Cold Transfer - the process in Sheet-fed Offset printing

Cold Transfer is realised via two printing units in an offset printing press. The first printing unit applies an application-specific adhesive via an inking unit, an offset printing plate and blanket. Depending on requirements, the adhesive can be applied either partially or over the entire sheet. Fine lines and fonts as well as halftone effects can be transferred in combination with large solids, since the properties of offset printing come into play during adhesive application just as they do with an offset printing ink. Via a second printing unit, which is equipped with a special Cold Transfer module and an unwinding and rewinding station, the Cold Foil is fed into the printing nip between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder and the metallised transfer layer is transferred under pressure to the areas of the sheet where the adhesive has been applied.

After the Carrier-film has been removed, the metallised transfer layer remains on the substrate and adheres directly and permanently to the sheet preprinted with the adhesive by means of a special adhesive layer. The Carrier-film web is then rewound with the non-transferred areas through the Cold Transfer module; no film is transferred to the substrate achieving a plastic free end-product. A wide variety of metallic colour effects and shades can be achieved by subsequent inline overprinting with spot or process colours onto Silver, in the subsequent printing units or in a separate work step offline. Coated art and label papers and folding carton boards with surfaces that are as smooth as possible offer the best conditions for high-quality Cold Transfer applications. In addition, textured wet-adhesive label paper and non-absorbent substrates such as PP can also be used.

Advantages

• Virtually unlimited design possibilities can be achieved in a single pass, from the finest details and fonts to large solid areas, halftones and grids.
• Flexible Inline and offline overprinting processes are possible.
• No Hot Stamping clichés are required for cold transfer application.
• No heat or high pressure is required for the process, which allows the use of heat-sensitive thin IML substrates.
• The surface structure of the substrate is retained on both sides, and there is no deformation of the substrate.
• Very short makeready times and fast roll and job changes.
• Fast changeover from Cold Transfer mode to standard printing mode.
• Very high processing speed of up to 21,000 sheets/hour.
• Compared to metallised substrates, no opaque white application is necessary. By selectively omitting Cold Transfer, the natural whiteness of the substrate can be leveraged to achieve optimal visual impact and material efficiency.
• Product and cost savings are resource-efficient possible through the use of foil-saving modules.

Cold Transfer finishing in Sheet-fed Offset printing is used today for many different applications. Various markets use cold transfer technique to add value to their products and stand out at the POS:

Examples of use: