Know the registration capabilities of your press.
If your press doesn't have perfect registration capabilities, design
your jobs accordingly. Example: Rather than knock-out an image for us
to foil stamp, let us over-stamp your printing. The secret to
successful over-stamping is: 1) Proper ink selection - Use a wax-free
ink., 2) Adequate cure time - Seventy-two hours should be considered a
minimum...more curing time is better. Remember, dry to the touch is
not the same as fully cured.
Stay close to the gripper.
When laying out jobs that have tight registration requirements, keep
the critical part of the image close to the gripper. The gripper edge
is the most stable part of the sheet as it travels through the press
and is the logical area to place images with which we have to
register. Whenever possible, the gripper should also be the the widest
side of the sheet. The worst possible layout is a long skinny sheet,
such as a 4-up strip of business cards, with the gripper on the short
side. The chance of us registering with an image on the tail of that
sheet is slim to none.
Give us a big enough sheet to work with.
This is particularly important with jobs that diecut. We need at least
a 3/4 inch gripper margin and 1/2 inch waste on all sides of the
diecut image. With all foiling and diecutting jobs, the stock must be
bigger than the die. The smallest press sheet we can work with is 4
1/4 x 5 1/2 inches.
Provide accurate artwork for image placement.
We need a combination negative to accurately place multiple foil
images and foil images that register with printing.
Foil stamping and embossing are low resolution
processes. We cannot foil lines thinner
than 1 point or keep reverses open finer than two points. Coated
stocks hold better foil detail. Avoid embossing fine lines.
Die wear out. Magnesium
dies are delicate and easily damaged. They may not be suitable for
some applications. Always store dies individually in protective
wrappers or padded envelops. The life span of a magnesium die is 10 to
20 thousand impressions on a soft or smooth stock and less on a hard
textured stock such as a linen surface. Copper dies can last over
100,000 impressions...this is not to be confused with forever.
Ask questions. We want
your jobs to seem heaven sent. Let us help banish the jobs from hell
before they ever get into production. If the job is headed to our shop
for finishing, please include us in the pre-production process. Our
staff has over 30 years of experience in the industry and it is all at
your disposal...give us a call.
