Depending on the application, applying digital foil (also known as SLEEKpro) can be a simple two step process or as complex as you'd like.
But did you know that you can use SLEEKpro foil without using a laminate barrier? In the SLEEKpro process, a laminate film (often SOFTpro) is often used for a few reasons:
- It adds a tactile dimension to the print piece, along with the visual sparkle of foil
- It puts a printable barrier between the existing print and the area that you need foiled.
- It adds an element of protection to the piece
But a lot of people don't realize they can do the SLEEKpro process without the lamination film. Obviously it will depend on your application, but once you understand how SLEEKpro works — that it will stick to any exposed toner on the sheet — it should be pretty straightforward. For example, in the latter part of this sample, we did the following steps to produce the gold and silver dots:
- Print with black toner
- Sleek with silver foil
- Print with black toner again (for the gold dots)
- Sleek with gold foil.
We can do that because the foil won't stick to itself - only to exposed toner. Like with all SLEEKpro applications, we recommend that you check the file to make sure that registration won't be an issue. And, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our team!