Level Up Your Shine: Why Digital Foil is Your New Best Friend
Understanding the Digital Difference
While traditional foil stamping is a classic method, it requires a magnesium die, heat, and pressure to bond the foil to the paper. This works great, but it can be time-intensive and costly for smaller jobs or when design changes are needed.
Digital Foil (which we think sounds much better than the industry term "Sleeking") uses a specially formulated foil designed to adhere only to the ink or toner from a digital print engine.
Let's be real, nothing brings the "wow" factor to a design like a shiny piece of foil. But if you’ve been sticking to traditional foil stamping, you know the drill: big commitment, extended lead times, limited proofing options, and a hefty price tag for short runs or last-minute changes.
At Brightformat, we’re excited to introduce you to Digital Foil, a streamlined, cost-effective technique that opens up amazing creative possibilities for your design projects.
Spot Gold Digital Foil
Digital Foil: Flexible, Affordable, and Ready for Short Runs
Economical for Shorter Runs
Foiling is now more accessible and affordable for projects that don't require the scale of traditional stamping.
Design Flexibility
Need to adjust your design? Want to run different versions of your project? No problem. Since there are no dies to produce, changes can be made without additional setup costs. Our attitude is always yes—we're here to help you get the design right.
Unique Combinations
Digital foil can be paired with gloss or satin coated papers, or with uncoated stocks enhanced by a soft-touch film. When combined with digital printing, these options unlock design possibilities and techniques that weren’t previously achievable.
See Your Design in Hand
Unlike traditional foil, you can see a physical proof of your digitally foiled piece before the full production run, giving you total peace of mind.
Paper Options
We offer two paper and finishing options for digital foil: house coated stocks or Cougar uncoated with a soft-touch film applied. Both options are tried and true, and consistently deliver the highest-quality results.
Option 1
House Coated Papers
House coated paper only (gloss or satin available)
Maximum thickness: 100# Cover
Foil on one side only
Designs should allow for slight movement and should NOT require perfect registration between foil and any second-pass printing
Option 2
Uncoated Paper (with soft-touch film)
Must use Cougar Super Smooth stock only
Maximum thickness: 100# Cover
Maximum sheet size: 13" x 19"
Soft-touch coating is required when using foil on Cougar uncoated
Foil must be applied on top of soft-touch
Soft-touch and foil are one-side only
Spot Gloss and Spot Silver
Tips & Best Practices for Your Design
Ready to create something beautiful? Keep these guides in mind to ensure a flawless finish:
Typeface Selection
We recommend avoiding small serif type. Those fine serifs don't always cooperate with digital foil. Simple, clean typefaces work best.
The Soft-Touch Advantage
For a truly premium, luxurious feel, using a soft-touch film on Cougar Super Smooth (uncoated) is always a great choice.
Registration
While we aim for perfection, achieving flawless registration between the foil and CMYK printing can sometimes be a little tricky. We'll always work with you to make the process as smooth as possible.
Digital Spot Silver Foil over Four Color Process
Swatch sets available!
Your Palette of Finishes
Our goal is to give you a full spectrum of creative choices. We have an extensive range of finishes to meet your design needs, including a number of exciting specialty options:
Metallic Foils
Silver, Matte Silver
Gold, Satin Gold
Copper
Red, Green, Blue, Dark Blue, Violet
Specialty Finishes
Sparkle and Holographic options for an eye-catching, multi-dimensional effect.
Standard Finishes
Spot Gloss
Spot Matte
We are confident that digital foil will become one of your favorite tools. We're here to support your vision and help you add that beautiful, polished shine to your next project.
We can also send you a physical swatch book so you can experience all our available foil colors firsthand.