Foil stamping
adds a striking finish to any printed sheet. A full range of coloured
foils are available in high gloss metallic, matte metallic, gloss and
matte pigments, pearltones and tints. In addition, specialty foils include
multicolour products, diffraction foils and preprinted two and three
dimensional holograms. Belmont Press has
a 28" x 40" Bobst
press that stamps registered holograms.
Stamping
foil can be applied to sit flat on the sheet, stamped and embossed in
one pass, or stamped flat and embossed in a second pass. Sculptured
multilevel stampings are accomplished by using a hand finished brass
die.
When planning
a project that is to be foil stamped, the printer should consult the
ink and coating manufacturer to ensure that a stampable surface is produced.
Additives in ink and coatings such as waxes, silicones dispersing agents
and emulsifiers have a direct impact on lowering surface tension and
can interfere with the stampability of the product
It does not
matter how a particular ink or coating was cured or dried, or whether
it is water or solvent based.
|
What matters
is the chemical make-up of the outermost layer of that surface. An
industry standard for good foil adhesion is a surface tension of 38
dynes
and above.
Small concentrations
of some of these additives are necessary to provide slip, scuff and
mar resistance but used in excess can render a sheet unstampable.
When printing
a solid areas that requires foil stamping on top, it is not necessary
to drop the area to be stamped out of the printing. Since stamping dies
expand when heated, these dropouts make registration very difficult.
The use of
offset spray should be kept to a minimum on sheets
to be foil stamped. In areas of heavy spray the foil adheres to the
spray rather than the sheet resulting in a spotty image.
|
When
a printing job involves foil stamping, as well as UV
coating or film lamination, the sheets
should be stamped before the finish is applied. This method traps the
stamping under the finish and protects it from scuffing and scratching.
By putting
heat stamping, coating and laminating machines under one roof in our
new plant, Belmont Press is able to run
each process in the correct sequence. We are also able to test the coating
or laminating over the foil before production is run, to ensure acceptable
adhesion and appearance. Multiple operations run in one plant, also
speeds production times
and produces competitive pricing.
|
