The selection of hot stamping materials for book printing by printing factories [Buke printing]

The selection of hot stamping materials for book printing by printing factories [Buke printing]

The cover of hardcover books is often made of lacquered cloth, coated cloth, synthetic leather, and other synthetic materials. These materials are generally not suitable for flat and gravure printing, and sometimes decorative printing can be done using embossing or screen printing methods, with hot stamping being the most commonly used decorative method.

At present, the materials available for hot stamping mainly include metal foil, electrochemical foil, color foil, color chips, etc. Metal foil is a thin foil made by pressing metals with good rolling and color properties for hot stamping. The metal foils used for book binding include gold foil, silver foil, copper foil, aluminum foil, etc.

① Gold foil. The method of using gold foil for hot stamping on book covers has a long history. Due to its resistance to oxidation, good luster, and ability to maintain its color for a long time, it is an ideal hot stamping material. However, gold foil is expensive and is generally only used for hot stamping high-end books.

② Silver foil. Silver foil hot stamping can present a silver white metallic luster effect, with a lower price than gold foil, but it is also a precious metal and is rarely used in general publications.

③ Copper foil. It is made of a polymer film (such as polyester film) as the base, coated with a layer of wax or resin, evenly sprinkled with copper powder, and pressed evenly with a rubber roller. After hot stamping, the copper layer is transferred to the substrate. Its disadvantages are easy oxidation and discoloration, and poor wear resistance.

④ Aluminum foil. The advantage of aluminum foil is that it is inexpensive and has a hot stamping effect similar to silver foil, but it is also prone to oxidation and discoloration.

⑤ Electrified aluminum. Electroplated aluminum is currently the most commonly used hot stamping material. It comes in various colors such as gold, silver, red, blue, green, etc., and has a metallic luster with bright colors. The emergence of aluminum foil provides a large range of choices for the binding of covers, and suitable colors can be selected according to the different requirements of the book during design. Common quality issues during aluminum foil hot stamping include discoloration, weak hot stamping, and sticking of the plate. The former belongs to the quality issue of aluminum electroplating itself, while the latter two are problems with the hot stamping process (such as hot stamping temperature and pressure).

The selection of hot stamping materials for book printing by printing factories [Buke printing]