Foil Laminators

Foiling with a pouch laminator is the easiest way to apply a professional foil to your printed design. It is less expensive that a foil fusing machine, and better for lower volume needs. But not all laminators will work; in fact, they need some various adjustments and features to be considered foil-capable, and even then, you might need to do some testing with your specific paper stock and foil type before knowing if it will work properly.

With a great pouch lamination machine and a high quality thermal reactive foil roll, you can turn your plain printed pages into gorgeous metallic designs. The process essentially works by printing your design using a try-toner printer or copier machine, placing a piece of foil onto the paper over the portion of the design you want to foil, placing the sheet into a protective pouch carrier folder, and then running that through your laminator. It is easy, can be pretty fast, and brings the fun of foiling into the hands of all kinds of users, whether professional businesses or individuals.

So now let's review some of the important features that your pouch laminator will need to have in order to be capable of producing a foil laminated page. The foil laminators we have at Binding101 are tried and true, and all contain some combination (or in some cases, all) of these features. Scroll down just a bit more and you will also find a how to foil video, which features our best laminator for foiling, which is the SpeedyLam. You can also click here to visit our resource center and learn more about foiling, or give us a call at (866) 537-2244 with questions or help choosing.

Foil Laminator Recommendations:

   • Temperature - The minimum temperature your laminator should reach is 300° F, however, the ability to get hotter is recommended. Some of the foils, such as the holographic patterns, may require additional heat, so the hotter your laminating machine can reach, the more professional and solid foil you will be able to achieve, even with the more frigidity reactive foils.

   • Heat Settings - Having heat settings, or the ability to adjust hot hot your laminator will run, is another important factor. This variable hear allows you to make minor adjustments for the various foils and paper stocks that you may be using. As mentioned above, we recommend beginning with about 300° F, and then running a test sheet and making any adjustments based on the results.

   • Speed Settings - Adjustable speed settings are also important. When working with more difficult foils you can slow down the speed so that they spend more time in the heat, allowing for a more solid finish. And, on the other side, you can speed it up if your foil is leaving residue on your paper, indicating it is spending too much time in the heat.

   • Mil Thickness - Your laminator will need to be able to handle at least a 10mil thick lamination pouch in order to handle foiling, because we will be using a pouch carrier in addition to some potential scrap paper, which all add girth to the thickness of your item. If you use a machine that can only take a 3mil pouch, for example, you run the risk of jamming or damaging your laminator.

Foil Laminator FAQs:

   Q: I have a craft laminator...will it foil? Because we do not sell that particular laminator, we are unable to test to confirm, however, some people who foil for crafting with their smaller laminating machine have reported back to us that they simply run the material through the laminator 2-3 times and are able to get a nice foiled finish.

   Q: My foil isn't transferring...what's wrong? There are several things that you can try to troubleshoot and locate the problem. The most common issue is that the ink used is not a dry toner. Remember, our heat reactive foil is only compatible with toner printer sheets and won't work with wax-based inks. Click here for a full list of foil laminator troubleshooting tips.

   Q: What color ink will the foil work with? Our reactive foil responds and connects with dry toner, no matter the color. That being said, if you are using a solid foil (versus a transparent fol where you want the ink color to show-through) then it is always best to use black ink. Black is the most saturated and solid color, so the foil will always stick best to black.

Foil Laminator Troubleshooting:

Foil Not Transferring - If the foil is not transferring, or you are only seeing a partial transfer with speckles of foil missing, then there are several things to do to troubleshoot the foil problem:
   1. Is your ink a dry toner? Remember, thermal foil will not stick to anything buy a dry toner, so if your are not using a compatible ink, it will not transfer.
   2. Is your paper a smooth stock? Textured paper stocks are too porous to accept foil; your paper needs to be smooth for proper foiling.
   3. If your paper uncoated? A coating on your paper stock could affect the transfer. Foil will not transfer well onto coated paper stocks (sometimes worded as C1S or C2S on your box of paper).
   4. Is your laminator hot enough? 300° F is the minimum recommendation that your laminator needs to reach, and hotter is better. Some paper stocks (like thicker sheets) and even some foils will need more heat to transfer properly. If your laminator is already at it's top heat, then try slowing down the speed. If you do not have adjustable speed or heat, then try just running it through a 2nd time. Note that it can only be heated a couple of times before the foil becomes unusable, so you may need to use a new piece of foil.

Foil Transferring onto Paper Stock - It is a good idea to have a paint or dusting brush handy to lightly dust off the page after foiling, as some speckling on your page is normal. This will help remove those speckles. If they are not being removed, then your laminator may be too hot or too slow. Try lowering the temperature or increasing the speed and running a new sheet to see if that reduces the speckles.

Foil Transferring onto Pouch Carrier - You should always place a piece of scrap paper on top of your foil before you run it through; this will protect the top side of your carrier. If your foil piece hangs over your sheet, (such as if you are foiling a border on your design) then you will need a piece of scrap paper below your page as well.