Hot & Cold Foil Printed Cartons
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Hot and cold foil add metallic detail to printed cartons, helping logos, typography and selected design elements catch the light and stand out on shelf.
At Carton Apeel, both are applied in the same single pass as your carton print. With no separate foiling stage, cartons move more directly from approved artwork to finished pack, helping shorten lead times. While the metallic effect can look similar, hot and cold foil are applied differently and give a different finished result.
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Hot foil uses heat and a specially made tool to stamp the foil onto the carton. It can be applied to both coated and uncoated materials and offers a wider choice of foil colours. The result is typically sharper, crisper and more defined, making it particularly effective for fine detail or for the parts of the design you most want to stand out.
Cold foil uses an adhesive to apply the foil rather than heat and tooling. It can be used with coated papers and plastic materials, although there are more limitations around material choice and foil colours. The finished result is also generally less sharp and defined than hot foil.
Foil with other finishes
Foil does not have to work on its own.
It can be combined with embossing, varnish, lamination or other carton finishes to introduce contrast between metallic, matt, gloss and tactile areas. Used selectively, these combinations draw attention to the details that matter most, such as a logo, product name or pattern.
Talk to us about foil printed cartons
You don't need to choose between hot and cold foil before you speak to us.
The best option depends on your artwork, the amount of foil coverage, the carton board and the effect you want to achieve. Send us your artwork, carton specification and quantities, and we'll recommend the foil process and finishing options that will reproduce your design most effectively.
Still deciding on the carton itself? Explore our custom printed cartons for structures, materials and other finishing options.
Contact Us
Need advice on your next packaging project, a technical challenge, or simply want to explore what's possible? Get in touch with our team and we’ll help you find the right solution for your product, budget and timescales.
