Given the steady increase in commercial dog tag websites it’s clear that
the popularity of dog tags for people is on the rise. From individuals
to businesses, dog tags are being used to promote various events from
birthdays and weddings to new business products and special events.
Unlike finding dog tags and dog tag supplies online, dog tag machines
can be a little more difficult for two reasons: fewer vendors offering
quality dog tag machines compared to dog tag supplies and the many
models available from manual to automatic can seem confusing for the
uninitiated. Here we hope to sort out some of the difficulties in
selecting the right dog tag machine for your home or web based dog tag
business.
The dog tag making machines this article is concerned with are those
that stamp letters, numbers and some special characters into the metal
producing either a raised (embossed) or lowered (de-bossed) effect from
the surface. With the use of a standard size font (same as that seen on
a credit card) they can emboss up to15 characters per line and up to 5
lines. The speed at which this is done will depend on the machine
itself. The dog tags are made from stainless steel and feature a top
rolled edge. They are 1.25” x 2.0” and 0.03” thick. They are available
in both shiny and matte (dull) finish as well as brass. More recently
color coated dog tags have become available. Be careful with these
colored tags as sometimes the color will flake off during the stamping
process. Some progress is being made to produce more durable color
coatings to withstand the stamping process. Dog tags can be sold in sets
or a single tag on a long (24”-30”) ball chain. A set consists of two
tags, one long chain and one short 4” chain. You can include rubber dog
tag silencers with the set or they can be offered as an option. Ball
chain can be purchased on spools or to precut lengths. If getting
spools, then the connectors must be purchased separately. The most
commonly used ball chain for dog tags consists of 3mm diameter size
beads and is either nickel coated brass or stainless steel. Additional
dog tag accessories and options include split rings for keys and rubber
dog tag silencers. The split rings most commonly used are ¾” and 1”
wide. Initially rubber silencers were available only in black. Now there
is a wide range of colors available from traditional to vibrant tones.
Dog tag supplies are widely available online. As with anything
else online choose your vendors wisely as prices do vary among different
websites.
The two main types of dog tag making machines are manual and automatic.
They range in price from about $2,000 for an introductory manual machine
to around $20,000 for a high volume production automatic-feed unit. In
addition to military dog tags, many of these machines can also
accommodate metal plates of various sizes, shapes and thickness. Here
we’ll explain the pros and cons of both types of dog tag machines as
well as provide information regarding where to find the best deals
online.
The first consideration in selecting a suitable dog tag machine for your
business is a portable or permanent machine. Within both categories,
manual (mechanical and electronic) and automatic-feed electronic
machines are available. The advantage of portables is that they can be
easily transported to various events from parties, fairs, festivals and
reunions to business tradeshows and special events. Most portable
manual-feed mechanical machines can produce up to a few dozen dog tags
per hour compared to approx. 180 for electronic machines. If you’re a
small business owner needing to make a set of dog tags here and there a
portable mechanic machine may be the way to go. If your production needs
are higher then you should be looking at the electronic manual and
automatic-feed machines. The advantage of automatic machines is that
they are capable of producing a few hundred dog tags an hour making them
ideal for high volume web based businesses. The down side is that they
can cost five to ten times more than a manual mechanical machine.
The most basic machine for making dog tags will be manual-feed in which
the tags are loaded into the machine one at a time. The machine will
have a 55 to 60 character capacity drum (A-Z, 0-9, basic punctuation),
one or two available fonts, will fit only military size dog tags (1.25”
x 2.0”; 0.030” to 0.032” thick), and will weigh-in at around 60 lbs.
Current manual-feed mechanical machines have a dial on the top for
selecting the desired character. Once the character to be stamped is
lined up, a handle on the side is pulled down to emboss the tag. When
released it moves one space to the right to accommodate the next
character.
For higher volume production you should be considering either an
electronic manual or automatic-feed machine. For manual electronic
machines the plates are still loaded one by one, but the information to
be embossed is either entered directly into the machine via an attached
keyboard or through a computers serial port. The obvious advantage here
is that the information needs to be entered only once for a multi tag
order where the information is the same for each tag. These machines are
capable of producing approx. 180 tags per hour compared to a few dozen
for manual mechanical machines which require entering the information
for each tag. Other advantages of the electronic manual dog tag machines
are that plates of various sizes and shapes can be loaded into the
machine, availability of higher capacity character drums, a larger
selection of font types, and portability (a typical electronic
manual-feed embosser weighs approx. 100 lbs). The next step toward
producing higher volumes of dog tags can be achieved by going with a
fully automatic electronic machine capable of producing approx. 300 tags
per hour. The tags are held stacked in a hopper with a typical capacity
of around 200 tags. The tags are automatically fed into the machines
character/stamping drum via a grabbing mechanism. When the embossing is
complete the tag is automatically ejected from the side of the machine
via a conveyer. These machines will also accommodate plates of various
sizes and thickness. Automatic-feed electronic embossing machines are
built tough and will withstand harsh industrial environments. In
addition to be used to by military bases for making dog tags, these
machines can be found in the factories of various industries from auto
makers and shipyards to cable manufacturers and steel producers.
Dog tag making can be both fun and profitable. Whether you’re a hobbyist
looking to supplement your income, a retail shop owner or a web based
business there is a dog tag machine to meet your budgetary and
production volume needs.
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