Finishes
Four ways of putting a mark on board, and the honest limits of each. Most disappointing bags are the result of the right artwork on the wrong process, decided by price rather than by stock.
Hot Foil
Foil is not printed, it is stamped: a heated magnesium die presses metallic film into the board. That die is cut for your artwork, costs between £85 and £180 depending on size and detail, and then belongs to you — job two onwards, foil is just the running cost.
Foil sits on top of the stock rather than sinking into it, which is why it is the only finish that reads cleanly on uncoated black. Fine serifs below about 6pt fill in. Large solid areas show every imperfection in the board underneath.
Stocked colours: gold, copper, silver, matt black, and a soft white that photographs far better than it sounds.
The same principle as foil without the film: the die presses the shape into the board and the mark is pure relief. On heavy uncoated stock it is the most expensive-looking thing we do, and it costs less than foil because there is no consumable.
It needs weight. Below 210gsm the emboss crushes rather than forms, and on laminated board it cracks the film. If you want emboss, choose the stock first.
Litho on the flat sheet before the bag is made up gives the cleanest result and the widest colour range, including full-bleed. Screen printing goes onto the made-up bag, handles a single heavy colour beautifully, and is the only option if you are printing onto stock we did not make up ourselves.
| Process | Best on | Colours | Setup | Fails at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot foil | Uncoated, dark board | 5 stocked foils | Die, £85–£180 | Serifs under 6pt, huge solids |
| Blind emboss | 210gsm+, uncoated | None — relief only | Die, £85–£180 | Thin stock, laminated board |
| Litho | Coated white, kraft | CMYK or Pantone | Plates, £40 per colour | Very short runs; uneconomic under 25 |
| Screen | Made-up bags, any stock | 1–2 spot colours | Screen, £35 | Gradients, fine halftones |
| Spot UV | Matt-laminated only | Gloss varnish | Plate, £45 | Uncoated stock — it soaks in |
We proof everything as a flat PDF with the die position marked, and for foil jobs over £500 we will pull a physical proof on the actual stock before running.
Kraft board is brown, and ink is transparent. Every colour printed on kraft shifts warm — your cool grey becomes a putty, your bright blue goes slate. This is not a fault and it cannot be corrected by adding more ink. If the exact colour matters, the answer is white board or a white underprint, and the underprint costs the same as a second colour.