There are so many new techniques and tools available to enhance your marketing materials. Digital foil is one way to add a bit of bling or create a little shine or sparkle to make people take a second look at your piece.
A newer technology, digital foil is a process where metallic foil is transferred onto a flat surface. It is a faster process compared to traditional foil stamping because it does not require a stamping plate.
Digital foil is a good choice for short-run projects. For shorter runs of a few hundred pieces or less, in addition to being faster, it also can save a significant amount of money because there is no expense to create the metal die that is used in traditional foil stamping.
The most common use of digital foil requires the use of Soft Touch lamination applied over top of the printed piece. Once the lamination is complete, the entire piece is sent through the digital printer again to print over the foil areas. Once this layer is added on top of the Soft Touch lamination, the final step is to run the piece through a specialized machine that will apply the foil only to the areas printed on top of the Soft Touch lamination.
Depending on the type of equipment used to apply the foil, there may be restrictions on the paper that can be used so that the digital foil will adhere to the desired areas. We can help you select the appropriate process and paper.
In addition, there are size restrictions associated with digital foil that would not apply with traditional foil. Typically, anything larger than 12″ x 18″ would not be appropriate for digital foiling. As an example, something like a standard presentation folder would require traditional foil.
Historically, one of the largest challenges with traditional foil was the inability to provide finished samples showing the foil. Digital foil solves this problem by allowing the printer to produce a single digital foil sample at a very low cost. This provides peace of mind regarding the quality of the finished product.
From a quality point of view, it is generally impossible to tell the difference between traditional and digital foil.
The first example of digital foil to share with you is a silver foil applied to a gala invitation to add a little “bling” to a standard invitation piece:
In this example, the digital gold foil on a holiday save-the-date card adds an interesting sparkle for the holiday season:
This is an exceptionally elegant and sophisticated looking business card, with digital gold foil on a Soft Touch black card:
This Soft Touch business card cleverly uses digital silver foil on a single element – the knife – to stand out among other standard business cards:
Because technology and tools continue to evolve quickly in the printing industry, count on us to be part of your team as you begin planning your next marketing piece. We can discuss how digital foil or other techniques can be used to help you elevate your business marketing materials. Contact us today for a consultation.
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