PRÄGOTHERM -For Counter Dies, Any info on use?

Has anyone used this product for making counter dies for either combo foil & emboss or emboss only?

PRÄGOTHERM

It is a thermoplastic counter die material in the form of a foil. In the course of a short-term contact with the metal embossing die heated in the machine to a temperature of 130 C, the foil is welded to the PERTINAX base plate and shaped to form a counter die according to the metal embossing die.

http://www.praego.de/e/index-e.html

Thank you-
Jim

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it’s okay….. in the correct situation. it does not seem to last long for foil/combo stamping. better off with a pre-made counter.. send the die out and have one made for about 40 bucks for basic embossing… more for an existing combo die…otherwise order the liquid/powder mix from “Esschem” and make your own….

I have used acrylic nail powder with pretty good success, I was told about this from Metal Magic when I had a combo foil/emboss job to get out for a customer right away. It worked very well. I just heard about this stuff and was curious about it. Any body else have a trick for making counter dies???

I used Pragotherm with a combination die that lasted 300,000 impressions. Since it was a sculptured die, I had to do some adjusting with it periodically, but overall it works very well. On smaller jobs, I keep the counters and re-use them. I make my own though.

interesting…like fingernail???

probably i was was not well trained in the use of it then… i was told it is not good for deeper embossing. I was told you would then need multiple layers..

ericm- Yes, like fingernail. After finding position for die, I stick gray board to the platen (Windmill) scuff it up with sandpaper then mix up the acrylic powder with the liquid hardener, I smear it on the gray board, cover the “goop” with a piece of foil (backwards) to keep acrylic from sticking to die. Then I close up the press on impression and let is sit until it hardens. You now have a counter die. I am going to get some thin epoxy board and try making one on that so I might be able to reuse it. My wife gets the powder and hardener from the Beauty Supply store. costs about less than $20 for both parts. Give it a try.

i will… i have also heard of people using (in the USA we call it “bondo”) a 2 part body filler for auto body repair. i would think “JB Weld or even a 2 part epoxy,,,would work also,,,, but set up time of the stuff would make it quite non-productive. Chicks have no patience so,,, maybe the nail thing i will try…

I have not used this product but I used to make embossing counters everyday. I used a two part epoxy that we bought in quantity from a supplier and a fiberglass backing sheet of the correct thickness for the press it was to be used in. The finished die is cleaned, heated a little bit and coated with paste wax. Buff the wax out of the image and this will prevent the epoxy from sticking to the die. Pour the epoxy into the image of the die til it fills, cover with the rough side of the fiberglass down and put into a heated press untill the epoxy sets. When the epoxy is set, remove from press without seperating the die from the counter and drill two holes near opposite edges of the die so that you will always be able to line up the two later. Then seperate the two and remove unwanted material from the counter around the image with a dremil to make a nice emboss.

I’ve never done any of this kind of work but I had a thought anyway (ah, the dangers of a naïve mind, eh?). What about 2-part epoxy putty? You can get it in just about any hardware store and it’s fairly stiff so it wouldn’t go running off down the platen or anything. And they make it in forms that set quite quickly. Would that work or is it too stiff?

Michael Hurley
Titivilus Press
Memphis, TN