Foil Decoration

ITW Foilmark's National Sales Manager Chris Corbett points to the cost of the rotary hot stamp cylinders as the main cost factor for hot foil stamping. "However, prices of cylinders have dropped by as much as 50 percent in the past five to six years," he says.

The return for the higher costs comes from several advantages that hot foil stamping has to offer. In addition to the sharp edge definition that is critical in prime label applications, Corbett points to a brighter, smoother finish, and a much wider selection of metallic foil colors and diffraction foils that can be applied to both paper and film. One of the problems with cold foils is that the adhesive is not smooth and this can result in a distortion in the reflectance from the surface of the foil.