Artwork Setup - Digital Foiling

Digital foiling is a special process that can achieve a shiny metallic gold, silver or copper finish on paper. If you choose this option, you will need to set your artwork up with these things in mind:

• Pages to be foiled must contain only 100% K (black) artwork, which must be vector based (no jpegs, no bitmaps, no other colour etc.).
• Heavy Textured Matte paper stock cannot be foiled. Do not choose this paper stock if you'd like digital foiling.
• A foiled page can have only 1 colour of digital foil. No printed colours, no white ink, no mixing of foil colours.
• Pages can only be foiled on one side. The back side must be blank, unless we've specifically given you the option to choose printing on the back. If ordering a book or portfolio, ensure you include appropriate blank pages to keep page order. That is, a blank page after the first page, and a blank page before the last page.

There are certainly exceptions to these rules, however we treat them as custom jobs, and they will attract higher costs. Please contact us directly if you need something special.

Digital Foiling Vs Traditional Foiling

Digital Foiling differs to Traditional Foiling in that there is no indentation or deboss created by Digital Foiling. Instead, we first print down sticky black ink, then apply a coloured metallic foil that adheres only to the black ink. The disadvantages are:

• Only smooth paper stocks are suitable; "Heavy Textured Matte" paper is not suitable.
• Very fine details can be missed by the digital foil (and instead remain black). Details (under 0.3mm wide) are not suitable. 
• Tiny specs of foil can be left scattered on the page. This is rare, and very subtle. It is more likely on black stock.
• Large block areas are not suited, as they may look uneven. For example, a completely gold A4 page would not work. 

If we notice that a major issue is likely, we'll do our best to inform you before production, but we can't guarantee it. We're one of the best in the business at Digital Foiling, so you can be sure we'll achieve the best result possible. 

What If I Want Traditional Foiling?

Traditional Foiling doesn't suffer from some of the above mentioned issues, however it is far more expensive than Digital Foiling, and the visual difference in 90% of jobs is minimal. For this reason, we only offer Digital Foiling online via Carbon8 Express. Contact us direct if you're after Traditional Foiling, and be prepared to pay several times more than we charge for Digital Foiling..