Buying a Hot Foil Press - Everything you need to know!

0:00 Intro
0:43 Q1 Buy new or used?
2:15 Q2 What price should you pay for a hot foil press?
3:15 Q3 Brands & specs should you look for in a hot foil press?
4:30 Q3a Platen vs Flatbed
6:26 Q3b Removeable chase benefits
8:06 Q3c Roll feed
8:56 Q4 How to store them, how much space do they take up?
10:26 Q5 Does a Hot Foil Press have more uses?
11:21 Q6 Maintenance?
11:45 Q7 Setting up artwork
12:12 Q7a How much fidelity can it achieve?
13:55 Q8 What are the limitations in print size and materials?
17:00 Q9 How many runs can you do on a single die?
18:11 Q9a Can you use photopolymer for hot foil stamping?
19:45 Q10 How important is temperature?
21:17 Q11 How to setup registration on a foil press?
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[@kill-quest]

Wow, thank you so much for the detailed response! This has cleared up so many things for me, what an incredible resource of information

[@ThisDesignedThat]

Glad it was helpful Ben and thankyou so much for all the questions!

[@sabrinasway]

What an amazing and detailed video!!! BRAVO! Subscribed

[@Nekoandpiano]

And another amazing video) I have small foil printing press, but since it's very small it has limited possiblities to place material. So it need to be replace with larger one)

[@broomwagon448]

Paul, I’ve stumbled across this video. You have NO IDEA just how many questions you’ve just answered in one fell swoop that I’ve been wanting to know for ages!! Seriously. Thanks so much for doing this video. Thanks to Ben for the great questions too. Can I ask one more question? I’m making clamshell presentation boxes with cloth (rayon) glued to 3mm board. Is a brass die best for debossing this? (Mainly text) What other considerations might I need to think about? The whole world of foil stamping is totally new so I’m starting from nothing! Again thanks so much for a brilliant video!

[@ThisDesignedThat]

Hi Martin, happy to help, brass or aluminum die will work fine and you should get a nice impression in 3mm board. You will only realistically be able to foil a small area though, Rayon will be difficult to get a clean foiled impression due to the texture, Ideally you want a smooth surface.

[@davidwilliams1060]

I would have liked a quick overview of what the press does. I’m sure it’s covered in an earlier video but I must have missed that one. I’m not your target audience but I’m still interested. Thanks.

[@ThisDesignedThat]

Great suggestion!

[@benfox7281]

thank you great information

[@ThisDesignedThat]

Glad it was helpful!

[@LowEffortGardening]

Hey, thanks for putting out this video. I'm looking to print on 3:1 heat shrink tubing. With your experience, Do you think foil printing is my best choice?

[@ThisDesignedThat]

Definitely not, heat shrink tubing will shrink due to the heat from the press. I would look into screenprinting or pad printing

[@LowEffortGardening]

@@ThisDesignedThat thank you for your reply!

[@katharina9586]

Great videos, thank you for sharing!! I have an additional question :) How many pieces you can stamp in an hour?

[@ThisDesignedThat]

excellent questions, i reckon I could stamp 100-200 per hour taking some breaks, probably more but I have it on the floor and get back ache bending over it. if you have it on a table it will be more comfortable and I suspect you could do 200-400

[@katharina9586]

@@ThisDesignedThat Thank you!!

[@axelSixtySix]

Just a question : Would this press work with Linoleum plates ? The idea behind is Linoleum is easy to engrave, inexpensive and stands heat pretty well.

[@ThisDesignedThat]

Never tested Lino plates but I will try and experiment with them this year. My guess is that they wont hold enough heat to work with foil

[@babyjake-]

On point size, is the lower the number the bigger the letter? I noticed 18pt is alot smaller then 14 or 12 but 24 is huge. And what size would you recommend for book spines? Trying to do bibles.

[@ThisDesignedThat]

No, bigger pt size means bigger letters. Different type have different sizes from one another however

[@FunDumb]

I've been wondering about SLA 3dprinters. Using a liquid that once cured, will withstand heat and showcase a high level of detail.

[@ThisDesignedThat]

Been thinking the exact same thing, and Im hoping to get hold of a SLA or DLP printer at some point to test this

[@thomaswhcompton6588]

Do flatbed presses typically have removable chases, or is that usually reserved for the platen presses?

[@ThisDesignedThat]

Yes both platten and flat usually have removable chase. Just mine unfortunately doesnt :(

[@polakis1975]

As i have a fiber laser I will try to make the die myself. Only problem is the edge ramps to the shapes. I do not know if these are necessary, or i will investigate how this could be automatically made like my co2 when i make rubber stamps.

[@ThisDesignedThat]

very lucky to have a fibre laser! Please let me know how your get on with this. I was thinking of getting a fibre laser for this purpose. I'd love to see your results, Dont worry about the ramps its not needed, if you have a clean edge on the shapes and letter that is all that matter

[@polakis1975]

@@ThisDesignedThat i made a good investment as this is my job. I have made die looking tags in the past as asked from my customers with success. The only problem is it is time consuming. In order to go deep more than 1mm it is an issue. First of all you need a unit no less than 50w. You have to have power, the more you can afford. More power, less time. Then, even if you have plenty of power you cannot go full power at once to have excellent engraving detail as too much heat creates tiny rough edges. So, you have to engrave 2,3 or more times in order to achieve great and clean detail. Then it is the choice of material. Property of each material will determine how time effective/quality will be the die. All the above and more have to be considered for such an investment as you are talking about 6K or more for a “reliable” chinese machine. Hope that clarified a bit the situation. Fiber is excellent but expensive and has a quite stiff learning curve.

[@enginerdstudioskenya3591]

if soe one buys it and a customer needs a custome made logo not letters or different types of font how can i do it

[@ThisDesignedThat]

you can have custom foiling plates made

[@SarahSauer-et8df]

This is so helpful! I have been looking for a tabletop foil press for months and am having a hard time sourcing one. Do you know of anywhere I could look that will ship to the US? Thank you so much!

[@ThisDesignedThat]

hi Sarah, glad it was helpful to you. Sorry i do not know any US suppliers but try looking on ebay/craiglist. Thats how i found mine.

[@SarahSauer-et8df]

@@ThisDesignedThat Thanks for the input! I will keep looking.

[@RTCDigitalS]

​@@SarahSauer-et8dfhi, did you find a supplier in US? I haven't had luck

[@Jimothy-723]

these machines are insanely hard to find.

[@ThisDesignedThat]

In the UK they are quite easy

[@ashleighdeck3429]

@@ThisDesignedThatcan you point me in the right direction of where to find them or is it just eBay? Thanks

[@samrix5793]

I thought you were based in Germany?

[@ThisDesignedThat]

I visited Berlin last year but Im from UK and live in London

[@samrix5793]

@@ThisDesignedThat ok I thought I saw on a video about your gf flat in Germany

[@samrix5793]

Are you north or south of the river?