A few months ago I invested in a toner reactive foil machine and foils as part of my crafting journey. I’ve seen my mom use hers for years to create beautiful pieces of art and cards and I wanted in! They make art and cards pop and the effect is so professional. Perfect if you are thinking of starting a business or side hustle!
There are lots of foilers or laminators out there on the market from Amazon Basics, Minc, Patsy May “foil it”. I’ll share the supplies I’m rating in this article. Before we get into it here are some recent examples of foil cards and art I’ve produced:
Try, try again!
When I first got my foil machine I struggled to get consistent results and it was beyond frustrating! Then I got technical! I set up a spreadsheet and listed all the different paper and card types I was working with, what printer settings I had configured and what heat setting did I have my foil machine set to and graded the results. Soon I was getting consistency and once you get that perfect peel it feels amazing!
Top Tips for Foiling
- The smoother the paper the better the foil will adhere to the surface.
- Toner reactive foil will only work with toner printers. The cheaper printers fare best in comparisons on forums and other websites.
- Check your print settings. On my Brother HL-L2350DW I have the quality set to HQ 1200 resolution. Some people I’ve seen achieve great foil quality at less resolution however this is the setting that works well for me.
- Be patient! It can take a while to get the hang of foiling and consistent results.
Supplies
- Laminator
- Brother HL-L2350DW
- Dusty Brush
- Toner Reactive Foil
- White Cardstock
- Black Cardstock
- Craft blade
Don’t forget to check out my filming set-up blog post here recently if you are looking for ideas on how to film your creative content
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Crafts By The Coast 