With foil, you can turn a wide range of CMYK colors, into multi-colored foils. Foil uses a special processed foil system that is applied under 4/c process to create an array of foil colors. It's simple, affordable, and makes your prints stand out from the crowd.
For an foil job, you must include an Akuafoil/mask file along with your CMYK file. The mask file indicates where the foil will be placed. The file process is the same as spot UV—100% K where foil is placed, 0% where the foil is not placed.
As shown above, the file on the left is the normal CMYK print file. If you want the logo to be foil, then your foil mask file should look like the file on the right. The White indicates no foil and 100% K indicates where the foil will be.
Here are some more things to keep in mind when creating your foil artwork:
- Make sure the mask and CMYK print file are aligned and match up properly.
- Akuafoil works best on lighter colors. The darker the CMYK color, the less the Akuafoil look.
- Do not use very thin or small text and artwork with Akuafoil... Use san serif fonts above 12 point for best results.
If you would like only silver foil to print, make sure to have at least 15% K in that white area. White in the CMYK file that is 100% K in the foil file will appear as plain silver foil. However, for a higher quality plain silver foil, we recommend to have at least 15% K in that white area.
When creating knockouts in the foil mask or in the CMYK print file, beware there might be a "Halo" of white around the knockout area. Below are two examples... On the left, a file with a CMYK magenta background with a knockout for the foil text. On the right, a foil background with a knockout for the CMYK text.
You can see the white "Halo" in-between the CMYK ink and the foil. To prevent this, grow/stroke the foil area in the mask by 1 point. This will allow the foil to bleed into the CMYK area, reducing the white "Halo" effect. You can also fill in the knockout with a color to reduce the effect further.