Hot stamping or foil stamping is a printing method of
relief printing
Relief printing is a family of printing methods where a printing block, plate or matrix, which has had ink applied to its non-recessed surface, is brought into contact with paper. The non-recessed surface will leave ink on the paper, whereas t ...
in which pre-dried ink or foils are transferred to a surface at high temperatures. The method has diversified since its rise to prominence in the 19th century to include a variety of processes. After the 1970s, hot stamping became one of the most important methods of decoration on the surface of plastic products.
Process
In a hot stamping machine, a
die is mounted and heated, with the product to be stamped placed beneath it.
A metallized or painted roll-leaf carrier is inserted between the two, and the die presses down through it. The dry paint or foil used is impressed into the surface of the product. The dye-stamping process itself is non-polluting because the materials involved are dry.
Pressure and heat cause the relevant sections of the foil to become detached from the carrier material and become bonded with the printing surface.
Tools
Along with foil stamping machines, among the commonly used tools in hot stamping are dies and foil.
Dies may be made of metal or silicone rubber, and they may be shaped directly or
cast
Cast may refer to:
Music
* Cast (band), an English alternative rock band
* Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band
* The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis
* ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William
...
. They can carry high levels of detail to be transferred to the surface and may be shaped to accommodate irregularities in the surface.
Foils are multilayered coatings that transfer to the surface of the product.
Non-metallic foils consist of an adherence base, a color layer, and a release layer. Metallic foils replace the color layer with a layer of chrome or vacuum-metallized aluminum. Metallic foil construction has a metal-like sheen and is available in different metal shades such as gold, silver, bronze, and copper. Pigment foil does not have a metallic sheen but may be glossy or matte. Holographic foil paper includes a 3-dimensional image to provide a distinctive appearance to specific areas of a digitally printed application. Printing is often done on leather or paper.
Different hot stamping machines serve different purposes, but the most common hot stamping machines are simple up-and-down presses.
Three of the most common brands are Kwikprint, Kingsley, and Howard. However, for more industrial applications Kluge and Heidelberg presses are more commonly used.
History
In the 19th century, hot stamping became a popular method of applying gold tooling or
embossing in book printing on leather and paper.
The first patent for hot stamping was recorded in Germany by Ernst Oeser in 1892.
From the 1950s onward, the method became a popular means of marking plastic .
Hot Stamping technology for plastic is used for electric components (TV frames, audio components, refrigerators etc), cosmetic containers (lipstick, cream, mascara, shampoo bottle etc), automobile parts (interior and exterior materials).
As of 1998, it was one of the most commonly used methods of
security printing
Security printing is the field of the printing industry that deals with the printing of items such as banknotes, cheques, passports, tamper-evident labels, security tapes, product authentication, stock certificates, postage stamps and identity ...
.
Foil stamping can be used to make
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, although screen printing is faster and cheaper.
See also
*
Cold foil printing
*
Pad printing
Pad printing (also called tampography) is a printing process that can transfer a 2-D image onto a 3-D object (e.g. a ceramic pottery). This is accomplished using an indirect offset (gravure) printing process that involves an image being transfe ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hot Stamping
Printing terminology