Digital Foil - Fabulous and eco-friendly

Firstly, what is Digital Foiling?

Digital foil is a new print technology that allows foil detail to be added without the need for traditional blocking dies. It offers a way to add metallic, glossy, or holographic effects to printed materials, enhancing their visual appeal. Here's a breakdown of how we add digital foil:

1. Firstly, we digitally print your full design on to your greeting card, calendar cover or packaging, for example.
2. This printed sheet is then laminated with matt or gloss laminate – this is what allows us to separate the foil element area from the rest of the design.
3. The foil element area is then digitally over printed in solid black.
4. This printed sheet is then fed through the foiling press and the area of solid black printed on top of the laminate identifies the area that the foil then adheres to using heat and pressure.

The result is a foil effect that is precise and can include fine details, thanks to the digital printing process. Your foil printed product will be finished in the usual way, including die-cutting for packaging and custom-cut products.

What we need from you when adding digital foil:

1. Supply your artwork in CMYK exactly as you would normally remembering to include the 3mm bleed on the edges
2. Create a separate BLACK ONLY file or layer of the area to have digital foil applied
3. Supply both files as PDFs. We'll pop the proofs in your account for you to check and approve as usual.
   
   
   

Eco Considerations of Digital Foil

We understand that there may be hesitation to use digital foil in your designs in that it requires the application of laminate and foil substrates. However, as an eco-friendly printer first and foremost we have held back on introducing digital foil to our website products until we were certain that there would be no detrimental environmental aspects.  And now we are confident that we have all the correct elements in place.

• We use a biodegradable OPP laminate film that can be fully recycled in traditional paper recycling processes as the film can be separated from the paper and both materials can be recycled separately.
  The digital foil is incredibly thin and because of that it can easily be recycled in the traditional way. Recycling paper involves adding water to create a pulp which is eventually turned back in to paper. Due to the light weight of the foil, it simply dissipates during the pulping part of the recycling process. Essentially, if the material it is applied to is recyclable then the foil printing part will be too. Don’t take our word for it - this has been verified by The Foil Stamping & Embossing Association after extensive testing and studies.
• Digital foiling uses less energy than traditional foil stamping requiring less heat and pressure, reducing energy consumption.
• The precise application of foil in digital foiling means that there is less waste of foil and fewer make ready prints are required.
• The absence of foil blocking dies means there are fewer emissions related to their production. Additionally, digital foiling does not require any solvents and chemicals that may be used in some traditional foiling processes.

Advantages of Digital Foiling

* No custom blocking dies required. Unlike traditional hot foil stamping, digital foiling does not require custom dies which makes it very versatile and extremely cost-effective for short runs and personalised items.

* Quick and flexible process. The application of digital foil is much quicker and far more flexible than traditional foiling methods as there is no need for bespoke die production or extensive setup.

* Accuracy. Digital foiling allows for intricate design and fine details that might be difficult to achieve with traditional foil blocking methods.

Need more information?

We're always happy to help with any questions and digital foil may be an area that needs more than just a page dedicated to it! Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about digital foil.