Rubber Stamping, Metal stamping rubber stamping metal stamping stamping concrete stamping metal stamping companies deep drawn stampings metal stampings precision metal stampings Have you ever wondered how that shiny, metallic lettering gets put on pencils, books, napkins and photographs? It is done by using a foil stamper, sometimes referred to as a hot stamping machine. Foil stamping machines are commonly used for putting names on books, logos on matchbooks and much more. Using a foil stamping machine is far easier than it may initially seem. Essentially a foil stamper uses heat, lettering and foil to stamp letters and logos onto a solid surface. For customized names, individual letters can be selected with tweezers (due to heat) and inserted into the type selector. As the stamping head, containing the lettering, is brought down to the foil, the pressure and heat cause foil from a foil roll to be transferred to the surface. Foil stamping machines are available in a wide variety of sizes, depending on the stamping volume and the item being stamped. The two most common categories for foil stampers is manual operation and pneumatic (air powered) operation. Manual operation is ideal for low to medium-volume use and pneumatic operation is ideal for medium to high-volume use. Special guides are available to hold pencils, napkins, books and other items in place during the stamping process. These guides are recommended, but not always required, for repeat stamping. Almost anything with a solid surface can be stamped, including leather, plastic and wood. Different types of foils are needed for different materials. This helps to prolong the life of the stamped text. Hot stamping machines are commonly used by businesses for stamping a company name or logo. They are also very popular with the wedding industry for stamping a bride and groom name onto napkins and other memorabilia. Photography studios also like to use foil stampers for stamping the photography studio's name onto the picture. Foil stamping machines are usually sold as individual machines, for those wanting to purchase their own custom materials and fonts, or as a system that includes everything needed to get started. Custom logos can be made for most foil stamping machines. Two of the most common manufacturers of foil stampers are Howard Imprinting and KwikPrint. Today, manufacturing has embraced a wide range of advanced technologies that have enabled the reduction of turnaround time considerably. As a result, demand on the metal stamping industry has also increased as the components have to be made to be exactly suitable to the final product. This has made precision and custom metal stamping much more important in the manufacturing industry. Custom metal stamping is the process of creating metal products according to the required sizes and shapes through a method called stamping. It involves the pressing or stamping of the metal in dies or press tools to give it the right shape. In custom metal stamping, the final products are made according to customer's precise requirements and conditions. Custom metal stamping is used in various industries like construction, electrical, bearing, automotive, medical and janitorial, among others. Metal stamping typically involves the normal process of metal stamping but with certain changes. These can be the change in the kind of metal to be used, changes in the size and shape of the final product, the need to produce many kinds of sizes and shapes, high quality of the tools used, the volume and the number of units to be produced, the kinds of presses required and the number of presses and dies required. Some producers are changing their processes to accommodate any volume, up to thousands of tons. There are several challenges to be met by the custom metal stamping companies. These are producing a high quality product, designing new products or re-engineering existing products to suit customers' needs while also meeting delivery requirements. The company has to be involved in every stage right from product design assistance to the final delivery. Additionally, the costs also have to be kept low even as the scope of offerings is increased. With the digital age upon us, sending and receiving letters and cards via snail mail is not as common as it once was. To receive a greeting card from a loved one on your birthday can bring a smile to your face. If the card is hand-made, it makes it even more special. Creating your own cards using rubber stamps might not be as difficult, or as expensive as you might think. There are only a few basic tools needed, and with these essentials you will be on your way to creating fun and inexpensive cards to send or even give away as gifts. While the avid stamper knows there are thousands of stamping sets available for purchase, a beginner only needs to own one stamp or stamp set which is relevant to the event they will be working with. For instance, when you're starting out, if you only intend to send birthday cards, then purchase a birthday stamp or set of stamps. Individual stamps are available in any craft store, and stamp sets can be found through a catalog company such as Stampin' Up. You'll have better luck building a card using a set, rather than just purchasing a few stamps that you've hand picked. Reason being, the luxury of a stamp set is that each set not only comes with one phrase or phrases, but also stamps which go along with the theme of the set you've purchased. A set can have as few as 4 or 5 stamps, or as many as 12 or more and will typically range anywhere from $19.95 - $34.95. Once you've picked out your stamp set, you'll need to purchase paper, or cardstock as we in the stamping world refer to it. A pack of 100 sheet 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock can be as cheap as $3.95 depending on where you buy it. You'll probably want to buy at least two different colors of cardstock, so that they compliment each other and make the card vibrant. The key to a good card is not just the stamps, but the colors of paper and the layering of those colors. The last key ingredient is the ink. You can purchase an ink pad in a variety of different colors, but it's nice to match the ink to one of the colors of paper you're using. For instance, if your primary card color is white and you've chosen purple and green as your layers, choose a purple or green ink pad. You'll stamp the ink onto the cardstock which does not match the ink color. Green ink on green paper will not show up very well. A good ink pad can range from $3.95 - $6.95 and can last several months. So, you've got your ink, paper and rubber stamps... now what? Rubber stamp sets do not come with an idea book, but don't worry, there are thousands of ideas available to you. People enjoy making cards and, even more, people enjoy showing them off. It's perfectly okay to visit a website to get ideas, then try to make that same card using the materials that you have. Users of such sites love to share their ideas and projects they have made. They are there as a tool for you to use. Use them. It is not stealing someone's idea if they posted it out there for you to see and mimic. Chances are, your finished work will not look exactly like theirs anyway. This makes the art of rubber stamping that much more fun. Each piece of work is unique. Even though you could use the same paper, the same stamps and the same ink for each card you make, they will not look exactly the same.