File setup for foil artwork can be a complex process and should be completed by an experienced designer.
Some products are only available with foil, like our Premium Black business cards. Other stocks allow for ink printing as well as foil stamping. When combining the two processes, you will need to submit a separate file for the artwork to be produced in foil and the artwork that is to be printed. It’s also important to note that printed artwork can only be registered to foil artwork with offset printing. If you are trying to align foil with other printed artwork, please keep in mind that shifting up to 1/16" will be expected.
Finest Detail for Foil Artwork
The finest detail recommended for foil stamping is 0.25pt.
Creating Your Foil Artwork as a Separations File
You will need to create a black and white file for the foil artwork (the black areas will indicate where you want the foil placed - white will show areas where you do not want the foil). This can be done in many ways in your design program – by setting up new layers, defining a new artboard (new page) or creating a separate file.
The areas for treatment (foil) will need to be defined in black ink, and the black colour used must be CMYK Black only – with no grey colours, or other inks.
The design must be created in vector-format (such as in Illustrator or InDesign).
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K100 Black CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 100 |
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Export each separation as a press-ready PDF file. If you have multiple colours of foil in your order, you will need to create the artwork for each colour as a separate file.
Name your files according to the TYPE, COLOUR, SET and SIDE.
Example: One set of cards with gold foil on the front and silver foil on the back.
Names: "Foil_Gold_Set1_Front" and "Foil_Silver_Set1_Back"