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" color swatch. If you selected gold or silver foil to enhance your artwork, a gold or silver film with the selected finish is then applied on top of this transparent polymer. The transparent polymer always acts as a base, which means the foil will have a slightly raised effect.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMOVE GRAPHIC ELEMENTS UNDER GOLD AND SILVER FOIL FINISHES
Gold and silver foil finishes are completely opaque. If the same design is printed in color underneath and a slight shift occurs during the foil application, that color may become visible, creating an unpleasant duplicated effect.
Therefore, we strongly recommend that you always remove any repeated elements beneath the foiled artwork, leaving only the background color.
Incorrect Example: In this example, if I hide the Finishing layer, I can see that there are artwork and text beneath the foil finish: these will be printed, creating an unpleasant "shadow" effect:
Correct Example: In this example, if I hide the Finishing layer, I can see that the artwork and text beneath the foil finish have been removed, ensuring a clean and high-quality print result
If instead you choose transparent embossing, foil accents, or glitter foil to enhance your design, these finishes will be layered directly over your graphics. This means your original colors will show through the transparent embossing, while the metallic or glitter effects will blend with the colors underneath for a layered look.
Here are some additional tips to make the most of gold and silver foil finishes:
You will achieve better results by applying the foil finish to small areas rather than very large surfaces
The thickness of foil lines must be at least 1 pt
The minimum font size for foiled text must be at least 10 pt
Foil elements must always be placed at least 3mm (0,11") from the cut line (please refer to the instructions for the product you have chosen for more information)
To get the best result with 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 look.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us; we will be happy to assist you.