booklady

I do know that veg holds a great stamp, but almost all veg tanned I've seen is in that raw form- and I need a variety of colors etc and have no interest in hand dying. The variation in pull up leathers is also a really nice look and I'd like to incorporate it into my product line, if possible- but I have to be able do decent stamping on it. I tried an even lower heat setting, and while it did reduce some of the "bubbling up" of waxes around the stamp, I'm not getting as good/deep of an impression. I will keep testing. Thanks for the replies so far.

I mostly work with 2.5-3.5 oz upholstery leather, but am looking to branch out into slightly heavier leathers, especially ones with nice distressing or pull up, for that two tone aged/worn look. I currently do a lot of hot stamping for personalizing my products for my customers, and when I've gotten a handful of samples of pull up leathers, when I test stamp them I find that there is quite a bit of wax bubbling/seeping out of the leather, and sometimes leaves a "ring" around the stamp impression. The debossing is really nice on these leathers though, the only problem is the wax seepage. Is this normal? Should I try lower heat settings? Just wipe it quickly after each stamp to eliminate this waxy ring from forming around the stamp impression? Is there a type of leather out there that will give have that nice multi colored effect of a pull up leather, without being so full of wax (I imagine not, since isn't this exactly what give pull up that two toned effect?) Or what type of leathers take hot stamping impressions the best? I've tested lots of samples and can't seem to find any similar thread as to when something stamps well vs. doesn't- but maybe I'm just missing it or haven't figured it out? Any insights appreciated. Thanks.

Hi all, I've been lurking for a bit and this is my first post- I know there is a lot of info below, but I could really use some guidance regarding hot stamping machines. To get it out of the way early, I'm not especially interested in buying used/ off ebay. (frankly because I don't know exactly what to look for, and am concerned about not getting the right thing/getting ripped off, and this is my first real "big" equipment purchase and ebay feels risky for my first bigger investment) I'm a pretty small business so ideally it would be nice to start with something moderately priced (that is still good quality) before I invest thousands on something super fancy or top of the line- but I'm just worried I might spend hundred on a hunk of junk and that I might not even get it to function in the way I need, because to be honest I'm not sure exactly what I should be buying. For background, I'm in the business of making softcover leather books. Typically with upholstery weight leather, in the 2.3-3.5 oz ballpark, but in the future would like to expand into products with slightly heavier 4-5 oz weights (but the leather I use now definitely needs heat to set a stamp, pressure stamping doesn't work on what I use). I do a lot of personalization and have been using a handheld burner tool thus far, but I need to upgrade to something a bit more professional that can get the job done faster and cleaner. I'd need a machine with a type setter/holder, or equivalent, and a set (or a few) of type. (Goudy Light or Times New Roman, or similar, ideally)For now I only need one row of type, but it would be nice if down the road it had the capability to do multi line. Foiling would be a nice future option as well, but it's definitely not absolutely necessary that the machine be set up for it as all my current stamping is blind debossing anyway (and I could always just lay the foil down flat on the piece, I dont *need* the whole roll feed set up, right?) So I've tried doing a bit of research, and kingsley and kwik print machines seem like *the* thing here in the US, and as I understand it kingsleys are no longer made? but kwik prints are, but the thing is, Kwikprints website was supposedly hacked, and I had a heck of a time getting in touch with anybody online (I'm not one for phone calls, and I'd like to get some info in writing, and eventually found them on FB) I did email with someone named Jay, but he sent a somewhat general email and didn't follow up with more info about the models he suggested, and didn't reply when I asked more questions. So I really have no idea if this company is legit anymore. Not sure how I would even go about buying securely since their website is "down". Doing a transaction over the phone just doesn't seem secure. Anyways, that was 6 months ago, and in the time since I've found Tandy also has a hot stamping machine, but I'm unclear what kind of type would work or be available to go with it- I could find any of the machines accessories on Tandys website. I also found kwikprint machines on talas for a pretty penny. Talas has it set up as "build your machine" type of thing for Kwik prints with all the accessories separately, and even still I'm not sure what all I would really need, and it seems pretty expensive to do it this way. I've also found plenty of these kinds of machines on amazon, Asian supplier websites, and a few other sites, but for most of them it's unclear what kind of typesetter and sets of type I would need/could use with these random "off brand" machines. I've heard some type only works with some machines, and I'm sure not all holders work with all machines either, etc. Also, some type sets I *have* found seems like they comes with just one of each letter, which seems a little silly. Is this normal and people buy multiple sets of the same type, or can you buy sets of type anywhere with multiples of the more popular letters (you know, like if someone wants "Sally" on their item, I'm gonna need two L's, ya know?) I'm feeling really over my head in this search, and I need help! Any info or guidance in any form would be greatly appreciated.