Modern day Cold Stamping Foils285539938848
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The rewards in reel to reel printing are clear. If hot foiling is carried out in-line at the end of the printing method, then the press spee...
The development of modern cold stamping foils originated with the basic cold foils devised as a dieless method for applying a metallic finish to self adhesive labels developed on reel to reel printing presses. There are a lot of benefits of this procedure, and some disadvantages, although cold foiling has progressed a lot considering that then.
The advantages in reel to reel printing are clear. If hot foiling is carried out in-line at the end of the printing process, then the press speed is restricted by the foiling speed which is fairly slow. If the printing was maintained and the foil applied as a separate pass, there is a corresponding expense influence. Moreover, the cost of hot foil dies is fairly high laminating film compared to a printing plate or sleeve and power is necessary to heat the die.
Reel to reel cold foiling includes printing a UV curable adhesive in the foil style necessary, laminating the foil to the adhesive via a nip, curing the adhesive with UV lamps and separating the foil from the printed internet. The foil that is removed from its carrier film is in the design of the printed adhesive, given that that has been UV cured and so adheres to the foil.
By using a cold foil, the speed is limited only by the strength of the UV lamps or the optical density of the foil. The aluminum layer in the foil has to be thinner than that typically employed in a hot stamping foil to enable adequate transparency to the UV light. True, this is irrelevant when the foiling is carried out directly to transparent films since the light can be directed by way of the back of the film onto the adhesive, but this is often not the case. The foiling is frequently carried out over an opaque white ink which can be silk screened onto to the label prior to the adhesive and then the foil applied. This locations an opaque layer among the film and the foil, so that the beam has to pass through the lacquer layer or prime coat of the cold foil.
The UV beam passes via the lacquer and aluminum layers to reach the adhesive, so the aluminum must be as transparent as possible. The more opaque it is, the much more lamps are necessary or the slower the running speed. Considering that printers want the lamps set in a fixed position, and not changed around for every single kind of job, all curing is typically carried out by way of the foil than by means of the film getting printed.
Provided that this can be accomplished, then cold foiling is much quicker than hot foiling, and of course there is no require for a die, hence saving not only on die-cutting costs but also on energy. A extremely appropriate saving these days. So why are all reel to reel jobs not blocked utilizing cold stamping foils? Mostly due to the top quality. Cold foiling is typically not as brilliant as hot foiling, and also most stamping foil producers provide a extremely restricted variety.
They have also tended not be very print receptive. If the overprint is modest enough, it can adhere, though the cold foil surface tends to be pretty low in surface power (low dyne level). Larger printed places tend to have poor scratch resistance and tape adhesion, though a lot of consumers accept this in return for the decrease charges. Contemporary developments, nevertheless, are tending to overcome these difficulties although actually more than printable cold foils are quite difficult to uncover and rely quite much on the type of ink getting utilized.
Modern day cold foil developments contain sheet fed offset litho applications, whereby the adhesive is applied by classic oxidation drying offset, and then the silver foil overprinted with oxidation drying offset transparent inks to make an attractive colored metallic effect. This approach is at present patented. Additional developments involve offset UV adhesives and inks, although the adhesion of the UV ink to the foil surface is nonetheless an problem right here.
The volumes of cold foil getting used globe wide are escalating at a fast price, and much of this is in the offset field, where the main European printing machine suppliers are supplying objective build equipment, and add-ons that can be retrofitted to a printers existing equipment. The printing high quality is improving as a lot more improvement function is carried by the hot stamping foil producers, and the high quality contemporary cold stamping foils is quickly approaching that of hot foiling.
