Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Engraving, Stamping, or Laser Engraving Pet ID Tags: Which Is Best?

There are three basic approaches to applying information to pet id tags. Here at Silver Paw we are most concerned with what will be readable, durable, and lasting for you and your pet. We use a spinning rotary carbide cutter on our engraved stainless steel pet tags to get the deepest line we can in stainless steel.

This is easier said then done because stainless is so hard. It wreaks havok on our carbide cutters. We are constantly sending our cutters to the machine shop for re-sharpening because the stainless wears them down so quickly. That's bad for us, but good for you. It ensures you get a deep engraving on a surface which is made to withstand the abrasion a pet tag gets hanging from your dog's neck.

Stamping pet id tags makes for a nice deep indentation of information on the tag. Stamping is not always the most attractive. It will last, but if your dog is really active, the tag will not last. Stamping is done on thin, soft metal (brass, copper, nickel, pewter, aluminum, sterling silver). These metals are too soft to withstand the abuse a tag takes. Stamping personalized information on thick stainless steel uses expensive dies, cannot be done without an enormous amount of pressure (tons), and is therefore impracticle.

Laser engraving pet id tags has become very popular. The engraving surface of a tag is coated with a material that impregnates and bonds to the surface wherever the laser hits. This area becomes your engraving information and the rest of the material is washed away. It can be done on a wide range of metals, including stainless steel. Unfortunately, there is not much depth associated with the lasered areas and they will succomb quickly to wear and abrasion. Laser engraving looks great but doesn't last on a pet id tag.

Engraved stainless steel pet tags are the best bet for your money.

Find us at http://www.silverpawtags.com/engraving/

5 comments:

  1. i think you have nice deep indentation of information about Laser engraving.i have connected more blogs from last more days but you have good knowledge about it more than others so thanks for sharing this blog.

    posted by Jim Sina | Laser Engraving

    ReplyDelete
  2. ONLY the stamped tags have the datum applied
    in a permanently readable manner. The "engraved"
    tags are very light duty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stamping will stay readable, but the thin tag with a thin hole that attaches to tag hardware wears completely through and is therefore lost. This can happen quickly with an active, chewing dog. Stamped tags are made of "light duty" metal. That's the problem!

      Delete
  3. You are absolutely correct... Pet tags - if they are to last - have to be deep-engraved. Stamping a thin metal, or laser engraving is unsuitable for pet tags. Here at TagMakers.Co.Uk in the UK, we follow your advice and all our tags are deep engraved using rotary diamond or carbide cutters.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pet tag I think this is an informative post and it is very useful and knowledgeable. therefore, I would like to thank you for the efforts you have made in writing this article.

    ReplyDelete