Choosing a foil
Is as much about the design possibilities as it is about the colour. The unique creative effects and finishes that are achievable by hot foiling can transform a printed piece into a thoughtfully crafted artefact. The possibilities are boundless and the examples below demonstrate some of the basic ways to approach your design by using different die specifications. Once you start to think about foil this way it will change your approach to creating artwork. Working with light and shade, depth and height, texture and colour will add exciting new ways to bring your work to life.
Flat foil die
Our foil supplier brings us the broadest spectrum of colours in the printing industry, and they also have the ability to match pantone colours in pigment and metallic. Swatches are available on request, and now you can view foil colours online using the V-Ray plug-in, which allows designers to drag and drop a true likeness of light reactive files straight into mock ups.
To find out more, contact Ultra production team @ info@ultraservicesuk.com
Textured (Flat foil die with texture)
Dies are the metal plates that have the impression to be embossed, engraved or etched out of them. Here you can see a fine etched pattern engraved into the die, which transfers onto the foil. This can be achieved by supplying the relevant artwork to the engravers. Most engravers prefer Vector illustrator files or Vector PDF’s because they give crisper edges to the image.
Flat & Textured (Flat foil die with partial structure)
Here the designer has used a mixture of flat and textured finish on the same die to achieve a combination of rough and smooth in different areas of the image. Notice how the light and shadow works on the image.
Flat & Fluted (Combination die with structure)
Foil inherently looks better when its embossed because it reflects light and its surroundings. By giving it bevel edges you are catching light in various places across the surface. Here a combination die has been used to bring a flat foil to a higher level on the sheet, it emboldens and pops into focus, transforming the
purple into a showcase area of the piece.
Flat, Fluted and Textured
Combination die with structure, a female die is used alongside a male die to emboss and hot stamp simultaneously, it has a cutting rule to aid in a clean cut of the foil around the image area. Notice how the light makes the flat purple square look incredibly smooth and shiny next to the embossed silver and contrast of the green patterns.
Sculptured and Multilevel (Dimensional combination die)
If you have a blind emboss, consider using a flat foil. The complicated dragonfly
image is accentuated because of the flat foil underneath it and the spectrum of
colour used. ( All done in one pass through the machine). It looks beautiful, very
delicate, and really stands out as a showpiece on the page.
