Working within so many different industries and with all types of businesses across the country, we get to work on some wonderful projects and present some amazing print finishes to our clients. Today we wanted to showcase our foil printing used on gift vouchers for French Village Belfast. Foil blocking in particular silver, gold, rose gold and copper are the most commonly used for foils and the results are always outstanding.

Who are French Village, Belfast?

French Village have been a long-standing customer of kaizenprint.co.uk. over the past 5 years we have rebranded the business, in doing so taking their identity to the version you see across the province today. With the evolution of their identity, it was prudent to review their marketing collateral and bring it in line with the high quality branding they’re now known for. Within the French Village group, the business has multiple restaurants, a patisserie and bakery, as well as a large outside catering company servicing some of the largest events on the island of Ireland, including the Down Royal Festival of Racing, Lisburn. In addition, their trade bakery supplies a large percentage of Northern Ireland’s Hospitality trade with fantastic baked goods and desserts. In our time working with the company, we have seen them grow from strength to strength and knowing the business intricately, their success is due to the hard work of all team members as well as a fantastic product range.

Why are Gift Vouchers important?

Gift vouchers are one of those products that are often overlooked by businesses, however they are an integral part of any sales and marketing campaign, when looking to grow your business and capitalise on new markets. I know this sounds very top level, but if you consider that a gift voucher given from a current customer to someone who has never used you products or services before, then you are opening up new markets. Gift vouchers are especially popular around Christmas time, however many of our clients engage in year round gift voucher marketing and sales campaigns. With this in mind, they sell gift vouchers daily, providing a wonderful income stream all year round. Remember that a gift voucher is almost never used a time of purchase, but the income is received at that time. If you research online, you’ll see that the usage rate for gift vouchers is less than 100%, generating a little bit of extra income also. However it would be foolish to look at a gift voucher as free money. What we as business owners really want to do to, is to engage with those new customers. Making them happy with our service and products, so that they return regularly, making future payments from their own pocket. This helps us grow business over the long term.

What is foil blocking?

Foil blocking is the process of using a heated die, to stamp a metallic foil to the surface of paper or card.

How does the foiling process work?

The process of foiling onto paper is exactly the same as old style letter pressing. However the technology used in this process has been updated greatly. Utilising a Heidelberg letterpress that has been adjusted to provide heat, we can foil onto paper and card. To get the foil onto the card, we must use a die. This die is usually made out of aluminium or another metal in the shape of the text or imagery you want to foil. Once heated and when it comes in contact with the foil and your print, it lays down a layer of your chosen foil colour onto the card leaving a fantastic finish.

What colour foil blocking can be used?

As standard we carry four main colours of foil: gold, rose gold, copper and silver. It would be very rare for us to do a bright red or a bright green foil but this can be purchased on request. In addition to this we can also supply a security foil to create secure holograms on your artwork. This ultimately ensures that the design and print finishers cannot be copied. Perfect for event tickets.

What are the costs of foil blocking?

There are certain costs attributed with foil blocking. The first is the cost of the die used to lay down the foil onto your print. The second cost is the actual process of foil blocking on to your print and the third cost which is actually the first process when foiling, is the cost of printing your design onto the paper or card. Foil blocking is a labour intensive process and isn’t without cost, however you can counteract the initial setup charges with larger print runs gaining economies of scale. With the nature of this process, every quote for foil blocking is completely bespoke and as such you would need you to speak to our customer service team to get an accurate price. To do so, simply visit our contact page. At kaizenprint.co.uk foil blocking is one of the most special finishes we provide. The finished results are always fantastic. Foil blocking is not just popular on gift vouchers, but if very popular with our wedding clients.