Many of us have come across printed products with stamping, without realizing it. This method is used for creating a decorative effect on small areas of printed products, e.g., on covers of thesis, diaries, chronicles, etc. In this article, we are going to present to you types of stamping, their advantages and disadvantages.
On book and chronicle covers and business cards
Stamping is a method in printing which highlights a certain area creating either relief or colour distinction using a special foil. It is also possible to combine the two ways.
Hot stamping is a traditional method. A die in the machine is heated to a required temperature, subsequently pressed into the material relieving the design on the surface. To reach a specific appearance, colourful foils are used which are pressed onto the relief. Gold foil adds a luxurious impression. Other types of foil are silver, metallic, holographic or colourful.
Foils are precise, permanent and durable in colour. The coverage of the stamped area is perfect. The disadvantage is that the colours cannot be combined and the choice is limited. The detail of the stamping depends on the die. There is a menace of possible inaccuracy in matching printing and stamping.
Hot foil stamping is used for covers of thesis, chronicles, annuals or diaries. The material used for stamping can be either thicker paper, leather or artificial leather, plastic or wood. Glass and metal are not suitable for stamping.
It is also possible without ink
Hot stamping can be applied without using colour or colour foils. A relief which is created adds a unique, minimalistic appearance to the material. This method is called embossing and is used for book covers, magazines, diaries or products made of leather or artificial leather. Recently it has been used for business cards and promotional products. Hot stamping without ink or colour foil can be applied to paper, leather or artificial leather. It is not applied to glass and metal surface. It has similar disadvantages to hot stamping using colour foil.
Number of printed products in a run
A disadvantage of hot stamping is that a special die depicting a stamped design must be made in advance. Production costs are not negligible which makes the stamping price higher. Hot stamping is suitable for printing runs containing hundreds of pieces.
Orders with an uncomplicated text are an exception. In this case it is possible to create the die by putting together individual letters. Small businesses offering printing services use this method too. For example, to complete a theses cover. When calculating the price for hot stamping, the size of the image and the number of required products are considered.
Stamping without a die.
Cold stamping is an innovative technique which is getting more and more popular. Cold foil and dieless technologies are used. It means that a die is not used. First, the printed material is covered with a layer of adhesive. A layer of foil is applied to the adhesive and the printed material is treated with UV light. The UV light gets through the foil, activates the adhesive and the foil remains stuck to the desired pattern.
The final effect is similar to hot stamping. The difference is that the surface of the material after cold stamping is flat. Although it gives an elegant and a high-quality impression, hot stamping makes the printed product look more luxurious and thus is more suitable for promotional products.
Cold stamping is much faster than hot stamping, as the entire operation is processed in the printing press using a special add-on. Two production steps, production of a die and its subsequent setting, are left out compared to hop stamping. This method can be conducted using offset print and is therefore used for larger runs. The advantage of cold stamping is a high detail with the minimal line width 0.25 pt and total match with printing. The disadvantage of cold stamping is low resistance of the stamped image, as it is directly on the surface of the printed material and is not protected against abrasion. A surface finish, lamination, can be subsequently applied to protect the material. The size of the design does not affect the price.
