What is Foil and how is it applied?

Foil is a thin leaf of shiny material attached to a "carrier" to provide stability
and it comes in rolls. It is applied to the cardstock with heat
on a heated metal platen. When the foil is detached from the
carrier, only the part that is desired is left on the card.

What are the drawbacks with Foil?

The act of "pulling away" leaves a miniscule amount of foil
that tends to make letters, lines, etc, "fatter", with a tendency
to fill in some letters. For that reason, very fine type, script,
or font smaller than 8pt is not suggested.

In addition, the choice of graphics is very important.
Dots, screens, shadows, etc, are not a good choice for foil use.
Graphics with solid areas, lines, text, etc, are good choices.
However, large solid areas are very difficult to apply, the foil may
not adhere completely, and the result may not be as anticipated.


Finally, because it is applied with heat, there is a limit to the
number of foil colors that can be applied to a business card
The best results happen with 1 foil color, with the option
of adding one or two colors of ink as well.

Are there any New developments with foil?

Yes, previously, the only way to apply foil to cardstock was by using
a metal die, custom created for the client. The die cost was typically
in the area of $150. Then add the foil run, and the cardstock,
and a set of foiled business cards would start at $300 or so.
Recent developments have allowed the use of a reusable metal die,
drastically reducing the cost of foiled products.

Any questions: e-mail: info@bizcardpro.com 1240 W. Sims Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368 To call Toll Free: 1-877-376-4630 360-379-9019 • 360-379-4112 Fax Visa * MasterCard * AMEX * Discover