What are foil stamping services?

Foil stamping services apply a thin metallic or pigmented foil to a substrate to create reflective, decorative finishes. CFS provides cold foil stamping — an inline, UV-cured process that runs on standard flexo and offset presses at up to 450 m/min, without engraved dies or heated tooling.

Do you offer both cold foil and hot foil stamping?

CFS focuses exclusively on cold foil stamping. Cold foil is faster, lower-cost on long runs, supports CMYK over-printing in the same pass, and is compatible with heat-sensitive substrates like flexible film. See our cold foil vs hot foil guide for a full comparison.

What is the minimum order quantity?

Foil rolls ship from 1 master roll (≈3,000 linear meters). For press trials and qualification, we send free sample rolls sized to your press width. There is no minimum for samples.

Which substrates can you foil?

SBS and FBB folding cartons, coated and uncoated label stock, BOPP, PET and PE flexible films, metallized board, and selected uncoated specialty papers. We test new substrates free of charge.

How fast can you deliver?

Standard SKUs (bright gold, silver, pale gold, holographic) ship in 5–10 business days from our European and Asian hubs. Custom widths and pigmented foils: 3–4 weeks.

Are cold foil services recyclable-compliant?

Yes. With <5 g/m² aluminium deposit, cold foil-decorated cartons and films qualify as mono-material recyclable under the EU PPWR 2027 framework and Germany's Minimum Standard. We supply technical compliance letters on request.

Foil Stamping Services

Cold Foil Stamping Services for Labels, Cartons & Flexible Packaging.

CFS is a dedicated cold foil stamping services partner for packaging converters and brand owners. We supply cold foil rolls, UV adhesive systems, anilox guidance and on-press commissioning so your flexo or offset line runs reliably at up to 450 m/min. Every project starts with a free sample roll, a substrate-matched coat-weight recommendation, and a documented press trial — then moves into scheduled roll deliveries with full lot traceability. Over-printable, solvent-free, and ready for PPWR 2027 mono-material recycling from the first job.

Request a free sample Talk to an engineer

Max press speed: 450m/min
Solvent-free system: 0VOC
Aluminium deposit: <5g/m²
Shipped worldwide: 60+markets

Capabilities

A full cold foil service stack — foils, presses, integration and QA.

High-speed rotary cold foil

Inline UV-flexo and offset cold foil up to 450 m/min — ideal for long-run folding cartons, labels and flexible film.

Over-printable metallic finishes

CMYK and special colors print directly over the foil in the same pass, enabling brand color overlays and rainbow gradients without a second stamping operation.

Custom foil supply & converting

Bright gold, pale gold, silver, rose gold, copper, champagne, holographic, pigmented and bespoke metallic systems — slit to width and core to fit your press.

Retrofit & line integration

Press audit, anilox selection, adhesive matching and on-site commissioning so your existing press runs cold foil reliably.

Zero VOC, recyclable-ready

Solvent-free UV adhesive system. <5 g/m² aluminium qualifies as mono-material recyclable under EU PPWR 2027.

ISO + brand-owner approved

Documented Δ E color tolerance, lot traceability and TUV-aligned QA reports for cosmetics, spirits, FMCG and pharma buyers.

How we work

From brief to production in four steps.

01
Brief & spec
Share artwork, substrate, press model and run length. Our applications team responds within one business day with a process recommendation.
02
Foil sample & match
Free physical foil samples shipped worldwide. Color matched against your Pantone or brand reference under D65 illumination.
03
Press trial & approval
On-site or remote-supported press trial. We tune anilox, adhesive coat-weight and UV cure for your exact substrate.
04
Production & supply
Scheduled roll deliveries, QA datasheets and lot traceability for every shipment. Reorders ship in 7–14 days.

Materials

Foils, adhesives and substrates we work with every day.

Cold foil quality is decided by three inputs: the foil roll itself, the UV adhesive, and the substrate you are decorating. We help you specify all three together — never in isolation — so the press trial converges on first or second pull-down.

Cold foil rolls

Bright gold, pale gold, silver, copper, rose gold, holographic and pigmented systems — slit to your press width and core.

Browse cold foil rolls

UV adhesive & consumables

Free-radical and cationic UV adhesives matched to your anilox volume, lamp output and line speed — plus anilox rolls and wear parts.

Read the supply checklist

Substrate guidance

SBS/FBB cartons, coated and uncoated labels, BOPP/PET/PE films and metallized board — including the trickier uncoated stocks.

Cold foil on uncoated paper

Applications

Cold foil stamping services across eight packaging verticals.

Cosmetics & Beauty Wine & Spirits FMCG & Food Pharmaceuticals Tobacco & Vape Confectionery Folding Cartons Stationery & Gifting

Troubleshooting

The five defects we get called in to fix.

Most cold foil issues trace back to adhesive coat-weight, UV cure energy or web tension. The table below is what our applications engineers check first when a press call comes in.

Defect	Likely cause	First fix
Pinholing in solids	Adhesive coat-weight too low / dirty anilox	Step up to higher BCM anilox; clean rolls
Ragged edges	Adhesive spread / poor register	Reduce coat-weight; check plate-to-foil pressure
Dull, hazy finish	Under-cured adhesive or weak lamp	Verify mJ/cm²; replace UV lamp if >800 h
Foil flaking after die-cut	Adhesion failure to substrate	Match adhesive chemistry to substrate; prime if uncoated
Poor over-print adhesion	Foil surface contamination	Add corona before over-print; tune UV ink cure

Deeper reads: cold foil machine setup · prepress & designer guide · step-by-step process.

Why CFS

A cold foil specialist — not a generalist print shop.

Most foil stamping providers offer cold foil as one of many decoration services. CFS is built entirely around it: our R&D, adhesive systems, metallizing lines and applications team focus on a single process so we can hold tighter Δ E tolerances and faster lead times than a multi-process shop.

Dedicated cold foil R&D and metallizing lines
Adhesive systems tuned for UV-flexo, offset and narrow-web
On-site press commissioning included with first order
Global logistics from European and Asian hubs
Documented sustainability claims (PPWR 2027, ISO 14001 aligned)

FAQ

Foil stamping services — common questions.

Ready to brief a cold foil project?

Get a free physical foil sample, a press recommendation, and a quote within one business day.

Request a sample How the technology works