Cold Foiling

Cold Foil Benefits

Cold foils are available in silver and gold, plus stock and custom holographic patterns. The in-line, on-press application provides many new design possibilities:

• Overprinting offers a limitless palette of colors
• Perfect registration between foil and overprinted inks, coatings
• Retains texture of substrates, as cold foil requires little pressure
• Flexibility to produce large, solid areas with fine detail, halftones, small fonts, and knockouts
• Upscale product differentiation

Cold Foil Process

During the offset printing process cold foil is applied to an adhesive image using a standard printing plate. The foil is affixed to the printed adhesive, creating an image prior to the application of printing inks. The foil that does not adhere to the adhesive remains on a thin polyester liner, with waste then directed to a rewind spool. Because the adhesive is applied on press like an ink, no stamping die is needed. Once printed, the cold foil image is often overprinted with UV inks and coating to provide a durable surface. Because it utilizes a printing plate, tight registration is maintained between the foil, inks, and coatings.

Sustainable Benefits

Diamond's cold foil decorative effects enhances the printed surface while providing more sustainable benefits:

• Foiled cartons are recyclable1,2
• Foiled cartons are sortable3

• The PIRA study validates the recyclability of paper products decorated by both the traditional hot stamp and cold foil processes

• The study also finds that neither hot nor cold foil decorated products would give rise to problems found in other decorating processes that may render the decorated paper products unsuitable for recycling

Pira International, Surrey, UK, a third-party research firm, was commissioned by the Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) to conduct the study and produce the findings, which have been compiled in a 11-page study.

1Source: Pira International. Repulpability of Foil-Decorated Paper. 2008.

Georgia Tech Repulpability of Foil Decorated Paper

A study conducted by Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute and commissioned by the Foil & Specialty Effects Association also demonstrates that foil decorated paper and board do not create problems in the recyclability/repulpability of paper and/or board in a common repulping process.

2Source: Georgia Tech. Repulpability of Foil Decorated Paper. 2020.

FSEA Sorting and Recycling of Fiber-Based Materials with Transfer Metallic Decoration

The Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) has announced the release of a report detailing the results from a newly completed study on the sorting and recycling of fiber-based materials with transfer metallic decoration.

Through extensive testing at the Van Dyk Technology Center, the study demonstrates that fiber-based transfer metallic decorated materials are currently being sorted by Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) throughout the U.S. and North America to be included in the recycling stream.

3Source: FSEA. Recycling of Fiber-Based Materials with Transfer Metallic Decoration. 2024.

Foil Cheat Sheet

Ready to wow your customers with foil? Interested in learning about the different foil methods for decorating your packaging?

The Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) and online hub PaperSpecs have introduced the Foil Cheat Sheet, a metallic foil decorating reference guide for graphic designers. It includes sections detailing and illustrating each of the following techniques and materials: Hot Foil Stamping, Cold Foiling, Toner Digital Foil, Varnish Digital Foil and Foil Substrates. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of metallic foil process also are given.