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Whats this material being used? Some kind of heat transfer film?

Forty One

New Member
I came across this reel in FB and I have no idea what material or the process being used.
Can anyone shed some light on it?

 

James Burke

Being a grandpa is more fun than working
I came across this reel in FB and I have no idea what material or the process being used.
Can anyone shed some light on it?

Formally, it's known as hot stamping....other names include hot foil stamping, foil stamping or blocking (Europe). It is a dry printing process that utilizes a pigmented or metallic ink on a Mylar carrier sheet in conjunction with a heated die (printing) plate. Relatively speaking, it is a very old process. It was primarily used on book covers and bindings, but today, it is used to add a little bling to most any printed item (especially packaging). Holographic security foils are also widely used in currency, event tickets, clothing, sports trading cards, medical devices, OTC pharmaceuticals or any other item requiring authenticity to prevent forgeries and counterfeiting.

There are several variations whereby the process is used with a laser printer (as shown in your video), or in an offset printing press (a.k.a. cold stamping). With cold stamping, the foil adheres to a glue-printed image on the substrate.

Here's a link to the trade association. You should be able to find a supplier here: https://fsea.com/

Also, check out their trade publication for really cool ideas: https://postpressmag.com/

Yeah...I started a small hot stamping operation as a side hustle over 30 years ago. It's an extremely profitable gig if you have the right products.

JB
 
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Greg Kelm

www.cheetaprint.com
At my job it is called sleeking we do this with a laminator the film adheres to the black ink.
Toner. The process is called sleeking, but you must use Toner as the laminator reheats the toner which adheres the film. If your printer has good registration, you can print the areas to be foiled, and re-run them through again to print around the foiled area. You can also reverse the process if you laminate the already printed area, then print black where you want to foil. Business cards with a soft touch film done this way, turn out really nice!
 

James Burke

Being a grandpa is more fun than working
My only question, does the metallic barcode actually work?
Wow, I don't know...perhaps a darker metallic color such as black, or a dark blue might work.

But depending on your surroundings, some of the golds and silvers may take on a dark appearance. I see that with signage...people want "rich" looking dimensional letters, only to discover they literally blend in with the environment.


JB
 

JBurton

Signtologist
But depending on your surroundings, some of the golds and silvers may take on a dark appearance.
In the context of a barcode, the surroundings include RED, I'd imagine some would work and cheaper ones wouldn't, just a funny thought as I watched them making these.
I see that with signage...people want "rich" looking dimensional letters, only to discover they literally blend in with the environment.
Fun story, we refurbished a leaning polesign (built with a slanted pole cover that is), new faces, new halo lit letters, polished stainless faces, all together it was like a $40k project... But between the dark (gloss to boot) maroon background and the mirrored faces, you couldn't see the letters during the day or at night. That was a good $5k mistake, ended up cutting brushed faces and mounting them over the polished, and installing two flood lights. It's still a beautiful piece, but damn that was a clusterf*ck.
 
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