Cold stamping

Cold finishing foil is a printing method in which a film is adhered to a printing substrate in order to obtain a refining effect. In contrast to hot foil stamping here No high temperature, additional tools, and above all not consuming offline process with hot foil stamping machines ( at high pressure ) is necessary. In addition, the applied film usually leaves in cold foil stamping " inline" printed immediately after application in the machine, whereby a large number of different effects can be achieved.

2.1 lines
Overprint 2.2 Gridded film
Overprint 2.3 Fine line elements
2.4 Safety Features
2.5 Creating a document

3.1 full-surface
3.2 grid
3.3 font
3.4 bar elements

4.1 Compact Foilers CF1000 - Kaltfoilenveredelung and holographic effects
4.2 FoilStar - Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
4.3 ROLAND InlineFoiler Prindor - manroland AG
4.4 Inline UV Casting and Foiling - RYOBI Limited

Function of the method

In addition to the application of the film is an offline cold foil transfer system there is the relatively new and much more efficient method line. A total of two printing units are required to for the application of the film. On the ink roller system, and a conventional offset plate, a special, pasty adhesive is applied according to the design on the print substrate in the first printing unit. The detailed fineness corresponds to that of the offset plate. In the second printing unit, the film is transmitted through an up and unwinding. To this end, the film between the blanket and impression cylinder is passed. Due to the pressure of the blanket, the film is transferred to the bodies which were previously provided with adhesive. Of the film portion which is not adhered in this case, is then rolled up with the backing layer in the reeling station again. In the following printing units of the printing material can be printed with the foil applications. Of course, the first two printing units with minimal set-up time after the foil application can be reused for conventional offset printing.

Benefits

The infusion of cold foil mainly differs in one respect from other methods. Due to the possibility of cold foil with conventional overprinting UV or hybrid inks, new metallic shades can create. Alone with a silver foil can be generated so many other colors - for example, creates a warm golden tone when talking about the film prints with yellow and magenta shares. In this respect, the cold foil transfer can be considered an "extension" of the color space. This allows, among other things, also colored pattern with only one film to produce. In particular, in the modern inline overprinting process takes place in a single pass with the cold foil transfer. Register accuracy and resolution are very high, up times, however, very low. In addition, the films may be applied at full production speed.

Possible Problems

Compared to hot foil stamping is the effect of cold foil matt, not quite as shiny and scratch- sensitive. Papers with an open surface structure ( natural paper ) can not be refined with cold foil.

Suitable application

The cold foil transfer is due to its properties for a wide range of printed products. This ranges from the packaging to commercial work and facsimiles. Due to the high resolving power can be realized many design variants of the font to tiny design elements.

Suitable designs

Colored, metallic motifs are particularly suitable for cold foil transfer. Aside from flat finishes to offer the procedure to be used for delicate subjects because be avoided by low temperatures registration problems. During cold foil transfer the results are precise, both in thin lines as well as in solid areas.

The product to be refined ingredients should be as sharp as possible to settle from the background. Highlights can be omitted from the cold foil. Very soft and larger light areas are, however, less well.

Overprinting foil surfaces

Overprinting a silver foil very many shades of color can be achieved, among other things, silver or gold effects. Overprinting with Orange provides, for example, a gold foil finish, with blue produces a blue metallic tone, with a deep black, high-gloss black. Thus, one is not bound to any particular type of film, such as the hot-foil embossing. The desired color is generated in a standard silver foil. This makes the process more flexible and saves costs. Image or line elements can be displayed on the slide. It is important to make sure that fine line elements lose on the film due to the high gloss of contrast. That is, thin lines are no longer perceptible at a certain viewing angle, fine fonts with a low surface coverage are difficult to read. To create a highly perceivable contrast, the following values may be used:

Lines

≤ 0.5 pt min. 50 percent coverage
> 0.5 pt min. 30 percent coverage

The brighter the color, the worse the contrast on the film. In order to achieve readability and contrast, should be stronger line strengths and high surface coverages are chosen especially with bright colors such as yellow, orange and pink.

Overprint Rastered film

Another effect can be obtained when the film is scanned and then overprinted. A grid pattern in the film infl uences on the one hand, the color effect, on the other hand, the shine. The hue appears more pure than on a full-surface silver foil, gradations in tones are clear perceptible. The smoothness is pushed back a bit by the grid structure, the metallic effect and the high gloss decrease slightly. In screen vignettes of the film is to make sure that the film elements not fall below a coverage of 40 percent.

Print on Fine line elements

Through the in-line process, a high registration accuracy are ensured even when overprinting fine foil elements. The Passer corresponds to the offset printing, very sharp transitions between the film areas and the other printed picture are possible. In an overfilling of the film is to look just like a color printing.

Safety Features

Film elements serve as a security best features for various products like folding boxes and tickets. It could also be a film insert in security printing. Especially with the use of an effects film or film combinations counterfeit products can be counteracted. The ROLAND InlineFoiler Prindor allows the combination of both scale and fine line and screen elements as well as the overprint option. In this way, a wide range of security features can arise.

Creating a document

The film is treated as a " fifth color " and therefore applied as a spot color. If the film is to be overprinted, the film ranges must be set to overprint and placed the majority of programs in the foreground. With Adobe Acrobat function " overprint fake", the settings can be checked. This is done, as in a conventional spot-color application, on the basis of color separations.

Application as a full face in the grid or as a bar and font elements

Full surface

An arbitrarily large solid area is clean feasible, large-scale film applications are possible. Overprinted foil surfaces or recessed fine elements attract the attention of the viewer.

Grid

When using a coarse grid of 30 l / cm to 60 l / cm grids can be "printed " with film in a very good quality. Coverages from 40 to 100 percent show a clean separation behavior of the film. This interesting effects can be achieved that are only limited by other methods possible.

Font

Very fine writing elements are both positive and negative realized.

Serif font: pt from 5
Sans serif typeface: pt from 3

The writing is easy to read and is characterized by a high edge sharpness.

Line elements

Fine strokes from 0.25 pt are cleanly with excellent edge sharpness.

Service with special services

Compact Foilers CF1000 - Kaltfoilenveredelung and holographic effects

The module permits both the CF1000 Cold foil finishing, as well as with relief foil / Cast and Cure holographic effects to achieve. Since the module is mobile and not directly connected to the printing machine, it can be used by means of docking stations at different locations of the printing machine as well as to various printers. Due to the non-contact running the film contamination of the printing material is prevented. Thanks to highly accurate Wiederaufrollung the film along with an ingenious system registers the expensive films can be used multiple times. The loading of the rollers is at ground level without lifting tool. Parallel runways and full machine speed allow many possibilities.

FoilStar - Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG ( Heidelberg) has developed her FoilStar module for the Speedmaster CD 74, CD 102 and XL 105. With the FoilStar cold foil is applied in the offset printing process, resulting in metallic finishes can be applied to the wide variety of substrates. The weights range from 70 g / m² to 400 g / m². The film can also be applied in a multi- track system - up to six lanes with different films in different web width are used.

ROLAND InlineFoiler Prindor - manroland AG

Examples of ROLAND InlineFoiler Prindor are gold and silver effects that can be achieved through special pattern designs virtually any variants. The transferred onto the printing metal foil can be printed directly. This allows almost any desired color tone can be adjusted, the bond is removed to certain types of color film.

Inline UV Casting and Foiling - RYOBI Limited

With the inline UV casting and foiling module RYOBI can be performed instead of the cold foil relief arrangements also an inline -effect finish (UV Casting). The technology is based on the application of a UV varnish, the surface coated with the help of a relief foil and UV cured. The UV glue for cold foil respectively Verde Lung UV varnish for the finishing effect is applied on a paint factory instead of a printing unit.

Potential of the finishing process

The cold foil transfer is a relatively new processing technique. In particular, research and development of the material components " film types, substrate, film adhesives and printing inks" are not yet complete. As part of the research and development project Print Perfection the service Margreff Printing and Media and Media GG with tests and material developments are available. A proof system for the simulation of cold foil for presentation purposes is now available.

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