If you follow me on Insta, you likely see me printing on my Metallic Elephant foil press a TON. The truth is, I dragged my feet for years on buying this press. Investing in my press was nerve-wracking at first. Looking back, I can't believe I hesitated. It paid for itself within months and has been a huge asset to my business!

Below are the reasons why I think this press is the BEST first press for your small business.

The details

The most common question I get is, what kind of press do I have? So let’s cover that first. My foil press is a Metallic Elephant KSF3 press. You can purchase this straight from their website, so reach out to them directly if you are interested!

Perfect for Small Spaces

My favorite thing about this printing press is its compact size.  You can literally put this in your apartment, home, or tiny spaces (mine is in my mobile print shop) and run a business right there without any additional studio rent fees. This feature alone can help you break even quickly and run a profitable business.

The other options for foil presses are typically huge, 1,000 pound pieces of equipment, that require specific electrical requirements, and take up a ton of space. If you don’t own a home, you have to get a studio space to store it in. If you print tons of orders weekly and have employees, the bigger press and studio space is probably more what you need. But if you are small and don’t want those extra expenses, this press is for you.

It’s Brand New.

I purchased my press directly from Metallic Elephant. This is another HUGE pro, for many reasons. First, they will walk you through the entire process and be there to help if any issues come up. 

Secondly – if you are familiar with letterpress machines, you would know that they are all antique presses that are hundreds of years old. If something goes wrong with my letterpress, I would have to spend hours watching YouTube videos, asking fellow printers, and reading blogs to solve my problem. If I needed to replace a part, I’d have to hunt for one or completely fabricate something new.

If anything goes wrong with your foil press, Metallic Elephant will help you get new parts and troubleshoot with you. That is why having a brand new foil press brings me so much joy, as it saves me from all the hassle and effort.

This is the press for you if:

• You live in a small space and don’t want to pay a monthly studio fee to house your printing press

• You are just starting your business, and want to add foil printing to your offerings. 

• You print small runs (200 or less) for custom clients, select product launches, or to test products before taking them wholesale

• You love the art of printing presses and want to create beautiful things just for fun!

What can you print?

I specifically use my press to print wedding invitations. This includes 5x7” invites, RSVP cards, Save the Dates, and envelope liners. It can print up to 8x10” so I you can also do art prints, greeting cards, menus, bookmarks, the list goes on!

You can also print on a variety of different materials. I print on handmade paper and standard paper. You can even print on leather if you want!

One cool thing to note is that this press will print a blind emboss and a blind deboss. I haven’t personally printed an emboss yet, but plan to try this out soon! Its so beautiful and adds a ton of detail and personality to your designs.

I wrote a separate blog here, outlining my 10 favorite things to print on my foil press.

Here are the specifics –

• Purchase your press directly from Metallic Elephant. My press is the KSF3

• It comes from the UK but they do ship internationally. Metallic Elephant will give you a full quote for shipping + the press.

• It will come ready to print! Metallic Elephant will make sure your electrical cord is what you need and even sends you a foil roll + plate so you can print right away.

• PLATES: I purchase my plates from Metal Magic. I really love their customer service and they offer 16 gauge Copper plates which I like because they are recyclable (I take them to a place in denver that will actually PAY me for the weight of the copper, they then melt it down and reuse it). I’m all about that.

• FOIL: I purchase my foil primarily from Infinity Foils, but there are a good handful of alternative options here. Foil is a HUGE trial and error. I recommend asking places for sample rolls first, so you can play around and see what works best for your paper type.

If you can’t tell by now, I’m super passionate about this press and Metallic Elephant as a company. Also, I just love foil printing. Let’s just make everything sparkle from here on out right? 

Want to learn how to foil print? Join the waitlist for my online course here.

If you have any questions at all, comment below, and I will make sure to respond.

Happy Printing!
– Sally