
By pushing the pressure to metal dies and foil film, we leave the foil pattern on our fancy gift cards, custom packaging boxes, etc.
How Does Foil Stamping Work?
Foil is a thin film coated with color applied to a product through a finishing process known as hot stamping.
The thin film foil mixes three layers: a transparent film, pigmented color sediments, and heat-activated adhesives.
foil films
No matter whether the manual machine or pneumatic machine even automatically you use, the foiling process is roughly the same:
We made the design into a metal die, heated it, and then pushed the foil ahead of the paper or cardboard surface to be stamped.
metal die for foil stamp
When the heated die hits the foil adhesives to the surface, the foil stamping process is finished, producing the metallic effect.
foil stamping process
Metallic Foil Types Display
Normally we use 3 types of metallic foil for stamp printing:
Matte Pigment Foil
Matte pigment foil has a muted appearance with intense depth and brings brand elegance without being too ostentatious.
custom made paper bag with matte foil stamping
According to our analysis, around 41.7% of our clients select matte pigment foil as their foil stamping material.
Gloss Pearl Foil
Differ from matter pigment foil, gloss pearl foil combines high gloss with colors that tactile shine to the design.
pearl foil shiny effect
46.2% of C MIC Packaging’s customers want gloss pearl foil with the product they want to push to the market.
Below is a comparison of glossy and matte:
metallic gold
matte gold
shiny silver
matte silver
matellic black gold
pearl white gold
C MIC Packaging custom an almost endless range of foil color options for our customers. Contact us to match your needs right now >
Holographic Foil
A hologram foil reflects eye-catching looks from different angles. Holographic foil would be a little bit more costly than gloss or matte pigment foil. Still, the special effect it brings to product or packaging is incomparable.
custom box with rainbow foil stamp
This neon color style definitely is boosting a new market trend: 7.4% of our customers use holographic foil, up 37% over last year from 5.4%.
Try a metallic rainbow effect in your next-generation strategy. That might be a niche. Who knows?
Have no idea which material or option to choose? We understand that getting perfect custom packaging that meets needs can be pretty tricky when not in the industry. Feel free to ask our dedicated packaging experts to support >
Why does gold foil stamping so popular?
Back in the Renaissance, some of the most valuable books used raw gold leaves for the craft of gilding as decoration.
The same process then widely spread in picture frames, statues, furniture, and amulets, most popular in packaging.
People believe that treasured gold can bring elegance to the item they studded, with the lustrous optical effects and glossy visual impact.
Cheaper but much more fascinating
Thanks to technology boosting, we don’t use genuine gold to make a hot stamp foil printing process; we use metallic foils instead. That means a considerable cost cut while retaining gold’s characteristics and luster.
72.5% of our clients choose foiling
As a lightweight customization packaging company in paper packaging industry, we suggest our customers use hot foil stamping as a finishing choice to enhance their brand.
From 2015 to 2022 Q1, about 72.5% of C MIC Packaging‘s customers used foil stamping as their packaging finishing solution. About 67% of our new clients pointed foiling as their logo finishing process.
Hot foil stamping is 100% recyclable
Everything about sustainability is a big thing. China used to rely on development first policy, but now we’ve changed to meet the new era and regulations. That’s why C MIC Packaging’s vision is to Change Made In China.
C MIC Packaging assures you that our foil stamping material is 100% eco-friendly and without any negative long-term effects on the environment.
Here are facts that condense from the FSEA Pira International Report:
1.Foil stamping is a dry, solvent-free process method of printing.
2.Paper & cardboard that has been foil stamped absolutely can be recycled.
3.The thin layer of foil stamping in paper or cardboard completely dissipates within the re-pulping process.
4.No evidence shows foil slowing down the biodegradation rate of paper or cardboard.
5.According to the Pira Report, foil-stamped paper & cardboard is biodegradable and recyclable.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Foil Stamping
Advantages
1.As foil is an opaque medium, it doesn’t use any ink to print. You can print it in almost any color paper you want(adapted to darker papers) without changing the based foil color.
2.Metallic foils have a shiny, lustrous finish with a significant visual impact and various finishing options, including metallic, glossy, matte, pearlescent, holographic, and even patterns such as marbling.
3.You can always pair foil stamping with other printing processes, such as embossing or debossing, which provides the packaging with a shiny 3D look and feel. Or match the digital printing pattern to enhance your brands.
Foil stamping plus embossing create a 3D dimension impression
Disadvantages
1.As we mentioned, the foil process relies on heat, so it should not be used on papers or products made by thermography. The heat could ruin the thermographic resins.
2.Foil stamping is often processed after traditional or digital printing. In mass production, it will need more lead time and cost. In addition, different colors of stamping require multiple runs.
Guidance of Foil Stamping in Mass Production
The following are some of the Q & A that are easily faced in the mass productionof hot stamping, from our printing expert Jim Lau:
Shifts in Placement Tolerance
In mass production, the stamping process could cause the placement of the foil to vary slightly from one product to the next by 0~2mm. Honestly, it’s not apparent when using foil stamping alone.
However, when mixing foil stamping designs with ink printing, the patterns sometimes demand high overlay. That requires the most skilled technician, and even in this case, there will be more or less a slight deviation of 0~0.7mm.
placement shifted greater than 2mm(right side)
To avoid a situation like that, you can prevent an overlapped appearance with the ink. Otherwise, avoiding duplicating any printed shapes or texts with foil would be fine. You can also ask C MIC Packaging for help.
Foil Printing in Words
Foil film material can be delicate and much thinner than aluminum foil. Due to its fragile nature, text or line-work, less than 1mm thick is not enough for foil stamping: less than 2.83 Adobe points thick foil stamp could flake off or could not be stamped completely.
custom wine box with text foil inside
Therefore, we strongly recommend larger fonts or works thicker than 1mm.
Large Areas of Foil Stamping
Too large areas of foil stamping could scuff over time, so if you place an extensive cover on large areas of foil stamp, try not to put it on the joint or other friction position.
large areas of foil stamping in custom paper bag
Foil Stamping Isn't The Only Choice
In this article, we talk about a lot of foil stamping, but in different situations, foil stamp may not always be the right choice.
Other ornamental elements might be more suitable depending on your design, budget, industry, and product.
That’s why choosing the right printing and packaging partner is so critical. You’re not choosing us but our resources, capabilities, and expertise.
Send C MIC expert your idea or design, and we will make it from sample to the finished version of your customers’ desire.
Put your design or brand into packaging and see what it will be. Use C MIC Online Design Platform >
Share this post on your social media platform and forget about what you’ve just read. You don’t need to know those cause you’re now dealing with the professional packaging company and getting 7% discount within a month. Come on now!
