Learn how to add Gold Foil to your Business Cards, Wedding Invitations, and Stickers like a Pro Graphic Designer!
Austin, from Print Peppermint, compares 6 of the best ways to add gold foil to your prints, including: hot foil stamping vs Pantone's metallic ink vs inline foil vs Scodix foil vs metallic foil papers vs DIY crafting.
We look at how to set up your files in Photoshop or any design software, including how to build a black and white mask file to deliver to your printer which will govern how foil is placed on your prints.
Transcription:
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So, you want to know how to add that bling-bling wow
effect to your business card,
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wedding invitation or sticker?
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Well, today, we're going to cover six different ways
that pro designers add gold foil to their prints,
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including hot foil, inline foil, Scodix foil,
ready-made metallic papers, Pantone metallic inks,
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and DIY crafting.
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We'll go over the pros and cons of each method, look,
at some design tips,
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and talk about how to set up your file in Photoshop or
your design software of choice.
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Let's get creative.
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♪ [music] ♪
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Howdy-do, internet folks,
Austin here with Print Peppermint.
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And today, we're going to talk about gold gold gold.
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Now, look, I originally started to script out a super
detailed video about the history of gold foil,
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the technical specs of the machines used to make foil.
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And, in the middle of it,
I realized it was going to be rather dense and
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probably very boring.
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So, instead, what we're going to talk about,
what I think designers care most about,
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is the luxurious aesthetic results that can be achieved
when using foil
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and how each production method might influence
the way you approach your design.
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We're going to cover quite a few topics today, so,
I will post chapter links in the description below so
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that you can easily jump to the part of the video
that's most relevant to you.
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As always, this video is not sponsored by any of the
manufacturers mentioned here today.
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These are products we buy with our own money and use on
our own projects.
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So, with that out of the way, let's get started.
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The first method we'll look at today is hot-foil
stamping,
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which is our method of choice here at Print Peppermint,
and has been the most popular way to add gold foil
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to your prints since it was first patented in 1892 by a
German named Ernst Oeser.
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According to Wikipedia,
hot stamping is a method of relief printing in which
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foil or pre-dried inks, aka pigment foils,
are transferred to a surface at high temperatures
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by applying pressure from a metal dye.
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Aside from it producing a sharp, crisp and detailed
impression, the primary benefit of hot foil in my eyes
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is the wide palette of colors
and the variety of available finishes.
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Don't expect to find hot wheels in every Pantone color,
but still, there is a very wide range.
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Unfortunately, for efficiency's sake, most online
printers, like MOO and VistaPrint, for example,
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only offer one shade of gold.
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At Print Peppermint, however, we offer five standard
gold colors and our full foil collection
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actually includes more than 100 shades of gold.
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We buy foils from a variety of manufacturers,
including KURZ, Crown Roll Leaf,
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Great Western, and Chenhui.
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We don't display this on our website though in order to
prevent our clients from having a gnarly case
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of choice paralysis.
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But it is this wide availability of colors that allows
us to hone in on the perfect shade of gold
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for every project, whether it's a classic yellow gold,
sophisticated rose gold, or a super regal aged gold.
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We break hot foil down into four different categories,
metallized, matte-metallized, holographic,
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and specialty effects.
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Metallized foils are the most common in circulation and
feature a highly reflective mirror-like appearance.
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This high reflection rate causes your gold foil to
appear super bright and super dark
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at certain viewing angles.
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This is, however, the nature of most metallic surfaces.
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Matte-metallized foils are similarly shiny but have a
more controlled shimmer,
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which allow for a more consistent
color even at extreme viewing angles.
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I find them to be more elegant and less in-your-face
than regular metallized foils.
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My personal favorite shade of gold is number 171M,
which is why it's featured first in our
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hot-foil swatch card.
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Holographic gold foils feature a gold foil base and a
holographic rainbow-like effect over top
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that jumps out at you at certain viewing angles.
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We have a handful of these foils in our collection
which vary in the amount of the rainbow holo effect
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and the direction in which the pattern travels,
with some being vertical and others diagonal.
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The last category of hot gold
foils we call "specialty effects."
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These foils feature a gold-foil base and a variety of
popular geometric patterns laid over top,
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such as glitter, prismatic,
pixelation, sunburst, and more.
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Although some of these foils can be rather gaudy,
when used creatively or limited to small elements that
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don't reveal the entirety of the pattern,
super groovy results can be achieved.
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Another benefit of hot-foil stamping
is its absolute consistency.
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What you see is what you get.
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Unlike ink, which can shift depending on the paper or
medium it's being printed on, hot foil does not.
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The color you choose from our foil swatch card will be
the identical foil color that
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lays down on top of your printed piece.
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And because most hot foils are solid or opaque,
they can be used to express light text
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or light elements on top of dark cardstock,
like this light gold on serial ultra black, shown here.
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♪ [music] ♪
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This is quite useful because offset inks are somewhat
translucent and when printed on non-white papers,
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allow a lot of the paper to show through resulting in
color shifting and lowered contrast or visibility.
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To combat this, we often use Pantone metallic inks,
like number 871C, shown here,
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which feature a silver additive that reduces
the translucency of the color,
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making it easier to see on darker cardstocks.
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We will talk more about Pantone
metallic inks later in the video.
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Many print shops often choose to use silk screen
printing to get light colors on dark papers because
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silk screen inks are mostly opaque.
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This can give great results but requires an entirely
different type of press and a tedious setup process
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that often makes it not viable for short-run projects
like a single set of business cards.
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Another benefit of hot-foil stamping is that it can be
paired with embossing,
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sometimes called foil embossing
or combination stamping.
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This means that in one pass of the press you can give
your logo a raised up dimensional feel and stamp it
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with gold foil at the same time.
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This is called a registered embossing because the
raised element and the foil
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are in perfect alignment with each other.
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The opposite of this is called blind embossing in which
the raised element stands alone
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with no assistance from ink or foil.
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A raised gold foil effect can also be achieved using a
Scodix finisher but there are some key differences
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when compared to hot foil,
which we will cover a bit later in the video.
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Another benefit of hot foil,
in our print shop at least,
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is that it can be ordered in combination with any other
print finish, including die cutting,
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spot UV, letter press, and more.
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We can even foil stamp on the edges of any printed
piece as long as the corners are not rounded.
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Please note, we do not recommend stamping foil over
spot UV or spot UV over foil.
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We do, however, recommend ordering multiple foil colors
and they can be stamped one over the other resulting
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in super exciting design possibilities.
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Another interesting feature of hot foil is that it can
be stamped onto nearly any type of material,
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including paper, leather, wood, and even plastic,
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as shown here in this translucent gold
foil business card.
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The last feature of hot foil I'd like to talk about and
probably the most relevant in today's world
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is the fact that it is environmentally friendly.
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According to two studies done by Georgia Tech and the
Foil & Specialty Effects Association, they showed that,
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when stamped on uncoated paper,
hot foil is biodegradable and can be recycled.
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Foil stamping is an entirely dry process which involves
no inks, solvents, or vapors and, therefore
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poses no harm to the environment,
a powerful claim that Pantone metallic inks
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and Scodix finishers are unable to match.
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Now, let's talk about some of
the cons of hot-foil stamping.
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For starters, it's sort of
expensive and kind of time-consuming.
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Let me explain.
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Foil is typically charged per color per location.
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So, if you wanted gold and silver foil on the front and
back of your piece, that would be four total locations.
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If the print shop charges $50 per location,
4 times 50 is a total of $200,
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not including any dye charges or
the cost of paper and ink.
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You see, for each location,
a custom metal dye has to be molded and then attached
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to the press.
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Many print shops don't have the in-house capabilities
to produce foil dyes,
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which means they have to be ordered from a third party.
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This takes time and adds cost.
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Another downside to hot foil is that it isn't always
suitable for large-coverage surface areas as air can
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get trapped underneath the foil and prevent it from
adhering to your paper.
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One way to get around that though is by employing
ready-made metallic gold-foil papers, like this one,
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which, as you can see,
have a full-coverage gold effect already on the paper.
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We'll talk a little bit more
about these later in the video.
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Another limitation of hot-foil stamping is that
gradients are not possible.
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Similar to letterpress printing,
your foil will either be on or off.
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So, if your logo has a whole lot of shading going on,
like this one does, your artwork will likely need to be
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simplified in order to work
well with hot-foil stamping.
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Some designers get around that though by using a
crosshatch or dot pattern for shading like we did
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in our letterpress paper samples bundle,
which you can view here by clicking the link above.
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Lastly, it is also worth mentioning that there are some
specialty foils that do
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gradate from one color to another
but the choice is rather limited,
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making it quite difficult to find a perfect foil for
every project.
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Now let's look at some tips and tricks to help you get
the most out of using hot foil for your
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next design project, including how to set up your file
in Photoshop or your design software of choice.
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So, one question we get asked a whole lot is,
"What type size should my font or text be
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if we're going to use hot-foil?"
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The answer to that question isn't always perfectly
clear but many printers will recommend
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a minimum type size of 8 points.
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This can vary though,
depending on the font face you're using,
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as many modern fonts do not
adhere to the same sizing standard.
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Although one of its strengths is precision and detail,
it's important to note that your logo or text
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may appear bolder or thicker when foil-stamped,
as opposed to ink-printed.
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The most important thing to remember when designing for
foil is to leave enough breathing room or negative
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space in between design elements and font characters.
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This helps prevent the foil from merging, like this.
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We recommend a minimum space of 0.3 millimeters,
or .012 inches, between elements.
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We also recommend a minimum line width of 0.1
millimeters, or .004 inches.
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So, if your scripty font has super thin curves,
do expect a little bit of loss in detail,
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which isn't always bad and is part
of the nature of foil stamping.
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Not only is extra kerning,
meaning the space between characters,
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a great principle of basic typography design but it
will also aid in the avoidance of foil merging.
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Now let's talk about mask files and how to set them up
in Photoshop or, in my case, Affinity Designer.
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We made an entire video about how to set up mask files
for spot UV, which I'll link to up here,
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but the principle is exactly
the same for foil stamping.
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So, what the [beep] is a mask file?
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A mask file is a black-and-white PDF in which black has
the value K equals 100%.
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Anything shown in black will get foiled and anything in
white will not.
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Simple, right?
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It is preferable to create mask files in vector format,
using a vector design software like Adobe Illustrator
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or CorelDRAW, but raster mask files can also work,
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as long as they have a minimum resolution
of 300 dots per inch.
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If you find this confusing or just need a little help,
I welcome you to send us your design files
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and we'll create your mask files for you,
assuming they aren't overly intricate.
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The second method of producing gold foil I'd like to
talk about today is Scodix finishers.
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The Scodix machine is a near-line digital finishing
system that makes low-volume print runs,
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even one-offs, economically-viable.
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In addition, it opens up an entire new world of
variability,
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especially when it comes to personalizing
printed pieces with foil or spot UV.
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Unlike traditional foil stamping,
it does not require the use of a metal dye,
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helping print shops keep all
their production in-house and efficient.
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This is one of the chief technologies used by moo.com
that allows them to offer unique print finishes
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at reasonably cheap prices with quick turnarounds.
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Let's talk about some of the benefits of Scodix foil.
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Scodix foil has a raised bubbly-like appearance that
measures in height
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to approximately 50 microns
or .002 inches.
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Many designers find this embossed or sculpted
appearance desirable, but do note that,
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compared to hot foil, it does not always perform well
on small elements with fine detail
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like 2 or 4-point text.
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And with the Scodix finisher,
although the foil is typically raised,
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especially when buying online,
the foil can be produced at a height as low
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as 5 microns, which is pretty darn flat.
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Similar to hot foils, Scodix foil is not well suited
for large solid surface areas.
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A general guideline is to keep coverage under 30%.
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Because the Scodix is a digital machine,
this makes it perfect for projects requiring
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variable data, for example,
the direct-mail postcard in which each client's name
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could be printed in gold.
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Scodix partners with a number of foil manufacturers
from around the world
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and is available in all of the primary colors
and noble metals.
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It also comes in many holographic colors like this
silver holographic effect shown here.
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Although Scodix claims that more colors are constantly
being added to the foil manufacturer's offerings,
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I think it's safe to assume that hot foil offers a
wider pallet of colors and specialty finishes.
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Another benefit of Scodix foil is that,
because it is an inline process,
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it is rather quick to turn around and less costly.
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Although this translates to less cost for the end
customer, the startup costs of a half million dollars
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for a Scodix machine make it out of reach for many
mom-and-pop print shops.
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Now, let's talk about some of the cons of Scodix foil.
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The problem I find most troublesome is that it's not
compatible with most luxury uncoated paper stocks.
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Most online printers will force you to buy Scodix foil
on a matt-coated or matt-laminated paper stock.
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Because we're real paper freaks here at Print
Peppermint, this motivates me to consistently recommend
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hot foil over Scodix foil any day of the week.
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Another limitation to Scodix foil is that it can't
bleed, meaning it can't run off the edge of your paper
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whereas hot foil can.
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Now that we've talked about the pros and cons of Scodix
raised foil, let's talk about how to set up your files.
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Essentially, the process is exactly the
same as with hot-foil stamping.
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A black-and-white mask file is required and vector
format is preferred.
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If you missed that chapter earlier in the video,
I'll post the link here now.
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The main thing to remember when designing for Scodix
foil is to pay attention to the
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sizing of your elements.
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Where hot foil shops will recommend a minimum of
8-point fonts,
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Scodix foil providers often recommend a
minimum of 10, or even 12 points, in some cases.
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And please remember that the bubbly dimensional
appearance can make smaller elements
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appear less detailed.
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Now I'd like to talk about cold foil,
sometimes referred to as inline foil or aqua foil,
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which involves printing your four-color process inks on
top of a silver foil-like substrate.
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Since digital and offset inks are partially
transparent, this allows the silver foil-like substrate
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to shine up through your inks,
creating a wide variety of metallic colors,
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including gradients and even photographs.
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This method was made popular by vistaprint.com under
the name "foil accents."
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One of the primary benefits of cold foil is that,
as a designer, you can determine the color of your
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metallic areas via the CMYK color
code present in your design file.
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The downside to this though is that it can be quite
difficult in predicting how your
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on-screen metallic colors will look after printing.
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In our experimentation,
we found that the lighter your CMYK colors are,
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the more metallic they will appear after printing,
and vice versa.
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To help our designers and clients,
we've created a cold-foil swatch card
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with a list of optimized CMYK values and
showing what they look like
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with and without a spot gloss treatment.
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Hot tip, the spot gloss coating does enhance the
metallic effect making cold foil appear even that much
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closer to traditional hot-foil stamping.
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And similar to Scodix foil,
cold foil does not require the use of a metal dye,
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making it less time-consuming to produce and less
expensive for the consumer.
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Although cold foil comes very close,
I still personally prefer the look of hot-foil stamping
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as it will always have a slight debossed impression due
to the pressure of the metal dye.
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Another thing to remember is that cold-foil,
similar to Scodix foil,
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is mostly limited to matte-coated papers,
making it a deal-breaker for many of my projects.
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I won't waste any of your time going over file setup as
it is exactly the same as Scodix foil
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or traditional hot foil but I will link to that chapter
here, in case you missed it.
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Now let's talk about Pantone metallic inks,
when to use them, and how they compare
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to the other methods we've already talked about.
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For starters, it's important to note that Pantone's
metallic ink series was initially developed
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for coated papers.
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But with some experimentation,
it can yield great results on uncoated stocks as well,
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like we used in our letterpress paper sample bundle,
which you can check out here.
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Pantone metallic inks are made with an advanced
aluminum pigment that makes them much more opaque
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than offset inks.
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Which is why we like to use them to print on colored
cardboard like this Sirio Ultra Back from Fedrigoni.
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At Print Peppermint, we're currently working on an
all-black paper samples bundle,
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in which one side of the piece will be
printed with Pantone metallic 877 and the other side
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will feature a silver-foil stamp so designers can
easily compare the two.
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The main thing to remember is that hot foil is an
opaque sheet that sits on top of
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the fibers of your paper, whereas Pantone metallic inks
are absorbed into the fibers of the paper
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and will allow some of the paper to show through.
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For many designers, this is a desirable effect as it
subdues the metallic shimmer,
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making it more elegant and less flashy.
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Some would say it appears
even more handmade or organic.
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In terms of overall production time, metallic inks
take about the same time as hot-foil stamping,
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making them a somewhat less affordable option when
compared to Scodix foil or cold foil.
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And again, file setup is exactly the same as the other
methods mentioned here today, so
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I will link to that chapter again right here.
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Now let's talk about ready-made gold-foil paper and
other metallic sheets.
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There are a wide variety of manufacturers making
metallic papers,
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many of which you can find easily on Amazon.
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But in terms of quality,
I can only speak for the ones we use regularly,
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which typically come from larger,
more established paper mills,
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like the Curious collection from Arjowiggins,
Splendorlux Mirror from Fedrigoni,
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STARDREAM from Cordenons, or Gmund Gold
from Gmund.
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The primary benefit to using ready-made metallic papers
is that no foil stamping is required.
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You can simply print your company name or logo in a
deep black ink and you're ready to go.
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Many of these papers have unique textures already built
into the paper, which aren't possible to achieve
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with the other methods we've talked about today.
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These papers can also be die cut, scored,
and folded without any detriment to the metallic area.
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Hot foil, for example,
might crack or fall off if scored or folded.
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In terms of design considerations for metallic paper,
the biggest limitation is
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that you need to keep your printed inks
reasonably dark.
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Since the paper is heavily colored,
any ink that gets laid down will shift
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and darken significantly.
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One way to get around this would be to actually use
hot-foil stamping on top of the metallic sheet.
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This would give you zero color shift and absolute
contrast and legibility.
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Do keep in mind, we also have pigment foils that,
although applied in the same way as metallic foil,
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have a flat ink-like appearance after stamping.
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Okay, I know I promised six different ways to add gold
foil to your prints.
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But since DIY crafting and scrapbooking is really out
of my realm of expertise,
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I'm going to link to this awesome video from Jennifer
McGuire Ink's channel in which she goes over five
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different ways to add gold foil to your prints by hand
using a combination of glue, deco foil,
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stamps, and tape.
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Well, that's enough out of me for today.
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I hope you enjoyed what you saw.
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And if you did, please consider subscribing by clicking
the bell in the bottom right-hand corner.
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We will be posting a similar video about gold-foil
stickers in the coming weeks,
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and that way you'll get notified
the moment that it's uploaded.
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Thanks again for watching and we'll
catch you in the next one.
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♪ [music] ♪
