Technical Author

    Gavin Gao

    Technical Director, All-in Pack

    Gavin Gao is Technical Director at All-in Pack, with 15 years of hands-on experience in hot stamping foil and post-press machinery manufacturing. He works directly with converters and packaging manufacturers to match foil, machine and substrate for optimal stamping results.

    Gavin Gao, Technical Director, All-in Pack

    About Gavin Gao

    Gavin Gao is Technical Director at All-in Pack, with 15 years of hands-on experience in hot stamping foil and post-press machinery manufacturing. He works directly with converters and packaging manufacturers to match foil, machine and substrate for optimal stamping results.

    He reviews the technical articles and buyer guides published on this site, checking specifications, process parameters and machine data against real production practice. For product-level questions, see the technical guides or the packaging insights blog.

    Areas of expertise

    • Hot stamping foil
    • Post-press machinery
    • Foil-substrate matching

    How technical content is reviewed

    Every technical guide and product specification on this site passes a three-step review before publication. First, process parameters — stamping temperature, dwell time, pressure and line speed — are cross-checked against production records from All-in Pack's Wenzhou plant, which ships more than 20,000 tons of converted material per year to 60+ export markets. Second, material data such as carrier thickness, release-layer behaviour, adhesive tack and substrate compatibility is verified against incoming-QC test reports and supplier datasheets. Third, commercial data — MOQ, roll widths, lead times and packing — is confirmed with the export sales desk so buyers can act on the numbers directly.

    Guides are re-reviewed at least once a year, or immediately when a machine specification, foil formulation or certification status changes. Where a figure varies by substrate or press, the page states the range rather than a single number, because a value that only holds on one press is not useful to a converter sourcing at scale.

    Start with the hot stamping foil fundamentals guide, the cold foil process guide, or the hot foil stamping machine range. For the full catalogue see all products or request a technical review of your artwork and substrate.

    Review record

    29
    technical guides reviewed
    51
    product specification sheets verified
    10+
    years in foil and post-press engineering
    60+
    export markets supported

    Technical questions Gavin Gao is asked most

    What stamping temperature should I start from on coated board?
    For general-purpose pigment and metallic foils on 250–350 gsm coated board, start at 110–130 °C with 0.2–0.4 s dwell and adjust in 5 °C steps. Under-adhesion usually points to temperature or dwell, while a fuzzy edge or tail points to excess heat or pressure. Textured or varnished stock normally needs 10–20 °C more than uncoated board of the same weight.
    Why does foil release cleanly on press but rub off later?
    Late adhesion failure is almost always a substrate issue rather than a foil defect: silicone in the varnish, migrating plasticiser in PVC, or residual surface moisture. The fix is to match the adhesive system to the substrate — a UV-varnish grade for OPV stock, a plastic grade for PVC/PET — and to test after 24 hours, not immediately off press.
    How is foil consumption calculated for a quotation?
    Take the image length plus the pull-off increment per impression, multiply by impressions, and divide the roll length by that figure to get impressions per roll. Add 8–12 % for set-up and splice waste on short runs, 3–5 % on runs over 50,000 impressions. Roll width should match the image band so unused width is not indexed away.
    Which foil grade suits scratch-off and security applications?
    Scratch-off panels need a low-adhesion, high-opacity silver formulated to be removed cleanly by a coin without lifting the printed layer beneath. Security work usually combines a registered holographic or fluorescent foil with a tamper-evident release, and both need substrate trials before volume commitment.
    How do I compare hot foil stamping machines fairly?
    Compare maximum stamping area, platen pressure in tons, registration accuracy in millimetres, heating zones and rated impressions per hour together — a high stated speed is meaningless if registration widens under load. Ask for the loaded test-run sheet rather than a brochure figure, and confirm die-holder and foil-feed compatibility with the tooling you already own.

    Credentials and background

    Gavin Gao has worked in foil converting and post-press engineering for over a decade, moving from press-side commissioning of hot stamping and die-cutting lines into materials engineering and, since joining All-in Pack, technical direction across three production lines. Day to day this means substrate trials for export customers, first-article approval on new foil formulations, and factory acceptance testing on machines before they are crated for shipment.

    He works directly with converters in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia, which is why the published guides state parameter ranges rather than single values — press condition, ambient humidity and substrate supply differ by market, and a figure that only holds in one plant is not a specification.

    • 15+ years in hot stamping foil and post-press machinery
    • Technical direction across three production lines at All-in Pack's Wenzhou plant
    • First-article approval on new foil formulations and factory acceptance testing on machines
    • Substrate and foil-matching trials for converters in 60+ export markets

    Recently reviewed material

    Articles by Gavin Gao

    79 technical guides and articles written or reviewed by Gavin Gao.

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