Back: Cloth and Endpaper Choices
Foil blocking can really make a book cover special. Printing offers a lot of control of the end result, whereas foiling can be unpredictable. For this reason it is important to plan carefully to achieve the best results.
Simple foil blocking to the spine of a Wibalin Buckram case is rarely an issue, but even with this type of blocking there is a limit to the level of detail and fine line work that can be achieved.
With coarse cloth and more complex artwork, the end result can depend on a number of factors, and different foils can behave completely differently with the same cloth and the same die. Despite the extra cost it can be worth paying for testing, to ensure a everything runs smoothly when it comes to full production.
There are different foiling processes. At Gomer we run a heat based foil blocker which applies foil to finished cases via a copper or magnesium die, with some deboss due to the pressure applied. The same machine can also blind deboss… we simply run the same die without foil. It is important to note that this process can not achieve close register to print, and some mechanical variation is to be expected.
We also subcontract sheet fed foiling which gives better control of register but no deboss. This is the only type of foiling that we use for jackets. For complex artwork and/or close register foiling, we may recommend this process for both PPCs and Wibalin/cloth cases.
In certain instances screen printing on to cloth can be worth considering to get the best results possible. This can achieve a cleaner and denser image on coarse cloth with less material “show through”.
Our foiling costs will always be subject to sight of artwork and the sooner we can see what you have in mind the better we can advise! As in all areas of book production our Customer Services staff will be very happy to work with you to achieve the best possible results.
Our most popular foil colours are below, although we can use any foils from Kurz and Foilco .
