Foiled by Foil
September 2005
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Foil is a popular addition to packaging, but it has a few converting/printing quirks. To help solve common foil woes, pP recently went to foil suppliers seeking solutions.
FOIL STAMPING HAS become a necessary capability for printers and converters to have. The substrate graces packaging in every market, and more and more consumer product companies are redesigning their packaging to include foil.
Nowadays, if printers and converters don't have foil stamping equipment, they are positioning themselves to lose new and old customers.
"With more and more customers using foils for their labels it is more important than ever that a printer is able to apply foil," said J. Michael Rivera, vice president of sales, AMAGIC Foils. "Foil application is now such a standard in the industry that a printer can no longer compete unless they have this capability."
Many printers already know this and have been proactive in adding foil stamping to their operations. But even with the prevalent use of foil decorating throughout the package-printing industry, foil has become easier but, under certain conditions, more complex, said Sam McElree, product manager - Graphics, KURZ Transfer Products.
On simplification, he said, "Foil decorating has become more of an everyday job rather than a special, less frequent run job. This allows converters and foil suppliers more opportunities for better communications to improve the efficiencies of their operations."
However, with the rising demand for quick turnarounds, printers and converters can create some potential pitfalls to the foil stamping process. McElree added, "Increasingly shorter lead times from printers and converters can lead to foil stamping over inks or coatings that are not fully cured or dried. Also, new coatings are being used on substrates before evaluation has been completed to determine the proper surface tension required for foil stamping. An ideal surface tension for foil stamping would be a dynes level of between 36 and 42."
Both of these issues can be troubling for printers and converters, on top of the normal problems they face. Luckily, there are easy fixes for these blunders and, to simplify the rectification process, packagePRINTING recently asked foil suppliers to help provide solutions to the most common foil stamping woes.
Adhesion, or lack of
In order for foil to enhance a package as it should, it needs to stick to the substrate, and the inks and coatings need to stick to the foil. But the make up of most foil and printing materials can make it hard for them to adhere to each other.
FOIL STAMPING HAS become a necessary capability for printers and converters to have. The substrate graces packaging in every market, and more and more consumer product companies are redesigning their packaging to include foil.
Nowadays, if printers and converters don't have foil stamping equipment, they are positioning themselves to lose new and old customers.
"With more and more customers using foils for their labels it is more important than ever that a printer is able to apply foil," said J. Michael Rivera, vice president of sales, AMAGIC Foils. "Foil application is now such a standard in the industry that a printer can no longer compete unless they have this capability."
Many printers already know this and have been proactive in adding foil stamping to their operations. But even with the prevalent use of foil decorating throughout the package-printing industry, foil has become easier but, under certain conditions, more complex, said Sam McElree, product manager - Graphics, KURZ Transfer Products.
On simplification, he said, "Foil decorating has become more of an everyday job rather than a special, less frequent run job. This allows converters and foil suppliers more opportunities for better communications to improve the efficiencies of their operations."
However, with the rising demand for quick turnarounds, printers and converters can create some potential pitfalls to the foil stamping process. McElree added, "Increasingly shorter lead times from printers and converters can lead to foil stamping over inks or coatings that are not fully cured or dried. Also, new coatings are being used on substrates before evaluation has been completed to determine the proper surface tension required for foil stamping. An ideal surface tension for foil stamping would be a dynes level of between 36 and 42."
Both of these issues can be troubling for printers and converters, on top of the normal problems they face. Luckily, there are easy fixes for these blunders and, to simplify the rectification process, packagePRINTING recently asked foil suppliers to help provide solutions to the most common foil stamping woes.
Adhesion, or lack of
In order for foil to enhance a package as it should, it needs to stick to the substrate, and the inks and coatings need to stick to the foil. But the make up of most foil and printing materials can make it hard for them to adhere to each other.
Companies Mentioned:
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Chemistry for the Graphic Arts
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