Foil Screen Printing Services
Our expert design and production team here at Thrive has worked with companies big and small around the world to help them design and distribute some of the most eye catching Foil printed products on the market. If you’re in need of fast, accurate, Foil screen printing services, contact us today. We’re standing by and ready to help.
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What is Foil Printing?
Foil Screen Printing Application uses an adhesive that is screen printed in the traditional way then foil is applied over the top and heat pressed on. This is a great, long lasting solution to bring on the bling bling to your apparel line. Foil printed t-shirts and Foil printed items have a high-end elegant look and feel. Especially when printed on a dark shirt the foil really stands out. Many different colors of screen printing foil are available, even black. Be sure to view our wholesale screen printing page for more information on how to place an order today!
Everything You Need To Know About Foil Printing
Artists have been adding a bit of flash and shine to their works for hundreds of years with the use of foil printing, stamping and embellishment. Now one of the most popular screen printing techniques, the process has gone beyond adding silver and gold leaf to books and architecture. We now have access to a rainbow of foil colors to enhance fabrics, stationery, and ceramics.
The foil-printing process is quite straightforward, adding a layer of metallic foil on top of a layer of traditional adhesive. This technique is particularly stylish in apparel screen printing since it stands out on dark-colored clothing and picks up the light unlike traditional inks. Foil gives each piece of wearable artwork and air of elegance and style that has peaked in today’s fashion in everything from t-shirts to stationery.
Thrive Screen Printing specializes in a large range of screen printing techniques, including foil and metallic ink printing. With a wide selection of foil colors and finishes to choose from, designers can expand their creativity to make their logo or handmade design grab the attention of customers.
The Foil Printing Trend
Foil printing has picked up over the past several decades, especially as wholesale and small-scale screen printing has grown equally in popularity. Customers see an opportunity to transform their own ideas into customized clothing, accessories, or stationery for their business or events. Wearable promotional materials also offer unique ways to encourage word of mouth about their company and products.
Metallic and reflective hues are also trending in the wedding scene today, welcoming more large wedding parties to create customized items of their own with foil printing. Though foil printing designs can wear over time, quality manufacturing and proper care will lengthen the lifespan of the design.
Foil printing makes the t-shirt message or design stand out unlike traditional ink. Its iridescent sheen makes the words pop off the t-shirt while adding a subtle chic style to the piece. Because of this, foil-printed designs for wholesale screen printing are more versatile among different genders, ages, and style preferences. Many screen printing industry professionals don’t predict an end to the rise of foil printing, only more variations and options to customize the look.
Wondering if foil printing is right for you? We’ll go through several frequently asked questions about foil printing so you can create a design that fits your unique vision.
How Can I Use Foil Printing?
Foil printing is incredibly versatile on fabrics and hard materials like ceramic and paper. Since the process works with a separate layer—opposed to ink—there’s no risk of the design bleeding throughout the fabric. Finished products look clean and sharp while standing out against various backgrounds. A few popular choices for foil printing include:
Foil Printing as an Embellishment
The smallest touches of foil can create a confetti effect on a design. This allows the lightest form of embellishment to give your product that extra subtle shine. Outline letters with a foiled border, add silver polka dots to a children’s t-shirt, or feature your elegant logo within a foil-stamped frame. Two popular designs in the industry also include a speckled or handpainted design with the use of foil. You can even use foil to embellish an animal print on clothing or promotional items.
Foil-Printed Text
The most popular use of foil printing adds text to an item or piece of clothing to create an extra level of shimmer. Foil can make specific text stand out against a larger design, five a three-dimensional look to block letters, or reflect the elegant look of scripted lettering for a delicate appearance. Foiled designs can also fill the inside of large letters for extra texture.
Large Designs
Shirts become truly reflective when foil printing is used for larger, solid designs. It should be noted, however, that foil printing does break down slowly over time. Though large designs are possible, they are best when balanced with open fabric space or additional ink.
These designs are not required in the center of the front shirt either. Add large embellishments to sleeves, pant legs, across the front of baseball caps, or even on shoes.
Industries That Use Foil Printing
For over three decades, Thrive Screen Printing has collaborated with brands and individuals across industries to fulfill their wholesale screen printing designs. Foil printing is often used for sports and dance team uniforms, wedding and reunion celebrations, popular retail clothing designs, and corporate logos. Promotional materials stand out with the unique look of foil printing, especially for companies trying to attract a high-end clientele.
What Is The Foil Printing Process?
Foil printing is not unlike the traditional screen printing process. An adhesive is applied to the fabric or hard material in the pattern that you wish to hold the foil and then cured. Next, a sheet of foil in the chosen color is pressed on top of the cured adhesive pattern in a heat press. After just several seconds, the heat press is opened and the foil is allowed to slightly cool. Designers pull the foil sheet away from the garment to reveal the design on top of the adhesive below. Designers aim to apply an even layer of adhesive and follow strict heating requirements to avoid an imbalanced look in the foil.
You can also choose a range of special effects within the technique of foil printing. Distressed foil printing can give a rustic or aged look to your design by crumpling the foil beforehand. Complementary foil color can then be layered on top of the design to create a two-toned, distressed appearance.
Combine foil with a three-dimensional layer of puffy ink to make it stand out or layer on top of traditional plastisol ink as well.
Is Foil Printing Eco-Friendly?
Thrive Screen Printing takes the environment’s and our customer’s wellbeing into account in everything from our design process to shipping regulations. We only use non-phthalate inks and products without PVC.
Taking that into account, is foil printing an eco-friendly way to go? Studies by the Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) have shown that items with foil-stamped designs remain recyclable and repulpable. The minute amount of metals used on fabrics is believed to barely affect the item’s reusability. Foil stamping is, therefore, a very good option if you’re advertising custom products to an eco-conscious customer base. Be sure to see our Green printing page for more information on Eco-friendly efforts.
What Colors Can I Use in My Foil Printing Design?
Though gold and silver are the most popular choices for foil printing, foil comes by the roll in a large variety of colors. Other favorites include red, pink, orange, blue, green, and copper. Specialty foils are often available in custom colors as well.
It’s important to remember that foil printing is quite subtle when it comes to color. Though it’s difficult to obtain the same level of shading as you can with traditional plastisol inks, new trends have been layering hues of colors side-by-side with other foils or inks for a three-dimensional appearance.
Can I Combine Foil and Ink?
Combining foil and ink is one of the most popular ways to accentuate a unique design. Foil printing can bring an ink design to live with small reflective elements like a border, added pattern, or foiled background. Foil can either be applied around or on top of plastisol inks. As we mentioned earlier, combining foil and ink is one major method for creating shadow and depth to a foil-printed design.
How Do I Care For Foil Printed T-Shirts?
Foil printed designs are very durable and long-lasting when manufactured by an experienced screen printer. Just like typical inks, foil can break down over time, so it can be helpful to create a design that is just as elegant with a distressed look.
Still, there are ways to lengthen the life of your foil-printed design. Hand washing is always the safest bet. If you need to run it through a washing machine, turn the piece of clothing inside out and run on a delicate cycle. Hang drying is the best bet for the longest-lasting design.
Foil-printed items like mugs and dishes are best when hand washed and kept out of the dishwasher.
Can I Order Foil-Printed Shirts in Bulk?
Thrive Screen Printing accepts wholesale order over 24 items. You do not need to be a business to order from our company.
When you begin your order, we can help you decide if foil printing is best for your design or if adding foil embellishment could bring your design to life. In addition to foil printing, we offer a wide range of specialty ink techniques, including flock printing, gel printing, metallic ink printing, and high-density printing. We also specialize in traditional plastisol printing, one of the most common and versatile forms of screen printing.
In addition to screen printing, we also offer finishing services such as folding, tagging, and packaging for sale in your store. We have the capacity to print and ship 20,000 items today, grouping together orders large and small to get the best possible prices for each new order.
To start your foil printing wholesale order, request a quote via our online form. You can then speak directly with one of our experienced team members to walk through color and material choices as well as a time frame that works best for your product.