Tips and Tricks to Hot Foil Stamping - Metallic Elephant

1. Tips and Tricks to Hot Foil Stamping A foiled finish can be an effective way to make products stand out and create distinctive branding. It adds sparkle and shine to business cards and invitations and is tantalisingly textural –it has the ‘look at me’ factor. If you’re planning on using hot foil stamping in your business, or for personal reasons, then these are some of the top tips and tricks to ensure that you get exactly the finish that you’re looking to achieve. Remember that every die cutting machine is calibrated slightly differently. You’ll need to bear this in mind when it comes to the foiling platform that you use, as each one is designed to work with a specific die-cutting machine. Hot foiling machines can vary too. Most will use a combination of heat and pressure to achieve the desired effect but that’s not always the case (e.g. digital foiling is a very different process). Make sure you’re clear on how the machine works and what that means in terms of the foils and materials that you can use with it. When you’re preparing to start the hot foiling process, the matte/dull side of the foil goes against the paper/cardboard and the

2. hot foil stamp is applied to the shiny side to achieve the classic foiled look. You don’t have to just stick to one layer where hot foil stamping is concerned –if you’re keen to achieve a stand out effect then you can foil over previous foiling. This is a great option if you’re looking to use multiple foil colours. Choose your materials carefully. The quality of the card or paper that your hot foil stamping onto can make a big difference in terms of ease of technique and also the end result. Washi (removable tape) can be used in many different ways to help ensure that you get the finish you want when it comes to hot foil stamping. For example, you might want to use it to pull the edges of a foil sheet tauta against the material you’re printing on – this will help to reduce over-foiling, as the foil is flat against the surface. If you find that you’ve got some areas where there is over-foiling this can be easily dealt with so that it doesn’t ruin the finished design. You can use a white hi-polymer eraser or a sand eraser to remove the parts where this is a problem. A soft brush can then be useful to flick away any pieces of foil. Give yourself plenty of opportunity to experiment. Play around with the different materials and foils that you want to use and see what works best with the machine that you have. Hot foil stamping is all about exploring your own creativity and there are so many different ways to do this.

3. The process of hot foil stamping is a great way to create something distinctive, whether that’s packaging for products or Christmas cards that express your own personal style. To find out more about our hot foiling, dies and foils, contact us via our online enquiry form or call us on 01206 251221. Please visit: https://www.metallicelephant.co.uk/tips-and-tricks-to-hot- foil-stamping/