Pillar Guide · 2026 Edition
Cold Foil — What It Is, Cost & Where to Buy
Cold foil is a UV-adhesive metallic decoration that runs inline on flexo and offset presses at 150–400 m/min — 30–60% cheaper than hot foil above 5,000 units, with no die tooling and full overprintability with CMYK.
Reviewed by Gavin Gao, Technical Director
What is cold foil?
Cold foil is a metallic decoration process that transfers an aluminium-coated PET film onto a substrate using UV-cured adhesive — at room temperature, with no engraved die. It runs inline on flexo or offset presses at 150–400 m/min, making it the dominant cost-efficient way to add gold, silver or holographic metallics to high-volume folding cartons, pressure-sensitive labels, and shrink sleeves. For the step-by-step process see our Cold Foil Stamping Guide, or jump straight to the Cold Stamping Foil product page. For the press-side workflow see our cold foil printing guide.
Cold foil vs hot foil vs digital foil — at a glance
| Attribute | Cold Foil | Hot Foil | Digital Foil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | 150–400 m/min | 20–80 m/min | 5–30 m/min |
| Setup cost | $80–$180 plate | $200–$500 die | $0 |
| Per-unit cost @ 50k | $0.008–$0.025 | $0.015–$0.045 | $0.05–$0.18 |
| Brightness | Good | Best (mirror) | Good |
| Min line | 0.15 mm | 0.05 mm | 0.10 mm |
| Heat-sensitive substrate | Yes | No | Yes |
| Overprintable with CMYK | Yes (inline) | No | Yes |
| Best volume | 5,000+ | 500–50,000 | 100–5,000 |
What can you decorate with cold foil?
Cosmetics, spirits and confectionery cartons running on sheetfed offset with inline cold foil.
Wine, beverage and personal-care labels converted on narrow-web flexo with cold-foil units.
Heat-sensitive films decorated without thermal load — cold foil's structural sweet spot.
BOPP and PE laminate decoration with inline overprintable metallic backgrounds.
High-impact metallic backgrounds on commercial print runs above 5,000 units.
Lottery, ticket and certificate backgrounds with overprintable holographic foil grades.
Frequently asked questions about cold foil
Q01What is cold foil?+
Cold foil is a metallic decoration method that transfers an aluminium-coated PET film onto a substrate using a UV-cured adhesive at room temperature — no heat, no engraved die. It runs inline on flexo or offset presses at 150–400 m/min, making it the dominant cost-efficient way to add metallic gold, silver or holographic finishes to high-volume folding cartons, pressure-sensitive labels, and shrink sleeves.
Q02Cold foil vs hot foil — what is the difference?+
Hot foil uses a heated brass die (~120 °C) and pressure to stamp foil onto a substrate, one impression at a time. Cold foil prints a UV adhesive in the foil-image shape, then laminates a foil web inline at full press speed. Hot foil delivers ~10–15 % higher brightness and finer line resolution (0.05 mm vs 0.15 mm); cold foil is 30–60 % cheaper above 5,000 units and is overprintable with CMYK to create unlimited metallic colours from a single foil grade.
Q03What substrates work with cold foil?+
Cold foil works best on coated paperboard, BOPP, PE, PET and shrink film. Uncoated stocks absorb the UV adhesive and reduce brightness — switch to hot foil for uncoated luxury board. Heat-sensitive films (lightweight shrink, thin BOPP) are a cold-foil sweet spot because the process adds no thermal load.
Q04How much does cold foil cost?+
Cold foil consumable cost is USD $0.008–$0.025 per 100 cm² of coverage at 50,000+ unit runs, plus a one-time UV-adhesive plate (~$80–$180). Total per-unit cost typically lands 30–60 % below hot foil for the same coverage above 5,000 units, because there is no die tooling and the foil is applied inline with no second pass.
Q05What equipment is needed to run cold foil?+
Either a flexo press with a dedicated cold-foil unit (Gallus, Nilpeter, Mark Andy) or a sheetfed offset press with a cold-foil module (KBA, Heidelberg). Both need a UV-curing lamp before the foil nip. See our Cold Foil Printing Machine Guide for the full equipment spec sheet.
Q06Where can I buy cold foil rolls?+
All-in Pack manufactures cold foil in 12–16 µm PET grades for flexo and offset presses, MOQ 500 sqm, lead time 7–15 days, ΔE ≤ 1.5 colour consistency across rolls. Standard widths 200–1,650 mm. Request free A4 samples on the contact page.
Source cold foil for your press in 24 hours
Tell us your press model, substrate and coverage — we'll reply with cold foil specs, pricing, lead time, and free A4 samples.