# foils for dtg printing



## jiffyh64 (Jul 4, 2007)

Hi

I was wondering if anyone has tried foils (like they use for screen printing) with DTG printing. If you have how did it work? Where did you get your foil from? And how bad is the learning crurve? Or any other information you think might be useful to me.

Thanks
April


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

I have done some recent testing with foils (gold, silver and red) in conjunction with DTG prints.
I purchase the foils from McLogan Sign Supply (they can be found at mclogan.com).

The concept is this:
Print a minimal white ink underbase, then print a "color" that is close to the foil color using a heavy ink pass.
The next step is to take the "wet" print to the heat press, lay the foil on top, place a new piece of parchment paper over every thing and then press @ 330 for 90 seconds.
Let the foil cool down before removing as most foils are a "cold peel" process.

good luck


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## jiffyh64 (Jul 4, 2007)

How did it work for you? Was placement on the wet ink really hard? would you do it again?


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## dragonknight (May 30, 2009)

do you have a picture of your T-Shirt with foil maybe?


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

No alignment issues at all when doing JUST FOIL. I just cut enough foil to cover the area that was printed and pressed as normal (for dark shirt settings that is).

You could use different colors in different areas if you set that up before printing (remember, you want to try to have a color close to the foil color printed before you apply the foil).

IF you are doing DTG color AND foil together, then it does get a little trickier.
I use a piece of chalk to mark my shirt when it is on the DTG platen BEFORE printing.
I then set up the file for foil and print that. Remove the shirt from the DTG printer, do the foil app.
Replace the shirt back on the DTG printer platen and use the chalk lines to "re-align" the shirt.
Now print your color file.

It does take a few tries to get the hang of re-aligning the shirt.
I also think that the heat press causes the weave of the shirt to tighten up just a bit.
I have been challenged to get it "dead-on" and see the same thing happening after every print.
I think if I scale the color print up just a half percent or 1%, that may accommodate for the tightening of the weave.

I'll keep trying and let you know if that solves everything.
Also, when I get a free moment, I'll snap a few pics and post 'em up here.


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## jiffyh64 (Jul 4, 2007)

I don't understand why you are taking it off doing the foil and the putting it back on and printing again. When I watched the youtube video with screen printing. They printed dried foiled and dried I think again. Can you explain why you take it off the platen and print twice? Are you using a different type foil than screen printers use? I email MC Logan but haven't heard back for them yet.

Thanks
April


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

Here are a few samples I've done working with foil and DTG.
Foil is very challenging to photograph...hope you get the concept.


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

Lets try the photo linking thing one more time...


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

Or maybe you can just go to my new Shutterfly site:

http://greatwhitehope.shutterfly.com/


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## jiffyh64 (Jul 4, 2007)

Those are very nice. I'll have to order some and try it.

Thanks


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## raise (Apr 11, 2008)

GreatWhiteHope said:


> Here are a few samples I've done working with foil and DTG.
> Foil is very challenging to photograph...hope you get the concept.



How is the washability?

Your process for single color is as simple as printing the garment, placing the foil over the top and heat pressing? Does it work with a white underbase only or can you use CMYK as the adhesive/wetting agent?

I'm very curious to know how well the prints stand up as we have had requests for this but didn't have a local source for foil samples to test.


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

I only take the shirt off the platen if I am going to do a multi-color foil or combination foil/color ink design.
I am not the type of person that will "hand-cut" the foil to match the image. I just cut a sufficient square piece of foil and place it over the areas I want to be foiled. The foil I purchased was 200 feet in length at $31 per roll.
I am probably using about 15-30 cents in foil at best. I don't mind wasting a little rather than taking the time to hand cut a specific shape.


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

raise,
the white ink acts as the adhesive and the color is primarily used to fill in the imperfections of the foil process.
We have tried many different levels of white underbase and found using less works best. We do however apply a generous amount of color on top of the white underbase and then then foil and YES, just heat press as normal for dark garments.
All-in-all, the cost per shirt on a 10"sq design averages out to approx. 1.25 to 1.75 per print depending on the design coverage.


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## jiffyh64 (Jul 4, 2007)

Is this a special foil only at mc logan that sticks to water ink? Or are you applying an adhesive too?


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

To my knowledge, it is the standard foil used in transfer applications for apparel.


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## Stitch-Up (May 26, 2007)

You could also try the Gerber Edge FX - prints metallic foils etc brilliantly


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## raise (Apr 11, 2008)

Does the foil stick to the CMYK inks by any chance? When you do a multi-color design, does the CMYK or white ink adhere to the foil where there are overlaps or mis-registrations?

The multi-color sample you showed for IB looks great. Was that a total of 4 runs?


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

Yes, I have had ink stick to the foil.


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

after reading thru all the above posts, i ordered the gold & silver foil to experiment and try. i printed 2 passes of white & 1 pass of color, then heat pressed the silver foil. WOW it is amazing!
then, i tried printing black on top of the silver foil. DO NOT DO THIS. the foil doesn't allow the ink to sink into the fabric and stays on top of the foil and smears badly. so, i just printed the additional text in another color where it was NOT on top of the foil. clear transparencies are a great tool to help with aligning a second placement on the platen.
also, i washed the shirts with the foil and put them in the dryer for durability testing. WOW again. it washed a lot of the excess foil off the shirt, but the design itself stayed amazingly bright. the kids in our youth group at church are gonna love these shirts!
FYI: 4 colors i am experimenting with silver foil --
black (came out amazing); red, royal, forest green (haven't gotten to the other 3 colors yet). will post pictures if anyone else is interested in trying foil!


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## jiffyh64 (Jul 4, 2007)

please post pictures of what you have done. I would like to try foil for something different in our schools. and other stuff. Did you buy your foil at mclogan's also? What color shirts did you put the black foil on. 

Thanks
April


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## spiderx1 (Oct 12, 2009)

Keep us posted. Did you order from same place?


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## Justin Walker (Dec 6, 2006)

I have also tried foil printing with DTG, and the preliminary results were promising but far from perfect.... I don't know if I need a different kind of foil (we happened to have a box of assorted colors, lying around in the shop!), but here is the process I tried (black t-shirt):

1. Print standard, full color image:
- Underbase: 1440 x 1440
- CMYK Layer: 720 x 720

2. Using a heat gun, I dried the printed image until it was no longer tacky.... In retrospect, I probably should have used a flash unit for this step...... (the heat gun caused the shirt to shift, slightly, due to the airflow passing through and under the shirt)

3. Print image for foiling:
- Underbase: 720 x 720
- CMYK Layer: 1440 x 1440

4. Transfer shirt to heat press, laying sheet of foil on top of printed image (in theory, I wanted the foil to only stick to the wet ink).

5. Heat press, allow to cool, then peel.

I will post pictures of my first attempt, but don't expect anything special..... It was a neat attempt, but the foil stuck to EVERYTHING, and even left blue "glitter" all over the shirt, around the printed image, wherever the sheet of foil was. I don't know how much would come off in the wash; maybe I should try this...

In the future, I want to cure the first print longer (with a flash unit), I might add a little more white ink to the "foil print" pass, and I want to ensure I am using the correct foil type; is there a type that specifically adheres to wet ink, or is all foil supposed to work that way? Any advice would be appreciated!


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

*Re: foils for dtg printing BLACK SHIRTS*

my black shirts came out far from perfect, but i learned a lot!
1) pretreat for white ink on black shirts
2) print image with 2 passes of white very heavy
3) 1 pass of color (since i was using silver foil, i used a silvery grey color)
4) cut foil just big enough to cover image
5) the foil was 'sticking' to places there was no image due to the pretreat, so i cut pieces of parchment to put in 'holes that i didn't want foil or 'glitter' (although it was kinda neat)
6 i washed all the shirts to see if the image would hold up. it came out awesome thru washer and dryer!
the foil did not stick in a solid piece on the image. it left voids where the color underneath would show thru. that is why it is important to get the color to match the foils. the voids don't show if they are the same color as the foil! really made a retro effect and the image changes color when the shirt is moved as the light will hit the foil different ways.
no, i didn't get pictures. i was using these shirts as an experiment to do the foil and to learn how to apply the foil. they were printed for our youth group at church and i took them to church to give out to the kids. since i didn't charge the church, i figured i could play with the images and experiment without an angry customer complaining about the imperfect print. i was able to accomplish 2 things at once. shirts for the kids and learning opportunity for me. win/win!!


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

*Re: foils for dtg printing ROYAL BLUE + RED tees*

I used the same image for each color of shirt. for the blue, red, forest green shirts, i pretreated with a different pretreat light shirts with white underbase that i purchased from equipment zone.

again:
1) pretreat
2) printed 2/3 passes of white
3) 1 pass of color
(the wetter the ink, the better the foil sticks to it)
4) i pressed it at 300 for 3 minutes with light to medium pressure
5) completely let the foil cool. the sooner the foil is peeled off image the less foil will stay on image. this is KEY! 

i found with this pretreat, i didn't have any glitter issues. again, i washed and dried the shirts to see how well the image would hold up. they came out perfect.

on the royal blue shirts, i used 2 passes of white then made the color as close to the shirt as i could get it. it really came out pretty neat, because where the 'holes' were in the foil, it looked like the blue shirt underneath.

on the red shirts, the foil covered almost 100% of the design. i went back to using the 2 passes of white and then a silvery gray color under the foil.

i will post pictures when i finish the red shirts. i added more text after i did the foil on the image. if you are careful and place your shirts on the platen the same exact way each time you get a 'feel' and they turn out with the extra text pretty close to where you want it with very little anxiety. i accidently printed over foil on the blue shirt, but instead of immediately placing on the heat press and smearing the ink, i then put that shirt aside and let it air dry for about an hour before i put on press with no pressure and dried as usual. it came out with no smearing, and washed great!


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## jiffyh64 (Jul 4, 2007)

Well I bought some just have to wait for it to get here. My question is I bought red to go on white. will I still have to lay down white ink under the color? I don't want to waste ink if I don't have too.

Thanks
April


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

try it on junk shirt first several different ways. i would try one layer of white underbase and then 2 layers of red ink to match the red foil (if i understood your post correctly). or try without the underbase since you are using a white tee. it's all about experimenting until you are happy with the finished result and ultimately -- your customer must be satisfied and happy!


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## raise (Apr 11, 2008)

jiffyh64 said:


> Well I bought some just have to wait for it to get here. My question is I bought red to go on white. will I still have to lay down white ink under the color? I don't want to waste ink if I don't have too.
> 
> Thanks
> April



In our tests, there is not enough ink/liquid to activate the adhesive on the foil with just CMYK.

The biggest problem we have had in foiling is the washability.


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## skyweb54 (Aug 14, 2008)

the foil i used didn't have adhesive. i ordered the foil from the above menioned company. the washability of the foil i used after pressing onto the wet ink was totally great!


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## SaintsDesigns (May 8, 2010)

GreatWhiteHope said:


> To my knowledge, it is the standard foil used in transfer applications for apparel.



Off topic a little ...

Whilst searching for pre treat I came across DTG Foil !!!

I didnt know about this :/

Does anyone know any UK supplier and has anyone used it ..

I use toner foil for my other printing is it the same or different ?

DTG Foils | Colman and Company


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## AmericanGraffiti (Jan 21, 2013)

Foil is a little tricky on dtg printing, some great info by other users here. I have had problems with certain images and placement of the foil, its all about cutting out the shape closest to your desired image...seems to leave a little foil dust/particles on pretreat and can really mess up the look.
But always seems to come off in first wash and looks great.


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## SaintsDesigns (May 8, 2010)

AmericanGraffiti said:


> Foil is a little tricky on dtg printing, some great info by other users here. I have had problems with certain images and placement of the foil, its all about cutting out the shape closest to your desired image...seems to leave a little foil dust/particles on pretreat and can really mess up the look.
> But always seems to come off in first wash and looks great.


My only thought is what is the benefit as I can just as easy cust and heat press vinyl around the print, you save on weeding time but thats about it ... ?


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

The REAL trick to applying foil in a DTG print is to change the way you pre-treat prior to printing.
When using straight pre-treatment (when not diluted) it is too concentrated and the foil will stick to it where you do not want it to.
Dilute the pre-treatment, spray it heavier than you normally would, let dry and proceed as normal. No need to hand cut the foil. Just cut a large square and overlay it asap on the print.
Apply different pressure settings to achieve different effects.

btw...we make a very specific water-base adhesive foil specifically designed for DTG printing.

Hope this helps.


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## GreatWhiteHope (Apr 29, 2010)

SaintsDesigns said:


> My only thought is what is the benefit as I can just as easy cust and heat press vinyl around the print, you save on weeding time but thats about it ... ?


When dtg foil is done correctly, there isn't any weeding and in mho...vinyl is too thick and heavy.
Proper foil has a very soft hand to it and will typically add a lot of re-sale value to the garment.

Just sayin'


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## SaintsDesigns (May 8, 2010)

I have used thin Metallic Vinyl and your right is not nice to touch ... Im going to order some foil and no doubt pull my hair out on another learning curve lol

Anyone had any joy printing to leather Ive seen this too ...


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## SaintsDesigns (May 8, 2010)

cheers will keep you posted


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