Hey Everyone,
I have written this quite a few times in email, so it's time to send out a PSA.
I am going to preface this all with the disclaimer that this is just our opinion.
The only reason why it really matters is because we provide shaped milling as a service.
When looking for hotstamped chips to shape mill, we want to teach you how to fish. (or in this case hunt?)
We come at this from a place of passion, and we are perfectionists.
You may feel that we are too picky and we are down with that. YMMV.
We have a bit of a sliding scale for shaped milling Paulsons.
As of Jan 1, 2024 are asking $3.00 or $3.50 per chip to clean, shape mill and apply your custom label.
Check out our pricing page with examples of shapes and our work here.
What makes the difference in price? The hotstamp and the desired shape.
Let me show you.
The size of the hotstamp matters in shaped milling.
The closer the hotstamp gets to the edge of the inlay space, the harder it is to avoid leaving some of the hotstamp behind.
Shape choice may also come into play, depending on the hotstamp. The size of the shape to be milled can be adjusted to maximize 'coverage' but there are limits.
We don't let chips we have milled go out the door with any hotstamp left on them.
If the hotstamp goes outside our milled area, we will address it by hand, scraping off any remaining stamp. (thus the extra $0.25 per chip)
If it's really bad, in specific cases, we'd need to take a skim cut first.
But it is an option we use judiciously, only for specific chips, and not without discussion with the customer.
Here are the ideal hotstamps and why they would be $3.00
(These are the same chips as pictured above, with a label placed over the hotstamp to demonstrate.)
Look how much blank real estate there is between the inlay circle and the shape.
Plenty of space to make the cut and no flashes of hotstamp left behind.
Shape doesn't matter, the distance between the peak and valley of each cog exposes nothing.
Here is the Starburst and why it could be $3.50
See all the gold flash?
The hub shape may save you though, because it has a short distance (diameter) between the peaks and valleys.
With the hub shape, we would make the shape larger, extending it to the outer edge of the inlay space without going past it.
We could still hit all the hotstamp without having to hand scrape.
But choose your shape wisely, because in some cases, you can't make the shape big enough to hit all the foil without intruding into the mold area (hats & canes.)
Here is that same starburst that we would charge $3.50 to mill.
Even with the outer most point right at the edge of the inlay space, the flat edge of the hex allows flash.
We would hand scrape that off, and thus charge more per chip.
And some we might even say no we won't do that shape...or charge more than $3.50 for if you insisted.
The distance between the peak and valley of this shape is too great.
Even with the peak pushed to the edge, there would be so much hotstamp left.
We would tell you to consider the hub or shallow star shapes, or consider a different target with a different hotstamp if you insisted on the star shape.
And the PW actually extends just past the inlay space.
In our books, this chip is not actually a good candidate for milling at all, and especially not for shaped milling.
In our minds, the only way to address this is to mill a circle just to the outside of the inlay space, trying not to hit the actual mold.
You can do that with a CNC, and it would look closer to an RHC than a TH&C.
But honestly we would just advise you to consider a different target chip.
So there it is.
Hopefully we have given you some food for thought when it comes to assessing what a good candidate for shaped milling looks like.
As always, if you have a question you don't want to post below, please email it to ask@gearlabels.com and I will answer.
I may answer questions via PM, but the response will be slower...use email if you want my attention sooner rather than later.
Happy Hunting!
edited 3.2.24 updating new pricing
I have written this quite a few times in email, so it's time to send out a PSA.
I am going to preface this all with the disclaimer that this is just our opinion.
The only reason why it really matters is because we provide shaped milling as a service.
When looking for hotstamped chips to shape mill, we want to teach you how to fish. (or in this case hunt?)
We come at this from a place of passion, and we are perfectionists.
You may feel that we are too picky and we are down with that. YMMV.
We have a bit of a sliding scale for shaped milling Paulsons.
As of Jan 1, 2024 are asking $3.00 or $3.50 per chip to clean, shape mill and apply your custom label.
Check out our pricing page with examples of shapes and our work here.
What makes the difference in price? The hotstamp and the desired shape.
Let me show you.
- We would price the 1 and BA on the left as $3.00 for all shapes
- We would price the starburst at $3.50 for most shapes
- We would price the PW at $2.25, because the only thing we would do with it is a big ol' circle just to the outside of the inlay space.
The size of the hotstamp matters in shaped milling.
The closer the hotstamp gets to the edge of the inlay space, the harder it is to avoid leaving some of the hotstamp behind.
Shape choice may also come into play, depending on the hotstamp. The size of the shape to be milled can be adjusted to maximize 'coverage' but there are limits.
We don't let chips we have milled go out the door with any hotstamp left on them.
If the hotstamp goes outside our milled area, we will address it by hand, scraping off any remaining stamp. (thus the extra $0.25 per chip)
If it's really bad, in specific cases, we'd need to take a skim cut first.
But it is an option we use judiciously, only for specific chips, and not without discussion with the customer.
Here are the ideal hotstamps and why they would be $3.00
(These are the same chips as pictured above, with a label placed over the hotstamp to demonstrate.)
Look how much blank real estate there is between the inlay circle and the shape.
Plenty of space to make the cut and no flashes of hotstamp left behind.
Shape doesn't matter, the distance between the peak and valley of each cog exposes nothing.
Here is the Starburst and why it could be $3.50
See all the gold flash?
The hub shape may save you though, because it has a short distance (diameter) between the peaks and valleys.
With the hub shape, we would make the shape larger, extending it to the outer edge of the inlay space without going past it.
We could still hit all the hotstamp without having to hand scrape.
But choose your shape wisely, because in some cases, you can't make the shape big enough to hit all the foil without intruding into the mold area (hats & canes.)
Here is that same starburst that we would charge $3.50 to mill.
Even with the outer most point right at the edge of the inlay space, the flat edge of the hex allows flash.
We would hand scrape that off, and thus charge more per chip.
And some we might even say no we won't do that shape...or charge more than $3.50 for if you insisted.
The distance between the peak and valley of this shape is too great.
Even with the peak pushed to the edge, there would be so much hotstamp left.
We would tell you to consider the hub or shallow star shapes, or consider a different target with a different hotstamp if you insisted on the star shape.
And the PW actually extends just past the inlay space.
In our books, this chip is not actually a good candidate for milling at all, and especially not for shaped milling.
In our minds, the only way to address this is to mill a circle just to the outside of the inlay space, trying not to hit the actual mold.
You can do that with a CNC, and it would look closer to an RHC than a TH&C.
But honestly we would just advise you to consider a different target chip.
So there it is.
Hopefully we have given you some food for thought when it comes to assessing what a good candidate for shaped milling looks like.
As always, if you have a question you don't want to post below, please email it to ask@gearlabels.com and I will answer.
I may answer questions via PM, but the response will be slower...use email if you want my attention sooner rather than later.
Happy Hunting!
edited 3.2.24 updating new pricing
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