Hi All,
My wife, ( Lisa ) found a hot stamp machine in our local classifieds.
From what I can tell from the guy I talked to, Mike Ritter, it is manufactured ( or sold ) by a company called Howard in Illinois.
I know nothing about hot stamping and would like some input please about whether $200.00 for a 15 yr old machine is about right, and is it something that would be profitable enough as a value added service to throw into the whole mix?
Anyone? Anyone?

Thanks

Chuck,

$200 might be a fair deal but getting it there will probably cost you $500

Thats what I would consider.

Chuck,

This may help you with your decision-making process.

http://www.howardimprinting.com/whybuy.cfm

There is a Howard Hot Stamp Machine for sale on Ebay.

http://search.ebay.com/howard-hot-stamp-machine_W0QQfkrZ1QQfnuZ1QQxpufuZx

 

Mike,

It is on island.

Chuck,

$200.00 would not be a bad price considering condition and what comes with it if anything. The heater would be the most common problem.

You will need foil - available from many sources,

Type - a little harder to find at a reasonable price, but several sources carry it.

You will want to consider that this is a manual machine, meaning high volume gets real hard on your right arm after awhile. Great for small run jobs, but you will need to consider a set-up fee.

Dies can be made for your logos very easily.

Some items to print include:
Ribbons, napkins, leather, badges, paper items.

I also use mine to imprint all of my catalogs with my logo, name, address & phone number. Gives them a classy look.

John,
Thanks for your input. I have found out it is a Howard JP 80 ( or something along those lines ). It includes about 6 rolls of foil, three different types and the holders.
David Takes found one on Ebay that is about $600.00. The machine I am inquiring about is 15 years old.
One thing I am curious about is, what portion of your business actually comes about because of your ability to do hot stamping?

Thanks

Chuck,

I personally get calls all of the time for onesies such as bibles, portfolios, wallets and daytimers. In all of my brief years of business, I have never had an inquiry for a quantity order.

If I had a machine and marketed my services it would more than likely be a totally different picture.

I have been wrestling with the thought of adding that to my services. I may need to take a quick trip down to Wichita to see John in action.

Chuck,

Sales would depend on how hard you market it. I have a manual machine and an automatic machine and mostly do ribbons. Bookmark, Award Ribbons (the kind with the card on the back) and Rosettes. I don't use it daily or even weekly, but it does come in handy. The bookmark ribbons are by far the most profitable because there is a lot less labor in them.

The fact that the machine is 15 years old is not a problem, in fact, most brands are very heavy duty and last for many many years.

The one on E-bay is a Howard JP-80, which is air operated, so if yours is air operated then you would have less arm fatigue.

John

John, the one I am looking into is a JP 80

The biggest problem with foiling is the dies , however ou can do foiling dies on the laser using high temp silicon , same as rubber stamps. you can achieve incredible detial , even better than etching methods used to make dies. Foiling is real cheap and works on many items , if you have a laser , a $200 extra inverstment isnt much money. It's hardly high tech to operate either. Silicon dies work on stuff with less than flat and smooth surfaces , but dont last as long as magnesium , brass or steel dies.
With a laser , you could for example die cut and foil acrylic etc etc - many opportunities present themselves. You can use a foiler for embossing and debossing too. Nice thing about the laser is the die cutting ability , so you can do card , vinyl stickers , papers and so on. Also great for branding cheapy items like plastic pens etc that a laser cant.
Another great application is tipping , like engrave a medallion or a product logo with the letters sticking out and use the hot foiler with a silicon pad to tip the surface with gold etc.
Foils come in a zillion colours , you can actually foil a smooth surface and laser engrave it too , kinda make your own metallic coloured material.
IMHO it's a fantastic addition. Foiling goes hand in hand with pad printing and that too is VERY profitable , espcially since you can make the cliches (the engraved or etched plates that hold the ink) with a laser.