By co-incidence at the same time that my Quill arrived I obtained a bag of mixed foils, so I've been able to test a few different types of foil with the Quill, and I thought I'd share my results with you here. This is not a comprehensive test of the all foils available in the UK, but might help those of you who already have some foil in your stash, and aren't sure if they will work or not. I'd read that the Quill should work on card with heat-activated foils, but not those that are toner activated. I didn't really know what type of foils I had, so I trying them out seemed a sensible move.
We R Memory Keepers Foil
The foil that comes free with the Quill is 6" wide by about 43" long (just guessing the length, as I'd used some of all three of the rolls that came with my Quill). The rolls you buy separately are wider at 12", I think (at the time of writing mine are still on back-order).
Settings:
I foiled some smooth navy American Crafts card using these settings on my Silhouette Cameo.
Results:
The results were great. It worked on the first setting I tried (reduced speed and force from the default sketch setting for textured cardstock) so it doesn't seem to be too particular. The result was shiny all over, even in application, with no skipping. I was impressed!
TODO Foil
The TODO foil looks very similar to the WRMK foil, possibly the gold is factionally more yellow. The WRMK is the narrower roll in the centre. The backing is almost identical in colour, but the rolls are narrower at 4 3/4" (12 cm x 5m). Mine came in a mixed pack of four coloured foils, gold, satin gold, satin silver and silver which costs about £12.99. The rolls are designed to be used with the TODO Hot Foil Press/Multi-Functional Crafting Machine.
I used the exact same settings, and the result was just about identical on card. So similar I couldn't tell the difference in a photo, so haven't included photos of the results.
Crafter's Companion Foil
The Crafter's Companion foil is the same width as the that comes with the WRMK kit at 6-inches, but is a slightly paler gold (the WRMK is on the right in this picture). The rolls cost about £3.99 for a 2 metre length roll. The backing on the gold is a red/pink colour. At the same settings the resulting foiling was almost the same, again with no skipping. I was so pleased about this as I have a whole heap of gorgeous colours to try. They seem to be readily available and come in some lovely colours.
Craft Dragon
These rolls are much narrower at 9 cm and the gold is a little paler - the WRMK foil is shown on the right for comparison. The backing is an opaque creamy-white. They come in a pack with two gold, two silver, one red and one green and are designed to be used with the Impress Hot Foil Machine.
Again the results were great, with even coverage, and no skipping. I'm not sure that these are available to buy any more, but worth using if you have some already in your stash.
KanBan
These were the narrowest rolls at 10 cm, but a really, really long roll. The foil has a flimsier feel and has a gold backing. The colour is just slightly lighter than the WRMK foil. This foil came in a kit with a set of adhesive peel-offs and I didn't expect that this would work at all. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The results were OK, not as even as the other foils, but great for practice!
As I acquire other foils I'll post my results, so do follow this blog if you'd like to read more. I'll be posting the finished card made with these pretty foiled butterflies along with some foil pen storage ideas.
