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Gold and silver foil finishes: how to ensure the best possible result

HOW FOIL FINISHES ARE MADE

The special finish is carried out by applying a transparent polymer, which serves as a base, to the areas marked in your file with the "Finishing" colour swatch. If you selected gold or silver foil to enhance your graphic project, a gold or silver film with the selected finish is then applied on top of the this transparent polymer. The transparent polymer always acts as a base, which means the foil finish has a slight raised effect.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMOVE GRAPHIC ELEMENTS UNDER GOLD AND SILVER FOIL FINISHES

Gold and silver foil s finishes are completely opaque a printed colour is present underneath and a slight misalignment occurs during the foil application, that colour may become visible, creating an unpleasant duplicated effect.  

Therefore, we strongly recommend that you always remove any duplicated elements placed beneath the foiled artwork, leaving only the background colour.

In this example, which is incorrect, if I turn off (hide) the Finishing layer, I can see that there is graphic and text beneath the foil finish: these will be printed, creating an unpleasant "shadow" effect:

Marked as an incorrect example, this Illustrator Layers panel comparison shows that hiding the Finishing layer still reveals colored artwork such as the jump-rope handles, the shoe and some text beneath the foil area, which would print as an unwanted duplicated shadow.

Extreme close-up of a printed card with a glossy gold foil finish on the jump rope handles, parts of the heart-shaped figure with arms and legs, and the adjacent lettering. In this incorrect example, graphic elements and text are visible beneath the foil finish, creating an unwanted “shadow effect.”

In this example, which is correct, if I turn off (hide) the Finishing layer, I can see that the graphic and text beneath the foil finish have been removed, ensuring a clean and high-quality print result

Marked as the correct example, this comparison of the Illustrator Layers panel shows that when the “Finishing” layer is hidden, the graphic elements and text to which the gold foil finish will be applied have been removed from the Artwork layer.

Extreme close-up of a printed card with a raised, glossy gold foil finish on the jump rope handles, parts of the heart-shaped figure with arms and legs, and the adjacent lettering. The correct final result shows that only the solid background color remains beneath the areas intended for the foil finish, while the corresponding graphic elements and text have been removed, ensuring a clean, high-quality print result.

Here are some additional tips to make the most of these foil finishes:

  • You will achieve better results by applying the foil finish to small areas rather than very large surfaces

  • The thickness of foiled lines must be at least 1 pt

  • The minimum font size of foiled text must be at least 10 pt

  • Foiled elements must always maintain a safety margin of at least 3 mm from the cut or fold (please refer to the instructions for the product you have chosen for more information)

To make the most of gold and silver foil finishes, remove any duplicated graphics from the CMYK print layer —leaving only the background colour— to achieve a clean and professional result.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us; we will be happy to assist you.

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