My mom has always been a big fan of creating photo albums, and I have always been a fan with her. In fact, my sister’s recent marriage means we get to create a wedding photo album for her and her husband, which require a number of pretty and artistic stamps to decorate the pages with. This type of stamper is the type that I am familiar with; one that involves pressing a cut out shape into ink and then seeing the image appear when you press it onto paper or cloth. A metal stamper involves the same sort of process, except the stamper has sharp edges and causes indentations or full cuts instead of leaving a simple ink mark.

“Metal stampers” is one of those general industrial phrases that can be applied to a variety of different metal stamping machines and even specific parts within a metal stamping machine. Brass stampings, which are specifically defined as the stamping done to brass material, is done with a metal stamper, as are automotive stampings, which refer to stampings done for the automotive industry.

The basics of a metal stamping machine involve hydraulic, mechanical or pneumatic power presses. Hydraulic presses use liquid power while pneumatic presses use air or gas and mechanical presses are run by an engine of some sort. Regardless of which is being used, the result is powerful. A ram, or arm with a die attached, moves up and down, making contact with the press bed, which is where the metal material is laid. The whole hydraulic, pneumatic or mechanical press may be referred to as a metal stamper as can the die attached to the ram that does the actual stamping on the material. Either way, the whole process is impressive, particularly considering it can be set up for mass production and is therefore a quick and efficient process.