In-store personalisation
Monogram bars, gifting counters and pop-ups. Front-of-house presses customers love to watch.
2007Hand-building since
UK's onlyHot foil press manufacturer
2500+KSF 1 presses sold
WorldwideDesigned in Britain, shipped globally
Personalising product for the best-known names on the high street
Find your press
Which press fits your work?
Four everyday setups, matched to the machines we'd recommend first. Not sure? Tell us what you make and we'll match the press to the product, not the other way round.
Talk it through with usStationery & wedding
Invitations, notebooks and cards. Crisp foil, emboss and deboss on paper stocks.
Leather goods & bags
Satchels, totes and wash bags. Deep throats and adjustable heads for shapes that won't sit flat.
Industrial production
Sustained runs, large formats and branded mouldings. Tonnage, daylight and auto foil feed.
The KSF range
Seven presses.
One obsessive standard.
Every machine is designed, engineered and hand-assembled at our workshop in Essex, made to order and built to last. Pick a press, or ask us and we'll match one to your product.
Compare the full rangeParts online
Personalisation, counter-top
KSF 1 Mini
The same great features, only smaller. Front-of-house personalisation for retail counters and pop-ups.
- Weight
- 14 kg
- Table
- 250 × 250 mm
- Footprint
- 400 × 255 mm
Parts online
Personalisation, portable
KSF 1
Over 500 sold. The portable personalisation press for notebooks, leather goods and gifting.
- Weight
- 19 kg
- Throat
- 140 mm
- Footprint
- 545 × 455 mm
Workshop, awkward shapes
KSF 2
Two set-up positions and a deep 260–460 mm throat for totes, wash bags and satchels that won't sit flat.
- Weight
- 75 kg
- Throat
- 260–460 mm
- Impression
- 60 mm
Parts online
Commercial, platen
KSF 3
Around 1,000 built. Foil, emboss and deboss in one pull, the wedding stationers' favourite.
- Print area
- 200 × 250 mm
- Pressure
- 3/4 ton
- Weight
- 77 kg
Parts online
Studio, most adaptable
KSF 4
The KSF 1 and 2 combined: XYZ head movement and up to 200 mm impression clearance at just 24 kg.
- Weight
- 24 kg
- Impression
- Up to 200 mm
- Table
- 325 × 455 mm
Production, workhorse
KSF 5
Three tonnes of pressure, 240 mm daylight, sliding table and auto foil feed for sustained runs.
- Pressure
- 3 tonnes
- Print area
- 200 × 150 mm
- Foil feed
- Automatic
Industrial, large format
KSF 6
Hand-operated precision branding for large mouldings and crates. Clean, quiet, no compressor required.
- Throat
- 355 mm
- Impression
- Up to 195 mm
- Weight
- 330 kg
Industrial, high volume
Pneumatic Presses
Large-format, high-volume foiling with our new in-house PLC control, retrofittable to older machines.
- Control
- In-house PLC
- Format
- Large
- Built
- To order
Every part of every press is machined in-house. Open any machine page to explore its interactive parts diagram and send a parts enquiry. No account, no checkout, just a quick list.
Introducing the KSF Mini
The same great features, only smaller.
Our smallest press brings in-store personalisation to the counter top, the machine behind the monogram bars at the best-known luxury retailers.
- 14 kg, carried in one hand, set up on any counter in minutes
- 250 × 250 mm table with a 140 mm throat depth
- 15 mm impression, modifiable to 35 mm for thicker goods
Why British-built
Great British design meets the benchmark of British engineering
We're proud to be the only company in Britain to design and build hot foil machines by hand and to order. It's a slower, more considered way of manufacturing, but it means every press leaving our workshop meets the same exacting standard.
Learn more about us
- 01DesignDrawn in-house around your product
- 02MachineBillet parts cut on our own CNC
- 03WeldFrames fabricated in our welding shop
- 04PaintFinished in the paint & bake booth
- 05AssembleBuilt by hand, one press at a time
- 06Test driveProven before it leaves, tea & cake included
Dies & consumables
The sharpest impression starts with the die
Brass and magnesium dies etched and engraved in-house, priced by the sq cm with a no-obligation quote within the hour. Send artwork as EPS, PDF, AI or TIFF.
Explore hot foil dies
Brass Dies
CNC-engraved brass for crisp detail and the longest production runs.
Quote within the hour
Magnesium Dies
Film-free acid etching in all popular gauges. Foil, emboss or deboss.
Priced by the sq cm
Brass Type
110-piece sets cut from your own TTF font, with solid ash type cabinets made in Britain.
Cabinets from £99 + VAT
Special Finishes
Emboss, deboss and single-pass fluted foil on quarter-inch brass.
Emboss + foil in one pass
Stamping Foil
122-metre rolls for graphics, plastics and leather, sold by the inch of width.
Every colour on the chart
Letterpress Plates
Type-high mounted magnesium and Torelief polymer plates, made in-house.
Same-day dispatch before 1pm
For the letterpress trade
Letterpress plates, etched while you wait
Type-high mounted magnesium and Torelief photopolymer plates, etched in-house in Essex and on the courier van the same day when your artwork lands before 1pm. The trade's not-so-secret plate supplier since 2007.
Engineers & lifetime support
Built here. Serviced here. For life.
ISO 9001:2015-certified engineering with three CNC machining centres, CNC lathes, a surface grinder, welding shop and paint & bake booth, the support no importer can match.
Meet the engineers
Bespoke Presses
A product that doesn't fit a standard machine? We design and build presses around it.
Repairs & Spares
Parts machined in-house for every KSF, and an MOT for your John T Marshall.
Reconditioned Presses
Restored John T Marshall machines, the Rolls-Royce of hot foil presses.
3 × XYZ 1000 LR machining centresXYZ 12-station CNC lathe with bar feedCNC automatic sawLarge surface grinderWelding shopPaint & bake spray boothISO 9001:2015
Don't just take our word for it
Trusted by hundreds of customers
"I honestly can't praise these guys enough. I bought a gorgeous hot foil press from them in January. They go above and beyond every time I contact them. They genuinely want to help their customers. I wouldn't go anywhere else."
"Metallic Elephant have the best customer service. I have been using them for the last two to three years. They are always prompt and polite in responding to my sometimes random requests. Would highly recommend."
"We are so happy with our KSF Mini machine. It definitely makes our product stand out and is true to our premium brand image. The after-service is excellent and stamps needed for customers are sent promptly."
From artwork to first strike
We'll hold your hand from artwork to plate
No trade jargon, no minimum order fuss. Send your artwork and our in-house artworkers take it from there.
Artwork information- 01
Send your artwork
EPS, PDF, AI or TIFF. Scaled up or down free of charge by our in-house artworkers.
- 02
Quote within the hour
A no-obligation email quote, with dies priced simply by the sq cm (50 sq cm minimum).
- 03
Made in Essex
Dies etched and engraved in-house. Order before 1pm for same-day etch and dispatch.
- 04
Support for life
Spares, repairs, advice and a friendly voice on the phone, long after the machine leaves us.
Questions, answered
Asked before every order
Can't see yours here? Call 01206 251221. A real person answers, Mon to Fri.
Ask us anythingCan I try a machine before I buy?
Yes, arrange a test drive at our Essex workshop and we'll set a press up with your own products. We'll have the tea and cake ready and waiting.
How are hot foil dies priced?
Simply by the square centimetre, with a 50 sq cm minimum. Send your artwork and you'll have a no-obligation quote by email within the hour.
What artwork files do you accept?
EPS, PDF, AI or TIFF. Our in-house artworkers scale artwork up or down free of charge and hold your hand from artwork to plate.
How quickly can you dispatch dies?
Order before 1pm and magnesium dies are usually etched and dispatched the same day. Couriers and Royal Mail, priced by weight.
Do you ship machines outside the UK?
Yes. Every press is designed and manufactured in Britain, crated in our own workshop and shipped worldwide. There are Metallic Elephant machines on every continent.
Can you repair my old John T Marshall press?
Absolutely, think of it as an MOT for your JTM. We machine spares in-house, repair and retrofit older presses, and sell fully reconditioned machines.
What support do I get after buying?
Support for life: spare parts machined in-house, repairs, expert advice and a friendly voice on the phone, long after your machine leaves the workshop.
Start your enquiry
Tell us what you'd like to make shiny
Machines, dies, foil or spares. One quick message reaches the workshop team, not a call centre. Attach artwork if you have it, or just describe the product in your hands.
- Quotes within the hour on hot foil dies, by email
- Real advice from the bench, engineers, not scripts
- Test drives welcome, tea and cake ready and waiting
Prefer to talk?01206 251221
From the workshop journal
Foil knowledge, freely given
Guides and know-how from twenty years at the press, from choosing your first machine to foiling on leather, wood and plastics.
Read the blog
The Secret to Fine Detail: How to Design Artwork for High-Quality Hot Foil Dies
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How to Set Up In-Store Product Personalisation with a Hot Foil Press
Read article
What Makes Foil Blocking the Luxurious Choice?
Read article
#makeitshiny
Make something shiny with us
Order spare parts, get expert advice, or arrange a test drive with one of our hot foil machines. We'll have the tea and cake ready and waiting.
- Replies within a day
- Machines on every continent
- Supported for life