Foil imaging

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In art, foil imaging is a unique printer making surface technique made possible by the invention of the Iowa Foil Printer, which makes use of the commercial foil stamping process. In 1983 Virginia A. Myers, a professor of art at the University of Iowa, began researching the use of gold leaf and foil in the printmaking process. Myers discovered that foil was not being used by artisans in the fine arts because the foiling process was strictly commercial. Myers dissatisfaction with foiling options available to fine art printmakers led her to invent the Iowa Foil Press, a device that allows individual artists to incorporate foil stamping into their work. After the invention of the press, she worked in conjunction with community members and students to improve and document the printmaking process of foil stamping using the Iowa Foil Press and the Iowa Foil Printer, collectively producing two books on the medium: "Foil Imaging...A New Art Form" in 2001; and more recently in 2006, a limited-edition volume of fifty editioned, fine art foil prints.