Fuerth, Germany - The stamping foil manufacturer Kurz has released two new cold foils for sheet-fed applications that can be utilized in conjunction with UV adhesives and UV drying inks. In the past, oxidatively drying systems have predominantly been used in sheet-fed printing; the new cold foils Luxor/Alufin KPS-OS and Luxor Alufin KPS-OF give processors greater independence when selecting the process components.

When using cold foil technology, the metallized foil is transferred to a substrate by means of an adhesive and then usually overprinted as well. The transfer of the cold foil to the sheet generally occurs in a sheet-fed offset printing machine. The adhesive to which the foil adheres is applied, so to speak, as the first printing ink. The conventional adhesives previously used for this purpose required one to two days of drying time. When using a UV-curing adhesive, however, the sheet is ready for re-use immediately. The same applies to overprinted ink. Here too the use of UVcuring inks can eliminate the drying time. Kurz has been working intensively with suppliers of UV adhesives and inks to develop a cold foil that enables processors to better exploit these advantages.

Product variants for coarse and fine applications
The new cold foil has been developed in two versions to enable optimum stamping results to be achieved in all types of applications. Luxor/Alufin KPS-OS is recommended for large-area applications and, according to Kurz, offers outstanding coverage and excellent gloss. The foil can not only be processed with UV adhesives, but also with oxidatively drying adhesives to which it adheres excellently. Luxor/Alufin KPS-OS is suitable for a variety of substrates and can be overprinted with a wide range of commercially available UV inks and lacquers.

Luxor/Alufin KPS-OF is a very clean stamping cold foil for fine details, rasters and negative lettering. This cold foil, which adheres very well to UV adhesives, delivers especially clean tear-off edges and a high gloss level. According to the manufacturer, Luxor/Alufin KPS-OF achieves outstanding printing results when used in conjunction with a wide variety of UV inks and lacquers. The best results are obtained with art paper.

Visitors to Ipex can see for themselves the stamping quality of these two cold foils at the Kurz booth D921 in hall 17. Full-surface application of cold foil in sheetfed printing.