How to mimic foil printing

You can easily mimic foil printing by choosing a metallic material base and using white ink to create opaque, vibrant colors.

White ink underprinting is the secret weapon for printing on effect materials because it unlocks three ways to design with metallic materials:

1. Metallic base: When you don’t add ink to your effect materials, the metallic base shines through. This is the trick behind mimicking foil printing. You can use a metallic base instead of paying extra for metallic foils.
   
2. Metallic colors: You can print any CMYK color directly onto the effect material. This creates a metallic version of that color.
   
3. Opaque colors: If you want parts of your design to appear as standard, non-metallic colors, this is where white ink comes in. We first apply a layer of white ink to those areas, blocking out the metallic effect. Then, a layer of color is printed over it, and voilà, that part appears fully opaque.
   

Before we go further, you may want to check out our article: What is foil printing.

When to mimic foiling

Mimic foiling when you’re working with a tight budget but still want a glossy or metallic finish on a white, black, or colored base.

Creating a foiled effect this way is much cheaper and often faster.

The trick is simple, just leave the areas you want to appear gold, silver, holographic, or glitter unprinted. This lets the material shine through naturally.

Unlike traditional foil printing, which usually limits you to one material, mimicking it gives you much more flexibility. You can use a wide range of colors, not just black or white, on metallic bases.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Silver and black

These labels use a silver base with black ink printed over it. The black appears matte, not metallic, because there’s white ink underneath.

You could get a similar look using foil printing on white or black material, but why do that when this method is easier and more affordable?

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Blue and gold

This candle label shows how to use color creatively. Instead of white or black ink, it uses blue printed directly onto gold material, resulting in a beautiful effect.

Foil printing often limits you to white or clear materials. This approach gives you a lot more creative freedom.

Which materials are available?

We offer holographic, glitter, gold, and silver metallic effect materials. You can use these to create any design with full-color printing and white ink support.

Each of these materials is also available on an eco-friendly base. That means your stickers and labels are biodegradable and can be placed in your food waste bin at home once used.

Please note: our clear materials are not suitable if you want to create metallic effects. See our other types of stickers as well.

Why can't you mimic clear foiling?

The whole idea behind mimicking foiling is using a metallic base to achieve a metallic effect. Clear materials don’t contain any metallic layer, so there’s nothing reflective to enhance with ink.

When you print colors on a clear material, the result is a beautiful stained-glass effect, but it’s not metallic.

If you want to add gold or silver to a clear base, foil printing is your only option.

Some manufacturers offer workarounds using a metallic base and physically cutting out the areas you want to appear clear. But this limits the level of detail you can achieve.

Mimicking foiling is a great way to add metallic effects without the premium price tag of traditional foil printing. By using effect materials and layering white ink beneath opaque colors, you can create amazing designs with more flexibility and lower costs.

If you want eye-catching labels or stickers that look like they’ve been foil printed, but without the cost, reach out to us. Our team is happy to help bring your design ideas to life. Don't want to be hard on the environment? See the eco-friendly version of foil stickers.