The gift certificate lay in my “sample” drawer for at least two years. Every time I came across it I had to touch the surface, admire the technique and wonder: How did they do that? The closest I came to understanding its attraction was that it reminded me of old fashioned French wallpaper.
Then a European mill sent me their quarterly magazine with the exact same technique on the cover, and now I know. It was flock printing that had me all excited.
You’ve seen flocking, a decorative process that gives images a raised, velvety look and feel on t-shirts or even wallpaper. But I was more interested in business cards, gift cards, marketing materials … anything paper.
I have to admit, it wasn’t easy to find a printer that offered this technique on paper – t-shirts and fabrics, no problem. I found a printer in Germany and another one in France. (OK. I understand you would love to go to this press check, but let’s stay realistic here.)
Finally, I tracked down HIX Corporation in Kansas and then everything fell into place.
What is flocking?
Flocking is the process of depositing many small fiber particles (called “flock”) onto a slightly adhesive surface. In most cases, the fibers are synthetic (rayon, polyester), about 0.5 mm long and about as thick as a silk thread.
When it comes to printing flock on fabric, such as t-shirts, there are various techniques to use, but today I’ll discuss flocking on paper.
How to flock your design
In order to be able to flock your design onto the stock you have specified, you’ll need a “flock paper” first, which is created using an electrostatic process. The fibers pass through an electromagnetic field and become electrostatically charged, which causes each fiber to stand up as it is drawn through the field.
One end of the fiber embeds itself into a thin layer of wet, easy relief adhesive applied to the base paper. This adhesive controls the actual release of the flock later on. The flock paper is then cured in a specially designed dryer and cut into 20″ x 24″ sheets.
At this stage, I’m describing a solid coverage of flock that sits on an adhesive surface. No design in sight yet.
Your design is screen printed with an adhesive onto the paper stock of your choice. The actual flock paper is now pressed on top of your design, and with the help of heat and pressure, the fibers are transferred onto your paper. The flock paper is removed, and voila, your design is now visible in flock.
Paper choices
According to Tim McNally, Industrial Ovens product manager at HIX Corporation, this process can be utilized on any paper – coated or uncoated, light or heavy. But given the stress from the heat and pressure the paper has to endure, a Cover stock is definitely preferable.
Color choices
In most cases, you will see one-color designs being flocked, but if your design needs it, multiple colors are definitely an option. Remember though, each color is an extra two press runs (one for the adhesive and one for the actual flocking).
Compared to the wide variety of Pantone colors, the 30 flock colors currently on offer might seem discouraging at first, but there are options for custom mixed colors; and if you’re really interested, you’ll find a creative way to work this into your design.
So flock away. If you are going for bright and cheerful or for a more classic tone-on-tone approach, this printing technique will definitely make an outstanding first impression. And before you ask, the flock will not come off. Trust me, I tried to rub it and scratch it and …
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