Palo Alto, Calif. – Nothing livens up a print creation quite like the eye-catching shimmer of foil. Yet few designers realize that this option stretches far beyond hot-foil stamping and cold foil transfer. Today, a range of new and emerging digital foiling techniques makes it possible to add the beauty and shine of foil to as few as 1, 10 or even 100 pieces, and to customize those effects on each and every one.

To give creatives a vital overview of all these options, PaperSpecs created the Foil Cheat Sheet, an indispensable guide that lets you compare all the various types of foiling at once.

Crafted in cooperation with the Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA), the Foil Cheat Sheet is a single go-to source for everything creatives need to know about using foil in their print work. From hot and cold foil to toner-based and varnish-based digital foiling, they will find tips and insights guaranteed to make their work look its very best.

“There are ample references out there for hot foiling, of course, and some cold foil ones,” explains PaperSpecs Founder Sabine Lenz. “But when it comes to digital foiling with the ever increasing options available, there really was a need to see all the benefits and limitations of each system laid out side by side. To the best of my knowledge, this has never been done before. It’s certainly never been done this clearly.”

And to provide designers and others with real-world examples of these techniques, PaperSpecs, in collaboration with FSEA and Orlando printer Sundance, produced a limited-edition print version of the Foil Cheat Sheet distributed to select audiences. This Wire-O bound collector’s item features a wraparound cover and interior pages that actually use some of the same digital foiling options discussed inside, as well as soft touch lamination and fabulous French folds.

“To me it was important that creatives have an overview of their foiling options – especially the short-run ones provided by digital,” observes FSEA Executive Director Jeff Peterson. “Something that they could turn to as a reference time and time again.”