Foil stamping is mainly used to give individuality and originality to souvenirs and gift printing products. Thus, business cards, postcards, folders, notebooks, labels, stickers, bags, leather products, etc. are decorated. There are several ways of printing with foil, which differ in the method and material of application. Technologically, embossing is not a particularly difficult procedure. You can decorate any souvenirs in this way even at home.
Foil Stamping Methods
You can make such a decor with your own hands in two ways:
- using a laminator;
- an iron.
Next, we will understand how embossing is performed using these technologies, in more detail.
How to apply a drawing using a laminator
To perform printing in this case, you will need a laser printer in addition to the laminator . It is better if it is not full-color, but ordinary. As for the laminator, it is worth buying a model with a very large compression force. You will also need toner-sensitive foil. If desired, you can use either matte or glossy, or holographic.
It is best to take plain paper. Textured or special decorative for embossing at home does not fit too well. When using such material, the picture will turn out to be inaccurate and ugly. In the recesses of the paper of this variety, the metal simply does not stick.
Foil stamping using a laminator is as follows:
- Find a beautiful vector pattern or ornament. You can also write in some program, for example in the same "Photoshop", the appropriate text in the original font. It is only desirable that it is not too thin.
- Print the picture on the printer.
- Put a sheet with a pattern or inscription on the table and cover it with metallized foil of any color.
- Put another sheet of clean paper on top of it.
- Run the resulting “pie” through the laminator. Thin foil is sure to stick to the picture. If the pattern is sloppy and intermittent, the procedure can be repeated. Run the sheets through the laminator until a satisfactory result is obtained.
Material from the sheet must be removed carefully, without rushing.
Iron foil stamping at home
Of course, not every household has a laminator. This device is inexpensive, but buying it in order to make beautiful embossing is absolutely not necessary. You can use for this purpose a regular iron for ironing. In relation to the inscription or pattern, the procedure in this case will be exactly the same as when stamping with a laminator.
The printed sheet should be placed on a hard surface with the pattern facing up. The foil is superimposed on it with the wrong side down. That is, the shiny side should be on top.
The iron is placed on minimum heat. On the foil, they need to be driven as carefully as possible. If it does not stick to the pattern, increase the heating mode slightly. You need to iron the foil for about 2 minutes, until the thin metal adheres to the heated paint. Do not remove the foil from the sheet immediately. Wait for it to cool.
Leather stamping
Using the technology that will be presented below, you can decorate almost any leather product: bag, boots, wallet, notebook, belt, etc. To complete the drawing in this case, you will need a cliche - a special stamp with a pattern. You can take, for example, some large metal button. The foil stamping procedure in this case is as follows:
- The skin is laid on a hard surface.
- A small rectangle is cut from the foil (the size of the future picture). It must be applied to the skin.
- Next, heat the iron and press down the foil. Keep the hot sole on the material for about a minute.
- After the thin metal warms up well, the iron is removed.
- Without waiting for the workpiece to cool, you need to attach a button to it and carefully press it down. Keep "cliche" on the skin should be at least 30 seconds.
Foil stamping at home on the skin is a simple procedure, but in any case, it’s still worth practicing on an unnecessary piece of material. If you underestimate the iron or stamp, the drawing will turn out to be inaccurate. It will be quite problematic to remove the foil from a bag or wallet.
Embossing printer
Today, if you wish, you can purchase special electronics to make inscriptions and patterns with thin metal. This is the so-called hot foil printer. It connects directly to the computer via a USB connector. Of course, this device is not very similar to a regular printer. The foil in it is wound on two shafts located on both sides of the working part. Below them is a movable flat hard surface. Included with the device is a disc on which software specially designed for printing is recorded.
Of course, a foil stamping printer is expensive. Yes, and buying it is still quite problematic.
Industrial stamping
So, how to decorate souvenirs, things or cards using foil, we have figured out. Now, for general development, let's talk about how embossing is done in an industrial environment. In this case, of course, much more complex, professional equipment is used, for example, a foil stamping press. The procedure itself is carried out in accordance with specially developed technologies.
In fact, foil stamping is no more than one of the varieties of printing. The only feature is that a drawing or inscription is applied using not thin paint, but thin metal. When embossing in this case, the letterpress method is usually used. This means that those parts that are directly responsible for the pattern itself protrude above the surface of the cliché die. The stamping procedure is carried out industrially as follows:
- The plate is heated by electricity. The required temperature is maintained using a thermostat.
- At each working cycle, a strip of multilayer foil designed specifically for embossing moves a predetermined distance. This process is called pulling.
That is, when using such serious equipment as a foil stamping press, the drawing procedure is carried out approximately according to the same principle as when using a printer.
How do cliches for embossing in an industrial way
Foil stamping technology involves the use of special wear-resistant and durable dies. Cliche for such decoration can also be made in different ways and from different metals. The drawing is applied to the surface either by mechanical engraving or by chemical etching. Cliches are usually made from metals such as brass, magnesium, copper and zinc. Most often, the first two materials. Magnesium cliches are used if embossing requires a not too large batch of products. The wear resistance of such dies is not particularly high.
Foil stamping brass plates are used to process large quantities of products. Copper and zinc are rarely used, which is mainly associated with environmental problems.
Types of foil used in industrial stamping
The material used for printing in enterprises is very different. It can be foil:
- Metallized. This is a well-known shiny material: golden, silver, bronze. Using such a foil, you can perform both concave and convex patterns.
- Pigmented. After embossing, this variety has the appearance of ordinary paint.
- Transparent varnish. This kind of material embosses matte surfaces. After applying it, the product remains a spectacular shiny pattern.
- Textural. Such a foil can imitate different materials: wood, leather, stone, etc.
- Holographic. This is one of the most interesting types of material. Holographic foil stamping is carried out, for example, on banknotes to prevent counterfeiting.
- Scratch foil. This variety is used to temporarily protect information from reading.
- Diffraction foil. It is used for printing on plastic.
- Magnetic. Used in the manufacture of credit cards.
Material for cold and hot stamping
All foil can be divided into two main varieties:
- Designed for cold stamping. Using this foil, you can print on products that do not withstand elevated temperatures. Typically, these are thin films intended for the manufacture of bags and packages. An advantageous difference of such a procedure as cold foil stamping from the “hot” method is that with this method it is possible to perform patterns with halftones.
- Designed for hot stamping. This variety is used in industry most often. The types considered above relate to this particular group.
Using foil stamping, patterns, logos, drawings, advertising and congratulatory inscriptions, panels, etc. can be applied to products. The technology for performing such printing is simple, and the procedure itself is not expensive.