Environment
Cold foil is already one of the more resource-efficient ways to put a metallic effect on a label or carton — no heated die, no offline decoration step, and only a very thin metal layer transferred to the finished package. This page explains what the process actually leaves behind, what we can document on request, and what we will not claim without evidence.
TL;DR
CFS cold foil is applied inline with UV-cured adhesive instead of a heated die. During transfer, the PET carrier film leaves with the residual foil web; a sub-micron metallised layer plus adhesive stays on the finished label or carton. Recyclability, VOC and carbon figures depend on the finished package — we share design-for-recycling notes and lot-level documentation on request rather than publish blanket certification claims.
Cold foil is applied inline at press speed using a UV-cured adhesive — no heated die, no offline pass, no make-ready waste from tool changes. Compared with a hot-stamping workflow, that removes a full decoration step, its energy load and the transport leg between print and finishing.
Inline, no heated die
During transfer, most of the PET carrier film leaves the finished package with the residual foil web. What stays on the label or carton is a very thin metallised layer plus its adhesive. Whether the finished package remains recyclable in a given regional stream depends on substrate, coverage, adhesive and local recycling rules — we share design-for-recycling guidance rather than blanket claims.
Design-for-recycling guidance
Cold foil transfer is driven by UV-cured adhesives printed on-press, not solvent-based laminates. That keeps process water and VOC exposure from the decoration step itself very low relative to solvent-based metallised laminates.
UV-cured, solvent-free
Only the metallised film released onto the adhesive image stays on the finished label or carton. That layer is a fraction of a micron thick, so the added metal weight per package is very small compared with laminated metallised board.
Sub-micron metal layer
Design-for-recycling notes
The table below summarises the levers that matter when specifying cold foil for a package that has to meet a recyclability target in a specific market. It is guidance, not a certification — the final outcome depends on the substrate, coverage, adhesive and local recycling rules for the SKU in question.
| Lever | Recommendation | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Foil coverage | Design to spec | Keep metal coverage aligned with local recyclability guidance for the substrate |
| Substrate choice | Mono-material where possible | Mono-material paper / PET / PP simplifies end-of-life sorting |
| Adhesive selection | UV cold-foil adhesive | Choose grades qualified for your recyclability target (paper / PET / PP stream) |
| Carrier disposal | Recovered on-press | Spent PET carrier is removed on-press and handled as clean film scrap |
| Process VOCs from decoration | None from UV cold-foil transfer | Cold foil is applied via UV-cured adhesive, not solvent-based lamination |
What we do and do not claim
We do not publish LCA numbers or carbon-neutral claims we cannot back with third-party audit documents. Where a buyer needs project-level environmental data, we support the substrate + adhesive + coverage combination the converter is actually running rather than a generic figure.
Recyclability outcomes depend on the finished package, not the foil alone. If your brand owner or EPR scheme requires a formal repulpability or recyclability test for a specific SKU, we can support the test protocol with the technical data for our foil.
Regulatory declarations (composition statements, restricted-substance declarations, migration data for the foil itself where applicable) are available on request during qualification, matched to the lot supplied.
We do not publish certification badges we cannot show the certificate for. When a buyer asks for a specific certification (e.g. ISO, FSC, food-contact), we confirm the current status honestly and share the underlying document if we hold it.
FAQ
Documentation
For qualification, we share composition and restricted-substance declarations, storage and handling guidance, and design-for-recycling notes matched to the lot supplied.