Cold foiling is the new age stamping foil. The name itself is self explanatory, it does not requires heat for transferring it to the substrate like in case of the traditional hot stamping foils.

A cold stamping foil has a similar structure to a hot stamping foil, the only difference is that it has a thinner aluminum layer and does not always require an adhesive layer. In case of hot stamping foil the foil is transferred between 100 Celsius to over 200 Celsius. The temperature varies according to the stamping press and the area being blocked.

Unlike hot stamping foil a complete different mechanism is used for cold foiling. The design is printed in the form of a UV activated adhesive. Every kind of printing technique can be used for cold foiling but offset litho and flexo are most common.

Once the printing begins the design is applied using UV adhesive from printing plate or blanket. Web and cold foil are then brought together through a nip after which the sandwich is passed under UV lamps which cure the adhesive. After the process is over cold foil and print webs are separated to be rewound again. The aluminum layer in cold foiling is kept thin since the UV has to penetrate through the layer. Recent developments in cold foiling allow sheet feed process to be used.

The popularity of cold foiling has still not touched the height of hot stamping foil because it lacks its shine. Some flaws have been noticed in cold foiling like pin holing and visual defects.

Here’s a lowdown on the obvious advantages of cold foiling

• The printing process is fast

• Offset which is a conventional printing method allows fast set up of cold foils

• It is cost effective

Some noted disadvantages of cold foiling are as follows

• The shine is not as bright as hot stamping foil

• In order to reduce surface defects cold foiling demands complete cleanliness. The hardness, cleanliness, alignment and pressure of the nip roller plays a crucial role

• Energy provide by UV Lamps must be greatly controlled otherwise the cold foil will not adhere to the partially cured adhesive

Cold foiling is more effective in situations where quality is of not highest priority