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View Full Version : How is this done? Not lasered but baffling me, or could it be laser?



Neville Stewart
04-12-2015, 10:44 PM
This looks like very thin metal, not sure what that is but is a " mold" for a small amount of paint to sit in and it's taken up by a rubber stamp and applied to women's acrylic nails. Any idea how this would be made? Looks like about as thick as a business card or 2 and the recess appears about 1/2 that depth. The detail is very precise so I was leaning towards some type of litho process.

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Mark Sipes
04-12-2015, 10:48 PM
Chemical Etching or sand blasting maybe

Kev Williams
04-12-2015, 10:58 PM
Definitely not lasered. Not sandblasted either, it's too deep and too precise. Could be EDM'd but a laser would've had to engrave the electrode, and the metal's a bit thin...

My guess is acid etching...

Dan Hintz
04-13-2015, 6:05 AM
Definitely not lasered.

Why do you say that? A fiber would have no problem getting that depth in a short period of time (about 1/32").

I would want to see it in person, but those sharp inner corners lead me to believe it's a laser creating it... a chemical etch could also get you there, but again, I'd need to see those corners in person to be (more) sure.

Mike Null
04-13-2015, 6:56 AM
I'm inclined to think it was a chemical etch. Fine detail would not be an issue. A fiber laser could do it but I would guess that it would take quite a long time unless it was a high powered machine.

Rodne Gold
04-13-2015, 7:29 AM
If it's a cliche for pad printing on nails , my guess is that it will have been done as an etch.. depth of etch and surface of etch has to be tightly controlled to avoid scoop outs etc ..

Richard Rumancik
04-13-2015, 9:41 AM
Based on the price of these, I would say chemically etched, made in China:

http://pueen.storenvy.com/collections/603673-nails-diy-nail-art/products/10542933-stamping-plates-set-24b-l-buffet-leisure

They sell 24 stainless steel plates 1.8" diameter for $21. They only say they are "etched" which isn't conclusive. But you probably won't laser for that price even in Asia.

I wonder what material they are using for a transfer pad? Normal pad printing is done with cliches having a recess of less than .001". This appears to have a recess many times more than that. So it is sort of like pad printing but the transfer process is quite different.

Kev Williams
04-13-2015, 3:06 PM
Why do you say that? A fiber would have no problem getting that depth in a short period of time (about 1/32")..

I fiber would do it alright, but it would leave telltale 'tracks', not the completely random matte finish that's there...

matthew knott
04-13-2015, 3:09 PM
Its chemical etch for sure, we have been asked to produce custom versions as we have fiber lasers, but you cant as the heat from the laser effects the flatness of the sheet stainless steel (it starts to curve up). They are, as pointed out cliches for pad printing, just on a small scale, they still use a silicon pad to pick up the 'ink' and then transfer to the nail. A mini pad printing kit but for your nails. They use acrylic paint (nail polish) and its a bit thicker that the usual ink used for pad printing so i guess the cliches need to be deeper. hes a video for anyone interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Alp8Mp0VY fast forward to 1.40 (unless nails is your thing)

Kev Williams
04-13-2015, 3:14 PM
I enlarged the pic--

In addition to the smooth matte finish, notice the sides/edges of the engraving have a smooth, radiused bevel rather than a straight cut typical of lasering...

http://www.engraver1.com/erase2/cliche.jpg

Dan Hintz
04-13-2015, 3:19 PM
I fiber would do it alright, but it would leave telltale 'tracks', not the completely random matte finish that's there...

A proper finishing pass will net you a sandblasted appearance...