Pigment Versus Metallic Foil
As we work more with foil we work at controlling a clean tear away. While we have not done a lot, we are doing more and learning on the fly. We noticed that pigment foil has a different tear away than Metallic foil. We want to make sure this is the case and it is not something I did in error which I am the “King Of Error’s” and it is a title I deserve. It appeared with a little effort we could get a much cleaner edge with pigment. Am I nuts or lucky or both.
Pigment Foil needs a Tad more heat, it’s right than it releases a sharp edge, I stick with one Foil supplier and keep notes what works, I had special pigment Foils which would need 149 C to release clean. So, play around.
Thanks for the feedback. We had noticed what you mentioned and got it work but could not find any corroborating data or instructions supporting what we had done. I did not want to fry the foil but was not sure what I was doing. We did like the clean lines of the tear away but it took us by surprise. We also keep job notes like you mentioned for each job to refer to with packing data, paper , heat, pressure and the beer we drank that day. so far so good. Thanks again.
Foils get tested in a controlled enviroment at the Manufacturer side, that is how you can get a MDS sheet.
But than my Equipment is late victorian or if it is motor driven, obsoloye by Industry Standard. This mutiplies the variables, also you may have a fluctuation in the electrical Line as heavy HVAC Load is invoked by Peple leaning on the Grid,
so I test any Foil first and move up the Temp until I have what I need to run a solid Production. After a while, you ahve preise Data Points to rely on, for your shop, your Enviroment.
you should be asking for test rolls for any masters ordered. these are usually 6in by 50-100 feet.
Pigments are a fussy bird and often vary even within the roll itself. foils themselves can vary alot, which why i ask for test rolls from same lot number. i use a 1 in core.
your heat will vary depending on threading,draw, and distance from the die.
btw, they do make a metallic black pigment
I used to know very well a guy called Gary Runhaar, who was
the technical rep for an American Foil supplier. He’d be retired by now, but who knows may still be with us, and certainly has the knowledge, used to live in Georgetown Texas. Lovely Dutchman, friend of my youth here in the UK
We have run test rolls and get a little better each time. We were not sure if we were headed in the right direction or just lucky. We had noticed differences in the performance but thanks to your feed back feel we are on the correct path. We also did some test on Lettra which need more heat and hit. We also did a very nice black gloss pigment on a black stock and if came out very good. We will keep trying but your feedback helps us learn which way to go.
well, lol. a lot of times getting lucky is the right direction.
Thanks again for the feedback. At times we like to find out if we quessed how to do something, and it happens to work, did we do it correctly and or is there a better way. You guys know the correct way so the feedback is a bit plus.