HOT FOIL STAMPING MACHINE would this have been used for sweatbands on vintage hats?

[Atterbury Dodd]

Hello,

Were hot foil stamping machines used to stamp the gold lettering on the sweatbands of vintage hats? I just saw this one on Ebay and wondered:

http://cgi.ebay.com/KINGSLEY-VINTAG...in_0?hash=item4ceab2692b&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I would be nice to have one of these and be able to make reproduction sweatbands to replace worn out ones.

 

[duggap]

I think they were used. I know the sweats were stamped since we see many examples of them. Maybe if Art Fawcett stops by he can tell you more since this is up his alley. fftopic: I bet you would enjoy having the CSA belt buckle I dug on a civilwar campsite.

 

[Kangfish]

I think it's very likely. I did alot of leathercrafting years ago and I had one similar to that one. It's called embossing and back then we used 24k gold 'foil'.

 

[Art Fawcett]

Dodd, this machine is/was used primarily for the store to put either your initials or full name in the hat, not for embossing logo's etc. That would be of a grander scale than this.
Also, if I'm reading right, one cannot just put "Stetson" or other brand names on sweats without legal issues. The way it used to be done and I assume still is, is the hatter would sign an agreement with the mfr to renovate their hats ("official stetson renovator" etc) and the company would supply "official" sweats. Most companies don't want their logo's out there unless they authorize it.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Dodd, this machine is/was used primarily for the store to put either your initials or full name in the hat, not for embossing logo's etc. That would be of a grander scale than this.
Also, if I'm reading right, one cannot just put "Stetson" or other brand names on sweats without legal issues. The way it used to be done and I assume still is, is the hatter would sign an agreement with the mfr to renovate their hats ("official stetson renovator" etc) and the company would supply "official" sweats. Most companies don't want their logo's out there unless they authorize it.

Thanks Mr. Fawcett. So it would really be impossible to do with one of these smaller machines, or just not cost efficient? As far as reproductions I was mainly thinking of hat companies that are now out of business.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

I think they were used. I know the sweats were stamped since we see many examples of them. Maybe if Art Fawcett stops by he can tell you more since this is up his alley. fftopic: I bet you would enjoy having the CSA belt buckle I dug on a civilwar campsite.

Would I ever! I have some relatives that live in Chattanooga.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Thanks Mr. Fawcett. So it would really be impossible to do with one of these smaller machines, or just not cost efficient? As far as reproductions I was mainly thinking of hat companies that are now out of business.

Many of the major brand names are licensed to Hatco, so even if they aren't using them, you'd still need to go through them to do it. On others, some trademarks are still held by other people/entities.

Brad

 

[Art Fawcett]

These foil stampers can be used for anything, not just hat bands.

You're of course correct Kabuto, it can be used for anything but I was trying to keep it in the context of hats as that was the direction.

Thanks Mr. Fawcett. So it would really be impossible to do with one of these smaller machines, or just not cost efficient? As far as reproductions I was mainly thinking of hat companies that are now out of business.

First, Dodd, Mr Fawcett died in 2003...I'm just Art

Aside from the legal issues, as Brad points out, there are the practical issues. The imprinting is done with metal printing blocks that have to be carved ( cant think of the correct term) out of brass or some other metal that conducts the heat so it's a pretty expensive process. My "VS Hats"
imprint was a deal at $60 years ago so, to replicate the logos, even if you have permission, would be pretty prohibitive. Then, you have placement on the sweat, & other considerations to get it right. When at the factory they can print a bazillion of them at 1/2 cent per but in our back yards..ouch!!

 

[HATCO]

We have a number of machines. Here is one. It is a foil stamper.

Basically there is:

foil stamping
embossing
debossing

Dies that can be used in order of quality are:

magnesium: Photoetched using a chemical. Softest of the dies. Best for limited runs of foil stamping.

copper: Photoetched as well. Middle of the road in durability. Can be used to foil stamp or emboss/deboss can be 4-5X the cost of magnesium.

brass: Either hand milled or done by a CNC machine. Sometimes both. Most durable with the most options in regards to embossing/debossing. Can foil stamp and emboss on the same strike. Cost can be 3-4X the cost of copper depending on the size and detail in the artwork.

Also:

 

[Brad Bowers]

Great poster!lol

Brad