New cold foil technology for high-quality print products with
stunning metallic effects
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has developed an
innovative cold foil application process using tried-and-tested
offset printing. The cold foil module for the Speedmaster CD 74 and
Speedmaster CD 102 series can apply stunning high-quality
foil-based metallic finishes to all kinds of printing stock in
grammages of 70 grams per square meter to 400 grams per square
meter. Label, packaging and commercial printers can use this
technology to satisfy the market's growing demand for
high-quality surface finishes. Cold foil application has a number
of key advantages over hot foil stamping. The use of a conventional
offset printing plate results in short make-ready times, and the
new process also achieves high printing speeds of up to 15,000
sheets an hour and excellent register accuracy. Cold foil finishing
is ideal for fine structures and elements such as text, lines and
screens. And cold foil really comes into its own with short print
runs and frequent job changes.
"We are confident our customers will appreciate the
quality of this new foil application technology," states
Alessandro Compagni, Managing Director of the highly specialized
label printers Sebastian Wolf GmbH in Eltville. The print shop has
a workforce of 44 and uses the cold foil module on a Speedmaster CD
74. Compagni is happy about the time saved by using the new
process. "With the CD 74, both inline and offline production
is much quicker than with the previous hot-stamping method,"
he explains.
Ingenious process
Two units are required for cold foil application. The first
applies a paste adhesive to all or part of the printing material
using a conventional offset plate, while the second incorporates
the cold-foil module with the metal foil take-up and take-off unit.
The foil is fed through the printing nip between the blanket and
impression cylinders. The pressure of the blanket transfers the
metal layer of the foil onto those parts of the printing material
to which adhesive has been applied. When the substrate is removed,
the metal layer remains on the printing material. What is more, the
two units can be used for conventional offset printing again
straight after cold foil application.
Image:
The cold foil module for the Speedmaster CD 74 and
Speedmaster CD 102 series can apply stunning high-quality
foil-based metallic finishes to all kinds of printing stock in
grammages of 70 grams per square meter to 400 grams per square
meter.
Further information for journalists:
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Corporate Communications
Hilde Weisser
Tel.: +49 (0)6221 92 50 66
Fax: +49 (0)6221 92 50 46
E-Mail:
hilde.weisser@heidelberg.com