Have you ever wanted to add a little bit of foil to your business cards, flyers, postcards or mailers? Foil can help to give your printed pieces an elegant and professional look that isn’t available through standard printing techniques. However, adding foil to documents usually requires the creation of a photoengraved metal die and an expensive hot foil press. This means that adding a splash of foil to your business cards may not be realistic unless you are willing to spend a bundle of money. However, there is a new cheaper option for short run foiling.

Using your pouch laminator, it is possible to add foil to your printed documents. However, there are a few things that you will need.

1. A pouch laminator with variable heat and speed settings.

2. A laser printer or photocopier (must user toner and not wax based inks)

3. A roll of toner receptive foil

4. A pair of scissors

5. A laminating pouch carrier

After you have gathered these materials together you will need to turn your laminator on and get it warmed up. The temperature for foil fusing will need to be quite high (usually between 130-150 degrees Celsius or 250-300 degrees Fahrenheit). Not all laminators are capable of getting this hot. You will need to make sure that your laminator will handle 10mil laminating pouches and has variable temperature and speed settings before attempting to do foil fusing.

While your laminator is warming up to the appropriate temperature you will need to prepare your document for foiling. The toner receptive foil that is required for the fusing process will only adhere to toner from a copier or laser printer. This means that you will need to print your document on your laser printer or copier so that it is ready for foiling. You will also need to cut a piece of foil off the roll in the appropriate length and width. You are going to place the piece of foil over the printed area where you want to add foil and carefully put the item into a laminating pouch carrier. If the foil moves at this point the foiling process will not be successful so you will need to be careful. After your laminator is warmed up to the correct temperature you will want to take your pouch carrier with the document and foil in it and feed it through the laminator. The heat from the pouch laminator will cause the foil to bond to the toner on your sheet and the foil will be transferred. After the document comes out of the other side of your laminator you will need to remove the excess foil and allow the document to cool.

Keep in mind that foiling in this manner will work better with some stocks than with others. Additionally, the speed and temperature of your laminator will make a big difference. You may need to try several different settings before you get the right combination.