Miss Coral Art

Here’s a rundown of everything I do to add foil to my prints! Fair warning before we begin, this process is not as easy as it may look. There is a lot that can go wrong and the results are not perfect every time. You can also have drastically different results by changing any step of the process or any materials. If you are planning on making foil designs using this method, I advise you to do your own research and be prepared to experiment with what materials and methods work best for you!

Foil Questions:

– How do I foil?

The first step is to create a digitalized design. I draw my designs using the Procreate app and apple pencil on my 2017 iPad Pro. However, any digital design will work as long as it is entirely black ink. The foil will not stick to any grays or colors. If you prefer to draw with pen and paper, you can digitalize your design yourself on photoshop, illustrator etc. You can also try the adobe capture app, which automatically creates a digital, vector image of a hand-drawn design. Keep in mind the resolution of the design you are making. Since you will be printing it, a high-resolution design will give the crispest results.

The next step is to print your design. The printer you use is incredibly important for this process to work. It must be a laser printer that uses laser toner – not inkjet. I use the Lexmark ms 317. If you are considering buying a printer for foiling, I would highly recommend this one.

Next up: foiling! As mentioned above, I use Heidi Swapp minc foil. It’s my preferred brand, however, Deco Foil is a slightly cheaper option that gives relatively the same results.

My laminator of choice is the Amazon basics laminator. I have had the best results with this one, and it’s one of the most inexpensive options so I would definitely recommend it. I’ve tried cheaper laminators, and they tend to crease the foil almost every time. Another option is the Heidi Swapp minc machine. This is significantly more expensive. However, since this machine is designed specifically for the purpose of foiling, it has its advantages. It’s better for extremely detailed designs, it also comes with a protective sleeve so your foil will never crease. If you are considering foiling extensively, I would recommend this option. However, if you are just trying this out for fun, the Amazon laminator works just fine!

– What materials do I use?

I use the Amazon basics laminator, minc foil, cardstock, and a Lexmark laser printer.

– My results are not the same, why?

There is a multitude of reasons why you may not be getting the same results I am, I have a blog post titled “Issues When Foiling and How to Combat Them” where I go over the most common problems and what I do to avoid them!

– Do you have to foil immediately after printing?

In my experience, no. You can wait a few hours before foiling!

– Do you have to wait before peeling the foil?

Most of the time, I peel immediately after the foil is applied. However, with certain designs that have a lot of small details I find it’s best to wait about 5 minutes before peeling.

– Can you print over a foiled design?

Yes! I’ve done a few designs where I send the foiled design through the printer again. This can be used to add black accents or another foil color! Once the foil has melted to the toner, adding another color foil over top will not stick!

– What do you do with the negatives? Can you use them to foil again?

Yes, you can use the negatives to create an inverted foil print. However, this requires printing an entire page of black, which uses a lot of toner. Toner is the most expensive material in this process, so I avoid doing this personally.

I hope you found this post helpful, and you are ready to start making your own foil prints!

Thanks for reading,

Annalisa