The Foil Quill is an amazing new tool for foiling projects using your electronic cutting machine. But do you have to use the foil that comes with the Foil Quill? I put four foils to the test to learn what foil works with the Foil Quill…and what doesn’t!
Earlier this month I tried the new Foil Quill from We R Memory Keepers (WRMK). It’s a foiling tool that goes inside your electronic cutting machine, allowing you to beautifully foil your projects. You can check out my unboxing video, my overview of the Foil Quill, and how to use the Foil Quill with a tutorial for some gorgeous celestial artwork.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”KlCx74TB” upload-date=”2019-04-13T18:12:31.000Z” name=”How to Use The Foil Quill from We R Memory Keepers” description=”The Foil Quill is a revolutionary heating tool that works in all major cutting machines to beautifully foil projects on a variety of materials! Here’s how to use the Foil Quill, tips and tricks for getting the best results, and a few ways to troubleshoot if you’re having problems.” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]
I’m getting a lot of questions about the Foil Quill, but the one that keeps coming up is “Can I use other foils with it?” So I thought I’d order some different foils that are on the market today and try them out.
What Foils Did I Test?
For this test, I am using four different foils:
- WRMK Heat Activated Foil (this is designed to work with the Foil Quill)
- Heidi Swapp Minc Reactive Foil
- iCraft Deco Foil
- Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil
If you have an additional foil you’d like me to test, tell me in the comments. Based on what I’ve learned, I can give you an educated guess on whether or not it will work with the Foil Quill, but I’m also happy to test additional foils and add them to this post.
What Foil Works with the Foil Quill?
So let’s see how each of these foils stacked up. I used an identical file from the Heidi Swapp Design Drive and identical Bazzill cardstock for each. Here’s how they fared.
We R Memory Keepers Heat Reactive Foil
Unsurprisingly, the We R Memory Keepers heat reactive foil worked perfectly with the Foil Quill. It was designed to work with it and once again, I saw flawless results. Guys, it is so pretty—I can’t capture the shine of the foil accurately in photos; it really is gorgeous.
Heidi Swapp Minc Reactive Foil
The Minc reactive foil was…less than reactive with the Foil Quill. In fact it did not react at all when the Foil Quill did its pass over the foil.
This is because the Minc foil is adhesive reactive, meaning that it needs something to bond it to the base material. Most often, this is toner—this is why many Minc projects require you to print out your project using a laser printer or copy machine (an ink-jet printer will not work). When the Minc foil is run through the Minc machine or other laminator, the toner basically melts and the foil adheres to the melted toner. It also works using other adhesives, like their toner pen and adhesive mist.
iCraft Deco Foil
Similarly to the Minc foil, the Deco Foil didn’t work with the Foil Quill.
Deco Foil is also adhesive reactive, making it incompatible with the Foil Quill. You can use Deco Foil with other adhesives, though—they have a ton of options.
Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil
Finally I found one other heat-reactive foil, Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil, and tested it with the Foil Quill.
It worked! And it worked beautifully. The biggest difference between this foil and the Foil Quill foil is that it only comes in 6″ rolls, vs the larger 12″ rolls that WRMK sells. Depending on the size of the designs you want to foil, it may be easier to use the larger WRMK foil sheets.
Can I use Foil Quill Foil in my Minc?
If you print out a design on an laser printer and try to foil it using the Foil Quill or other heat-reactive foil and the Minc, you’re going to get a big square in the shape of your foil. The Minc will heat the foil and because heat = reaction in the Foil Quill foil, it will activate the entire piece of foil. Technically you could cut out simple shapes and foil them using this method, though I think getting placement correct would be tricky.
Why Isn’t the Foil Working with my Foil Quill?
If you are using a brand of foil and are wondering why it’s not working with your Foil Quill, there’s a good chance that your foil is not heat reactive, it’s adhesive reactive. Make sure you’re using the right kind of foil for the Foil Quill!
I hope you found this post helpful when deciding which foils to use with your Foil Quill. As always, I’d love to see your projects—tag me @heyletsmakestuff on Instagram!
Comments & Reviews
Diane Soule says
What about the GoPress and foil me foil Does that work with the foil quill?
Thank you for the other brands info
Cori George says
Based on what I’m reading, I think the GoPress foil will work. Not sure about Foil Me foils…those look like hair foils, if I’m not mistaken? If you have a link to a product I’m happy to look!
Shelly Bedford says
Thanks for the advice! I jumped on the foil quill sale on hsn, not knowing one type of foil from another. Now i already know which foil i can buy, even before i unbox it. Excited to try it!!
Catherine says
Thank you this was very helpful. I was going crazy trying to figure out why my foil wasn’t working.
Yvette Robinson says
What about the go press foil? will it work
Jan says
It should since it is a heat reactive foil. Having said that, I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t confirm this 100%. Hopefully someone who has tried it will share his/her experience.
Cori George says
Based on what I’m reading, I think that GoPress foil should work with the Foil Quill :)
Traci says
Has anyone tried using the Crafter’s Companion Gemini foil? HSN has several sets & they make varieties for paper products & multi surface.
Cori George says
Because it is hotpress foil, I think it should work!
Paula Harding says
I have just tried some Crafters Companion foils which I have for their transfer sheets and these actually work on the foil quill system although they are designed for cold foiling!
Samantha says
I bought the Foil Quill thinking it would be a great way to use with all my Minc foil and had pretty disappointing results. I also tried it with Starcraft foil but that may not actually be heat reactive. REgardless, it didn’t work. I’m glad I didn’t try it with my deco foil I also have my hands on. I guess I’d better order myself WRMK foil so I can get good use out of it. Thanks for the info.
Bernadette says
I have heard that crafter’s companion foil for their Foilpress will work with the Foil Quill and vice versa. I haven’t received my Foil Quill or wrmk foil yet due to delays on wrmk part to craftdirect. Com, so I can’t say they’re interchangeable for sure. Based on your explanation it sounds like they’re compatible. Do you have any Gemini Foilpress foil to try with the foil quill? Thanks so much!
Marianne Andreazza says
Anyone try ThermoWeb? It says it’s heat reactive, so am hoping it will work. Ordered the foil quill from HSN last night. If all else fails, I’ll return it. If I like the foil quill, I sell my Gemini Foil Press…
Toni C says
Thanks for this! Clears things up. I have 4 brands of foil, and the Minc, Foil Quill (newly purchased) and the Go Press and Foil and have overwhelmed myself! I think I should just spend a couple of hours experimenting with them all so I can create a cheat sheet to refer to anytime I want to foil something :)
Sara says
This was so useful!! Thank you!!
Chev says
I actually had success trying out minc reactive foil with foil quill on my silhouette. I just had to change the speed and pressure, making it slower and harder. It definitely isn’t as good as heat reactive but if you’re in a bind, at least it’s something
Laura says
I’m just interested in how the design (flower) was made with one line and not two. I’m using a cricut & foil quill and annoyingly it only allows the outline of a drawing so the foiled line ends up as two lines. Thank you!
Laura
Cori George says
Hi Laura—it’s one of the files from the Foil Quill thumb drives. They are actually designed to work with the Foil Quill so they don’t do the double-line thing. You can also find draw images in Design Space to help with that!
Jil B says
HSN just introduced a hand held foil quill pen that I picked up at a great price. I forgot to pick the auto ship to receive more foil, but by reading your post, I have a better understanding of what may or not work (assuming it works like the machine foiling). Thanks for the info!
Brigitte Dumas says
Hi, I just stumbled on your blog and this article is awesome!!! I was wondering if the gina K. Fancy foils would work with the Foil Quill?
Thank you
Amy Motroni says
Thank you! We haven’t tested that one, but some reviewers on Amazon said it works for them!
Amy, HLMS Reader Support
Alex says
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, YOU SWEET BABY ANGEL!
Jasmine says
Hi looking at buying the foil quill freestyle pen, but just wondering does anyone know if it will work on GoPress & Foil foils? (as I have bunch that needs to be use, and not really wanting to buy more foils)
this is the link of GoPress & Foil (https://www.spotlightstores.com/craft-hobbies/basic-craft-supplies/craft-materials/couture-creations-mirror-finish-hot-foil/BP80459472)
Amy Motroni says
Hi Jasmine,
It looks like those foils are heat activated so my guess would be that they would work!
Happy Crafting!
Amy, HLMS Reader Support
Michelle says
Hi, just wondering if nail foils would work? I have a lot of cool patterns I’d love to use on cards.
Denise Alloway says
Hello
I have the Heidi Swapp Minc machine. I want to know if I can use Spellbinder Glimmer foil on the Minc.
Any assists given to me will be greatly appreciated.
Andrea D says
So what should we look for when shopping foils? Keywords? I am little confused by this article, but I get confused easily, LOL…you use the word reactive for both the foils that did work and the foils that did not work. Should I look for “heat” reactive versus “adhesive” reactive? Or the other way around?
I appreciate you doing the comparisons for us…you saved us all a bunch of time and money and help minimize waste…so for that I say, you rock!
Amy Motroni says
Hi Andrea,
if you’re using the foil quill, you want heat reactive.
Hope that helps!
Amy, HLMS Support
Sami says
Hi Cori, thanks for this helpful post. I’m wondering if you or anyone else here has come across foils for either the foil quill or Cricut Foil Transfer, that are opaque colors/not metallic? I’m a professional graphic designer but brand new to doing this type of work by hand and not working with a printer. I’m looking to mimic the look of a white pigment stamp on a darker paper stock, any ideas? Thanks!
Nicole moch says
I loved your post and helped me decide which foil to use for handmade products that dont fit under a laser printer.
Thank you very very much.
Cheryl W says
Thank you so much for this breakdown of what works! I’ve had my Foil Quill system since it came out, but haven’t used it much as I became overwhelmed by the differences in all the materials available and what to use where. I will definitely have more confidence now jumping into this again!