What is foil stamping?
Foil is a thin metallic or colored film transferred onto a printed piece, by a heated metal die (hot foil) or onto a printed adhesive or toner (cold and digital foil), for shiny gold, silver or copper details.
What it means for your file
The file needs a separate solid vector mask showing exactly where the foil goes, with lines and text heavier than the minimum for ink.
An example
An invitation with the names in gold foil has two parts in the file: the printed artwork, and a foil layer holding only the names, as solid 100% vector shapes in a spot swatch named “Foil” or whatever the printer asks for. For hot foil, the printer makes a metal die from that layer and stamps the foil on after printing.
A common mistake
Using details too fine for foil. Very thin lines, small serifs and tiny text fill in or break up, because foil releases along the edge of the die rather than printing like ink. Ask the printer for their minimum line weight and text size, and keep foil to solid shapes: it can’t reproduce gradients or photos.
How to fix it
If your printer sent the file back saying “The foil (or spot UV) needs its own layer,” the fix page has the step-by-step way to do it yourself, and a fixed price if you’d rather have it done.
All print terms in the glossary, or run your file through the free print-ready checker.
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The print-ready file checklist
The seven checks every file goes through before it leaves us. Useful whether or not you ever send us a job.
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Not sure what your file needs?
Ask a question or send the file in the chat. A designer usually answers within minutes with a fixed price, and nothing starts until you say yes.