Hassle-Free Stamping & Embossing

Hassle free stamping. That's the goal. We hope the following thoughts will help you achieve that goal on your next stamping-embossing project. These are general guidelines only, so be sure to talk with your finisher for specific answers for your project.

Matching Stock to Stamping

Pick a stock compatible with the style of stamping/embossing, and you're off to a good start toward your goal. We'll deal here with three general categories of sheets: coated stocks, smooth surface uncoated sheets, and textured uncoated sheets. Coated stocks are best for jobs that require the finest detail. Metallic foils retain their brightness best on coated stocks, and pigment foils that are occasionally hard to run on rough textured stocks run best on these smooth surface sheets.

Combination stamping and embossing can be very effective on coated sheets, but keep in mind that the brittleness of the coatings tend to require that overall heights stay fairly low. The slightly lower lifts should help avoid cracking problems. Even though the embossing or stamping might be done to a lower height than if the job were run on an uncoated sheet, the edges can appear just as crisp, as a result of the reflectivity of the paper surface.

Smooth surface uncoated sheets perform similarly to the coated sheets in that they are good for fine detail, and tend to run very well with a wide range of foils. However, the bright metallic foils will show a bit less glitter than they do on coated sheets. A good quality sheet of this type will give fine results with almost any type of stamping, and they generally perform better than coated stocks for embossing.

The more highly textured uncoated stocks work best when used with deep embossing, or combination stamping with tint or metallic foils. Embossing gives these stocks an added dimension in that the surface of the embossed area is smoothed and often darkened as well as raised. These are not usually the best choice for stamping very fine detail, or for pigment foils as the edges of the foils don't cut as cleanly as they do on a smooth surfaced sheet.

Foils

Your stamper will have many foils in stock, but foils are available in hundreds of colors and styles, and they do have a finite shelf life, so it just isn't possible for him to stock everything. If your stamper knows in advance what you're planning to run, he will be able to have the right foil on hand when your job arrives.

We offer a foil selection kit of our standard foils. Click on www.mhcp.com/pop-foilkit.html

Sheet Layout

If there are several areas on a sheet that stamp, or if stamping is combined with embossing or scoring, please call your finisher to discuss the layout of your press sheet. Sometimes a simple change in your press imposition can save an additional press run by combining the scoring or embossing operation with a stamping pass, or by allowing different colored foils to be run together.

As a general rule, with presses smaller than 14" X 22" the foil pulls across the short dimension of the sheet, and if you keep this in mind when doing the layout you can sometimes save a press run by putting down two or three colors at once, or by combining stamping with scoring or embossing. Some larger presses pull across the short dimension, and some pull across the long dimension of the sheet, so be sure to work out the layout details with your finisher before stripping.

Register Stamping & Embossing

One of the more common problems we encounter is register embossing or register stamping on sheets that have been guillotine cut. Please think of our operation as another color. Don't deprive your stamper of your original gripper and side guide - he needs all the help he can get.

I'm sure a lot of you printers can register accurately when printing envelopes, but we sure don't see it very often. For register stamping or embossing envelopes, you should plan to print and stamp before converting.

Inks, Varnishes and Other Surface Coverings

If your stamping is to be on top of your ink or varnish, it is very important that you print with wax free materials. If there is wax in the substrate, the heat used in transferring the foil to your sheet will melt the wax and cause blistering, voids and pin holes in the stamped area - definitely not hassle free.

Because standard UV and plastic coatings do not foil stamp well, it is important to specify "stampable" coating when dealing with your coating supplier. Even with these special coatings we recommend that you avoid large solid areas in your design. Sheets often can be coated after flat stamping or single-level combination stamping or embossing.

It is possible to stamp on a sheet that has been film laminated, but only if a "stampable" film has been used. Film laminating can be applied over flat stamping, but not over combination stamping or embossing. On combination stamping or embossing the film does not make contact with the paper at the edges of the raised area, resulting in a "halo" effect.

The "Other Side" of the Sheet

It probably comes as no surprise to you that the back of an embossed or combination stamped area will show the emboss in reverse. Type will still be readable, but fine print and should be avoided.

Foil stamping is done with heat and pressure, and you can expect some changes in the surface opposite a stamped area. Coated-two-side stocks show the most discoloration and dulling opposite a stamped area, so be sure to keep your back-up art away from stamped areas. As you move to basis weights above 80# cover, the discoloration and dulling on the back of the sheet is diminished.

If you've been foiled by a stamping job, don't let it finish you. Turn over a new leaf and send us your questions and comments.

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