We are a BOUTIQUE
ENGRAVING
COMPANY
Specializing in Engraved Personal and Business Stationery, Foil Stamping, Embossing and Printed
items.
Engraved
Stationery
Engraved stationery is reproduced by transferring the image to plate by
either a panograph press or by photo-etching the image into a copperplate.
Photoengraving is the sharpest and most popular method used today, although for images with sensitive details, or those with large inked areas, hand-tooling may be required to inscribe the image to hold ink properly.
To produce a photoengraving image, a plate that has been treated with photosensitive coating is exposed to light and then an acid bath: Yet, even these images may have to be treated with hand etching.
Plate materials very, depending upon the length of the run and the preference of the engraver. For the most part these days copperplates are used and for long runs these dies are chrome plated to extend their life. Steel material is less costly than copper but it does not etch as well with the photographic process.
Plate size is based on the area of the image to be engraved, plus a minimum of 1/2 of an inch all around, up to a maximum image of 4.5 x 9 inches. Larger plates are something of a specialty item. Letterheads with top and bottom images are run in 2 passes.
Essential to every raised impression, whether inked or blind embossed, is a counter - the engraving's " male " counterpart, which forces the paper into the die, or the engraved plate, causing the image to be transferred. Most counters today are made of paperboard.
If the die is to inked, the counter will be shallower than the depth of the engraved image, and it's edge will meet the plane of the plate, thus trapping the ink inside and producing the image embedded in the paper.
FOIL STAMPING
Foil stamping can be either flat stamped, yielding no surface emboss, or foil embossing, which combines the raising or embossing of an image with the addition of foil. In some cases, this is also called hot stamping,
that is, application of foil with the use of heat to a surface, whether it is paper, plastic, metal or anything else.
Foil stamping became a recognized process around the year 1700, and at first was used to decorate books with pounded gold leaf.
BLIND EMBOSSING
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Blind embossing is essentially an engraved image stamped without ink. As with engraving, virtually any image can be embossed, but, because of the shadow play, angular shapes will appear to have greater depth and contour than curvilinear forms similarly embossed.
We emboss with both heat ( 200 to 300 degrees ) on the Kluges or Windmills and cold on either of the above presses and in addition the engraving presses of which more impression pressure can be achieved. The engraving presses will emboss at about 2000 pound per square inch.
Embossing is available in several styles, names for the way in which they lift the image from the paper: These include beveled, round, flat, outline and sculptured. Depending on the style and depth specified, an embossing image may appear smaller than the original artwork, as part of the designer's form must be translates into the bevel or curve needed to raise the image. Also, multilevel embossing may require costlier brass dies to be executed properly. Before specifying an embossing style, it is best to see your embosser's samples and ask his or her recommendation for a particular result.
CONTACT
Joe Gray @
Gray Printing
& Engraving
Company
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OUR ADDRESS
2828 Cochran Street, Suite 493 Simi Valley, CA 93065
Email: graypec@sbcglobal.net
Tel: 818-882-2120
Cell: 818-421-0170
For any general inquiries, please fill in the following contact form:
