A Beginner's Guide to Foil Stamping Machines and How They Work

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Love the look of hand-crafted stationery? Want to know more about foil stamping? Foil stamping when used in stationery can create some amazing and beautiful paper masterpieces. For those new to purchasing decorative stationery, foil stamped stationery will draw your eye and capture your imagination. But, what exactly is foil stamping, and what type of machines is used to create these decorative paper pieces? The following is a guide to what foil stamping is and what machines carry out this delicate printing process.

What Is Foil Stamping?

Foil stamping is a unique and creative printing procedure type where the use of metallic paper (foil), heat, and pressure can create a number of beautiful designs and graphic texts on various materials. This type of printing is becoming increasingly popular among many people, especially those who are designing their wedding stationery. Foil stamping gives a lovely, shiny, and incredible appearance when done correctly.

Foil stamping is also known by a few other names, including foil printing, leaf stamping, dry stamping, and hot stamping, due to the application of heat. Depending on your particular design needs, there are a number of foil stamping options you can consider.

The name dry printing came about due to the process of not printing with any ink. It's a dry stamp, unlike other printing methods which use ink, magnetism, and pictures to create normal decorative stationery. In place of these items, carved metal plates, dies, foil, and heat are used for the entire stamping process.

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How Does the Process Work?

In foil stamping, the sculpted metal plate or die comes into contact with the foil and transfers a layer of thin foil film onto the intended surface area. When the metal plate becomes hot, the foil begins to stick to the foil surface only in the specific design of the foil plate and where the desired print is required.

Machines Used for Foil Stamping

Although foil is one of the main factors in foil stamping, the other important requirement is the foil stamping machine or foil stamper. Whether you're looking to foil stamp documents or books, or begin your very own foil stamping business, you will need a foil stamping machine.

Today there are a variety of foil stamping machines on the market. These machines are available in a number of different sizes, depending on the type of foil stamping required. The following are some of the foil stamping machines which are available on today's market that you can buy to help create amazing foil stamped stationery.

Types of Foil Stamping Machines

Hand Operated Foil Stamping Machines

Hand operated foil stamping machines are known as manual foil stampers. With these types of machines, you'll be running the stamping process by hand. These types of machines have a lever that requires a pulling action to help bring the printing mechanism in contact with the material which needs the foil stamp. When the stamp has been positioned and is achieved, you will then need to remove the stamping object and place a new one ready to be stamped. Manually operated foil stamping machines will have either an automatic foil feeder or a manual foil feeder.

Pneumatic Operated Foil Stamping Machine

Also known as automated foil stamping machines, the pneumatic operated foil stamping machine runs automatically. In machines such as this, the use of an air compressor moves the printer head and brings it into contact with the material which requires stamping. Running these machines is quite easy: All you need to do is press the start button, and the machine will automatically do the rest for you until the job is complete.

Foil Fuser Machines

Although the name may suggest it, foil fuser machines don't stamp foil designs onto the desired surface areas. Instead, they adhere the foil onto the toner of the printer. This is similar to how a printer creates lettering or designs from a computer to the printer. When this material is placed within the foil fuser machine, it will stick the foil in the place where the toner is. The end result gives your printed material a lovely foil stamped appearance.

Buying a Foil Stamping Machine

When it comes to purchasing a foil stamping machine, there are a few things you may need to keep in mind and consider. These include:

• Selecting a machine which can handle the quantity and load capacity you're going to place on it. If you're looking to stamp a high volume of material, it's best to choose a pneumatic foil stamping machine over a manual one, to help save time.
• The material which you want to stamp will also help to determine the type of machine which you will choose. It's advisable to check which machine is compatible with selected items. Not all machines can stamp on all materials.
• Along with the types of machines, countertop and floor models are also available. This will be determined by how much space you have to keep your foil stamper.
• Another thing to consider is whether you'll be going into business or whether you'll be using it for your own personal items. This will also play a big role in whether you'll want to get a manual or a pneumatic foil stamping machine, and whether you'll need more than one to meet the needs of your customers.

As you can see, there are many different options you need to consider when it comes to purchasing a foil stamping machine. Remember, though, these machines are costly and, if you're purchasing one to do a few stationery pieces a year, it's probably best to instead buy directly from an American stationery company that can customize to your needs.

Conclusion

As you can see, foil stamping uses some amazing techniques and machinery. Today, foil stamping is used on an abundance of different stationery items to create beautiful pieces that will capture the hearts of all those who are given them. So, what foil stamped stationery are you looking to purchase soon for an upcoming event?

Selection of your chosen paper/card.

One of the great things about hot stamping foils is that they are opaque. This means you can use them on any coloured card stock. Light metallic colours and even white foils can be used on black card with excellent opacity. This makes the foil stamping process incredibly versatile. Some of the most popular card stocks for foil stamping are GF Smith's Colorplan, Vanguard by James Cropper, Senses and Gmund. Foil stamping is also ideal on top of laminate finishes such as, matt or soft touch. The laminate gives the foil a little extra 'pop', making it more luxurious and shinier. It is also a fantastic way to combine full colour images and designs via digital printing, with foil stamping. This is one of the reasons our Foil Stamped Laminated Business Cards are our most popular product with small businesses. A popular request we get with foil stamping jobs is to get that much sought after deboss/indentation in the card stock. This works best with uncoated coloured stocks. Debossing too much on card that has been laminated can pull at the edges around the lamination resulting in a poor-quality finish. Therefore, we always advise clients that debossing on laminated cards is done our technicians' discretion. They will work to prioritise the quality of finish over the depth of debossing.

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