Flocking
'Flocking is the process of depositing many small fibre particles (called flock) onto a surface. It can also refer to the texture produced by the process, or to any material used primarily for its flocked surface. Flocking of an article can be performed for the purpose of increasing its value in terms of the tactile sensation, aesthetics, colour and appearance. It can also be performed for functional reasons including insulation, slip-or-grip friction, and low reflectivity'
To flock you first have to expose your image on to a fabric screen as opposed to a paper screen because there is a higher mesh count which enables you to print the glue binder needed to perform both flocking and foiling. The next step is exactly the same as screen printing but instead of screen printing ink you pull a glue binder, once this glue has become slightly tacky you stick the flock sheet face down. All that is needed from here is to put the whole thing under the heat press for 12 seconds at 160 degrees which binds the flock and adhesive together. Then all that is left to do is to peel the flock sheet from the paper, below is the outcome;
navy flock
navy flock
negative navy flock
white flock
I'm unsure about flocking, I don't particularly like the aesthetics of the final print but I think that is more down to my design choice, I think flocking could be more suited to smaller, finer details as opposed to a larger bold design. It has a some what tacky, nasty feel to it similar to when it's used on t-shirts but again I feel this is down to my choice of design but also the colour of flock. More experimentation is definitely needed to nail it but the overall 3 dimensional element is something that is successful and can definitely be utilised in the future.
Foiling
silver on antique
Simple, understated example of foiling. The dull matte tones of the stock work well against the high gloss silver. To be honest I initially thought this would look tacky or the complete opposite, elegant because of seeing other examples of silver foiling. But I think it's all down to the design and stock choice.
black on black
The high glossy black foiling works so well against the dull matte tones of the stock. Because the black tones are so similar it gives of an effect of spot varnishing. This is by far one of my favourite examples of foiling I have done whilst experimenting, due to the simplicity and how it's not bold, brash in your face. It's a subtle finish that catches the eye when the tiniest bit of light shines on it. With further development with black on black I believe it could be a process I use for future designs.
clear on red
The photograph doesn't really do this clear foil any justice, it comes out looking similar to spot varnish, it looks amazing when the sunlight hits it because all of the detail is then revealed. But in a normal dull room it kind of lacks that full on glossy finish that comes with spot varnishing. The clarity of the foiling is also held back by the quality of my screen due to the toner in the print room running low the screen is patchy in places. But I now know for next time that even the simplest of marks or dullness can affect the print in the long run.
black on yellow
The yellow and black has come out exactly how I expected because of the colour sessions last year. Yellow is an amazing contrasting colour to black, but this makes the errors in my screen more noticeable so the patchiness of my foiling is easy to see on the yellow background. But all this can easily be rectified when it comes to doing this seriously, these are just simple experiments.
black on red with clear outer
black on red with clear outer
With this example I experimented with mixing two types of foil, the black gloss and the clear foil. I chose to do the 'it's just fucking expensive' in clear because it's kind of a small print dig at the cost of print and how it's exclusive to those who can afford to do it or dedicate their lives to it. The outcome isn't as good as I expected because it's lacking that impact due to the poor foiling of the clear letters. I think this is more due down to the stock choice, if I had chosen to do black on black with the main text and border being white, it would have been a lot more clearer.
After foiling quite a substantial amount of black I decided to revisit the print room and experiment with more colours. Quite a lot of the colours available are garish and disgusting so I've been keeping my colour selection simple and quite safe so I stuck to this and experimented with white and pewter.
The white looked absolutely amazing on all the stock I used, it provided such a strong juxtaposition which in turn gave the print such clarity and clean lines. The strong bold lines and shapes complimented the white to create a stronger contrast. I feel the white worked out a lot better than the black (apart from black on black) because of how well it worked with the colours of stock.
negative white foil
white on yellow
white on antique
white on red
This image of pewter on black does not do the print justice, the colour absolutely pops off of the dull matte tones of the black stock, then the light catches the metallic tones of the pewter and glimmers beautifully. I was sceptical of using metallic foils because they're generally associated with elegant, classy type of design. But the bold lines seemed to have worked well with the metallic qualities of the foil.
pewter on black