What is Foil Stamping?

Nowadays, there are so many options when it comes to having items printed for businesses, weddings, and personal occasions. One of the most popular is foil stamping, or foil printing.

Want to know what it’s all about and where you can have it done for your needs? Keep reading below!

Defining foil stamping

First things first – what is foil stamping? Foil stamping, or foil printing/ hot printing, is the process of applying metallic foil to paper to create decorative finishes. This process will permanently fix the foil to paper in whatever pattern or design you’re looking for.

Can’t imagine it? This is a great example of a foil printed wedding invitation suite!

History of foil stamping

The history of foil stamping goes back thousands of years, when people used to use real gold leaf to press onto books. Hence the reason why all of those ancient texts are coated in gold!

Foil stamping as we know it became popular in the 1950’s when a bookbinder named Ernest Oeser created the foil press. His invention was able to use any metallic material to print onto a surface with heat, rather than using just gold. This option was much cheaper and thus caught on quickly.

How it works

The foil stamping process is relatively easy. There are just 4 easy steps:

1. First, you need to create a design that you want to use.
2. Next, you need to have a stamp made. The design or logo you created in step 1 is engraved into the metal die with a die-cutting machine.
3. Afterwards, a sheet of foil in the color you choose is laid over the stamp and heated up so that it will adhere to the paper.
4. Then, the stamp is pressed onto your paper product using the foiling machine, with careful attention to placement.

To learn more about how this process works, as well as the types of presses and foils that can be used, click here!

Uses for foil stamping

With foil stamping, there are absolutely no limits. Want gold foil printing done? No problem. Looking for custom foil printing options? If you can dream it, we can make it.

Want to know a few popular uses for foil stamping? Here are our top 5:

• Wedding invitations
• Business cards
• Brochures and pamphlets
• Menus
• Personal stationary

Who does custom foil printing?

That’s a fantastic question! If you’re looking for professional, custom foil printing services, look no further than Locust Street Press.

We serve designers all over the country with our unique and affordable printing services. We offer letterpress, foil printing, die cutting, commercial wholesale printing, and more. Whatever you’re looking for, we can make it exactly how you need it!

Take a look at our portfolio and give us a call today, we’d love to collaborate with you on your next project.