# foil printing....is this a new process?



## Cassidy (Mar 30, 2006)

HI...just wondering if anyone knows about the print style of foil. This print looks like a metalic something...like foil...usually comes in gold or silver. I see it at department stores on everything right now and my customer would like that print process. Anyone know where to go to get it done or know where/how to get it?


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## tandami (Apr 15, 2006)

As far as I know, it's a two step process. You create a screen, just as you would be doing a silk screen shirt but instead of using plastisol ink, you use a special glue. You would "flash" dry the shirt for a couple seconds until the glue gets tacky. Then, you take the shirt to your heat press, place a foil sheet on top (you can get them at mclogans or any silk screening supply store- they come in rolls of silver or gold) and press it for about 15 seconds. The foil adheres to the glue and not the shirt, and wah-lah! Your design is foiled!


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

tandami is pretty much correct. One thing you can get all sorts fo foils, not just gold and silver
rainbow, blue, copper, holographic and many many more.
crown royal leaf sells tons.
The glue is a printable adhesive yet you can adhere the foil to regular plasticol. The adhesive works better for us. We get that from International Coatings


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## Iced Out Apparel (Oct 3, 2006)

where can i get # for crown royal leaf so i can get product


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## neversatisfied (Sep 30, 2006)

Tandami - you mention that its the same as a silk screen process, does this mean that u need the regular screen printing supplies or can it be done with a plasitol heat transfer?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

neversatisfied said:


> Tandami - you mention that its the same as a silk screen process, does this mean that u need the regular screen printing supplies or can it be done with a plasitol heat transfer?


You _might_ be able to do it as an outsourced heat transfer, though I wouldn't bet on it.

It's a two step process: print the glue, then press the foil. You might be able to print the glue to a carrier paper, press it at low heat, then press the foil. Glue being glue though, that might not be possible.

Your best bet would be to ring a couple of transfer printers and ask them.

That said, I assume there's a metallic vinyl on the market anyway, which would give you a similar effect without as much hassle.


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

Bother First Edition and Silver Mountain Graphics (likely others as well) do offer custom foil transfers. They cost a fair bit more than normal plastisol transfers do, though.


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## neha mehta (May 19, 2008)

*Diffrent types of ink available for dtg i.e.direct to garment*

Hi guys i am Neha.... I am making a project on printing... i want to know which diffrent types of ink is available for dtg printers ... is it poss to have plastisole ink and waterbase ink in same printer


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## macmiller (Jul 23, 2007)

the main thing i've learned with foil is that is HAS to cool before you pull the foil off. otherwise you get jagged edges.

Also, when you let the press up after pressing, just let it "pop" and hold it, then let it up slowly. it the press jerks up quickly, it can cause jagged edges, too. from what i've been told, the adhesive gets to the remelt point and wants to come up with the press. slow action lets it cool just that little bit before lifting the press.

good luck!


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## JMD (Mar 16, 2007)

Can you have foil and Plastsol Ink on the same shirt. If so can you describe how this would be done. Thanks


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## thewebguy (May 26, 2008)

JMD said:


> Can you have foil and Plastsol Ink on the same shirt. If so can you describe how this would be done. Thanks


Yes, but you will need a 'release agent' mixed in with the plastisol so that the foil doesn't bond to it.

Some colors don't work as well as others with this situation, like red. You may need to use a discharge ink instead.


Foiling is a long trial-and-error process, but once you've got it right, you're good to go!


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## JMD (Mar 16, 2007)

What would be a good precess if using a release agent. Print the adhesive and color / then run thru dyer? / then heat press foil? or dry all on heat press?
Thanks


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## theloin (Jul 28, 2007)

JMD said:


> What would be a good precess if using a release agent. Print the adhesive and color / then run thru dyer? / then heat press foil? or dry all on heat press?
> Thanks


You can also use waterbase ink, which foil won't stick to, for the colors in your design, and then use plastisol or the adhesive for the foil portion of the design. You can flash the adhesive/plastisol and the process of applying the foil should cure the waterbase and the plastiosl to it's final cure, if pressed long enough, is that correct? (I'm asking)

What if you do use the release agent, do you final cure the whole design, which means the adhesive is cured as well? Isn't that too much cure theoretically? I'm under the impression that the adhesive is to be flashed, not final cured. So do you just flash the multi color design to touch, and then rely on the heat press for final cure for all colors, that's my long winded question. Phew.


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## teeshirtgnome (Jun 4, 2008)

foil is a great effect. my only concern is that it peels and flakes off sometimes with multiple washings.


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## deuce (Apr 16, 2008)

totally agree .. I always let the customer know that they need to take care of it if they want it to look cool for a while... Its not the most durable...but seems to be the new hotness!


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## rabbitonthemoon (Jul 11, 2008)

Hello there,

i ve been reading your explication and it help me a lot, But i would love to know WHERE I CAN BUY THE WATERBASE INK ADHESIVE and GOLD FOIL in NEW YORK CITY ( i m a french designer so its not always easy to understand all those technical terms and re-direction on the phone .......

thanks so much for your help.


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## Rick Q. (Mar 26, 2008)

Hi all!

I plan to invest in a heat press someday soon, however for now I would like to try foil over water based screen printing. 

Could use of a home iron get the job done for 1-3 samples?

Thanks in advance!

Rick Q.


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## rabbitonthemoon (Jul 11, 2008)

i spoke with a guy on the phone today from mclogan, and he said that the iron is not a good idea......because it does t really work


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## Rick Q. (Mar 26, 2008)

Rabbitonthemoon:

Thanks for checking that out!

I was sooo close to buying the stuff today. 
Guess I will have to wait a bit.


Rick


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## Rick Q. (Mar 26, 2008)

OK...still trying to find a way. 

Does anyone know how long the period can be between screen printing the adhesive and heat pressing the Foil?

I have a friend who can press the foil for me with a few days. Does that make a difference?

Thanks again, Rick


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## Robert H (Mar 27, 2007)

Does anyone find that foil printings popularity is fading a bit? It seems to me that it is going out as fast as it came in.


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## MYDAMIT (Jan 14, 2007)

you can try the selfweeding paper with combination of foil. Try to visit the KISScut website they have video about this process


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Rick Q. said:


> Could use of a home iron get the job done for 1-3 samples?


I know for a fact you can use an iron, on account of having done it for some samples 

It's certainly not as easy to get a good result as it is with a heat press (some of those samples came out well, some didn't), but you can play around with it using an iron.

It might depend on the brand I suppose, but I doubt it. I think it's just that distributors and manufacturers tend to be on the cautious side, as an iron won't give you _best_ results (it's not as reliable for one thing), and they have no interest in fielding complaints from people using substandard equipment.


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## rabbitonthemoon (Jul 11, 2008)

ok cool. Does any one knows if we can use any kind of plastissol ink for the foil?? or it has to be a specific one??


thks


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## Rick Q. (Mar 26, 2008)

Does the foil need to be pressed as soon as the adhesive is screened?
Can the adhesive dry before pressing?

Thanks!


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## PressForProfit (Jun 11, 2008)

This foil stuff used to totally come off in the wash. Has it been improved in the last years?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Rick Q. said:


> Does the foil need to be pressed as soon as the adhesive is screened?
> Can the adhesive dry before pressing?


It's actually meant to dry before pressing.


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## donna truman (Mar 18, 2007)

MYDAMIT said:


> you can try the selfweeding paper with combination of foil. Try to visit the KISScut website they have video about this process


I've used the KissCut paper and foil.
Works like a charm, nice and shiny too.
Only draw back with that paper I feel is two-fold. 1.It requires quite a lot of ink to be placed on the paper. 2.The time required for pressing - 7sec + 60sec.
The adding of the foil is no problem though.


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## deuce (Apr 16, 2008)

rabbitonthemoon said:


> ok cool. Does any one knows if we can use any kind of plastissol ink for the foil?? or it has to be a specific one??
> 
> 
> thks


Yes. Plastisol can be used.. Its good to try and use the color ( or close to) the color of the adhesive so when and if it does crack or peel.. it will mask the aging a little. 

i.e. silver foil w/ silver luster plastisol.


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## theloin (Jul 28, 2007)

Rick Q. said:


> Does the foil need to be pressed as soon as the adhesive is screened?
> Can the adhesive dry before pressing?
> 
> Thanks!


No, you can wait days if you want. I believe you want to under cure it though. As if flashed to touch. Then it full cures during the application of the foil. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

They do make foil adhesive ink. It's clear. If you want to do multi color plastisol you can add foil resist additive to the inks not to receive foil. (wilflex makes this, I think, not at my shop to see.)


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## djjg (Aug 6, 2008)

with this foil process, can you silk screen on a couple colors of a design, and then cure the ink. After the ink is cured can you apply plastisol adhesive , then foil, and then heat press the foil. Will the foil stick to the ink the was cured dry?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

If the initial ink was plastisol, yes. If it's waterbased, or plastisol with a certain additive (don't recall its name), then no.


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## theloin (Jul 28, 2007)

Foil resist additive (wilflex, only one I know, are there others?) added to plastisol will keep the foil from adhering. Add it to the colors you don't want foil on. Print adhesive or regular plastisol and cure. Not sure if you need to undercure or not, read instructions carefully. 

One thing I noticed. If you let it sit out over night with the resist added it does not resist so well day 2. May be because of evaporation of the additive??? I just added more additive and it was good to go. Your local screen print supplier should have the resist additive.


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## kjl320 (Aug 11, 2008)

I would also like info on where to purchase these products. I made a shirt using the foil in a class I took, but I don't remember using an adhesive I thought it just stuck to the plasitol ink without the adhesive. Anyway once peeled we reused foil to get a interupted foil pattern over the plasitol I have washed shirt several times but I have line dryed only anyway it still looks great. Is it called heat transfer foil? I have been trying to search for companies that sell it but I haven't found it yet.


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## djjg (Aug 6, 2008)

you might try www.estore.ryanss.com. Thats where I got my foil


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

kjl320 said:


> I don't remember using an adhesive I thought it just stuck to the plasitol ink without the adhesive


You can use adhesive *or* plastisol ink. Both work.


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## PressForProfit (Jun 11, 2008)

Solmu said:


> You can use adhesive *or* plastisol ink. Both work.


Customer of mine tries to use a similar color of plastisol under the foil, so if the foil has pinholes, etc...It still looks great. In other words, match the plastisol color to your foil. Will also help appearance after many washings.


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## Matto (Sep 28, 2007)

I just did a foil trial. Used blue plastisol and blue foil. After wash and dry it is no longer blue but silver. all of the blue came off of the foil. Should these garments be air dried? is the dryer too hard on them? design was still blue when it came out of washer. 
Just need to know what to put on the tag for these garments since they are obviously temp and chemical sensative to the extreme.


Set up. 
screen printed shirt with blue plastisol.
put shirt on heat press
heat press settings - 335 degrees, 15 seconds
put foil on wet plastisol /teflon sheet on top of foil
heat pressed
let cool off and peel film
washed with mild detergent
ran through dryer on medium temp.

any help would be appreciated.


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## Unik Ink (Nov 21, 2006)

Did the coloring wash off in the wash or come off while drying? I tell my customers to wash cold on the most delicate cycle with mild detergent, then either let them air dry if possible or run on a gentle dry cycle. It still fades some, but I haven't seen the coloring come off in 1 wash before.


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## Matto (Sep 28, 2007)

Yeah the coloring was still on after the wash. After the dryer it was completely gone. Looks like I use a silver foil not blue. Am going to play with it a bit and see what happens. I did 2 shirts and the results were the same on both. Went into the washer with blue foil came out the dryer with silver foil.


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## andywt (Mar 9, 2009)

Hi 
Has anybody any info on the paper used here in this vid on youtube?

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZU3h_u-K5M&feature=related[/media]


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## BWD (Mar 8, 2009)

Its really a paper, it comes in rolls like vinyl except it s actually cuttable gluye adhesive. I went to see him actually, and he gave me some samples. After I told him I had seen his videos, he told me through an employee that the black foil didn t work so well and the others weren t bad. I beg to differ lol, they went on nice enough, even re-pressed one or two to try different things, within a wash all of them had flaked off. If you look at his video, the gold doesn t look like it really is pressed on right with little ridges still in it. I ll stick to screenprinted foil or vinyl, they work best for me.


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## BARERIK (Mar 3, 2010)

*foil printing question*

After you screen print and cure the adhesive to the shirt with the flash dryer, is there a preferred amount of time after that you must put the foil on. or could you wait a few days before you use a heat press to press the foil to the adhesive on the shirt?

Thanks a lot,
Erik


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## mrvixx (Jan 13, 2009)

*Re: Diffrent types of ink available for dtg i.e.direct to garment*



neha mehta said:


> Hi guys i am Neha.... I am making a project on printing... i want to know which diffrent types of ink is available for dtg printers ... is it poss to have plastisole ink and waterbase ink in same printer


Why don't you start your own post?


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## deuce (Apr 16, 2008)

deuce said:


> totally agree .. I always let the customer know that they need to take care of it if they want it to look cool for a while... Its not the most durable...but seems to be the new hotness!


I wrote foil care tips and solutions on my site:

Foil T-shirt Foil Printing Care- Keeping the product FRESH! - Print Solutions T-shirt Printing & Foil, CD Duplication Replication copying,Poster Printing - Tshirt Foil Printing Care- What to tell your Foil Tshirt print buying customers!

Hope this helps out!


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## mdcorral (Jan 8, 2009)

JMD said:


> Can you have foil and Plastsol Ink on the same shirt. If so can you describe how this would be done. Thanks


you'll need a separating paste if there's another type of other than the foil print that will go into your garment


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## GorillaImprints (Sep 4, 2011)

I just got a job for gold foil. Anyone have a clue how much people are charging for this process? I have looked all over the web and it is not very easy to find. Its a small run of around 25 shirts and its a small left chest logo. I was thinking that I would charge the normal 3.50 for the print since its such a small order with $20 screen set up and then charging an additional 3$ per shirt for the foil job since it requires running it through the dryer for a quick gel and then the time and effort of heat pressing the foil and then running it back through the dryer for its final cure. Does this seem like a fair deal?


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## tammy12 (Mar 6, 2014)

Can printing factory apply a lighter pressure when applying foil so it doesn’t appear so thick. ( ie 50% less then proto, 75% less then proto etc) s\?

Can we explored a foil supplier from Japan? 

We would like to explore the coverage issue a little more. In their past experience with foil printing on sweaters we were able to control the amount of coverage on the garment. Is there any chance to print the garment, wash and then repress to spec in order to “beat up” the look of the foil.


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## Ruimpress (Sep 15, 2011)

I just did a couple foil transfers using the same method as plastisol transfers and the come up really nice








Sent from my SPH-L710 using T-Shirt Forums


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## jimcr (Feb 3, 2009)

An alternative to doing this in screen printing is to use a foil product you use with you heatpress, i have done it in gold copper and fushia hold up well. even when not washed inside out. 
Saves time making screens but adds time to weed each one, if its a small run I would use the heat press for large runs screen print.


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