Engraving a Thermapen thermometer – can it be done?

[JeanneCake]

OK, this is the year, I'm going to do thermopens for chef gifts.  I talked to a very very nice person there today who says they don't do any type of engraving or personalization in house, but they have seen, on occasion, some returned which have been personalized.  He went on to say that depending on the type of thing used to cut the name into the cover, that it could potentially crack, or it could render it no longer water resistant; and if that were to happen, the cover could easily be replaced for nominal cost.

 

Anyone here ever done such a thing?  The other option is that I just ask them what their favorite color is and get them in different colors.

[dcarch]

Take your artwork and go to a laser engraver. 

 

dcarch

[lesliec]

Or a tastefully-designed sticker?  You'd have to be sure to specify a pretty solid adhesive, though.

 

It may actually be possible to get a design screenprinted on the things.  But personalised engraving does sound good.  Talk to an engraver; see what their thoughts are about 'delicate' surfaces.

[JeanneCake]

What's a laser engraver? I would love to get their names on these so they can't be lost/stolen   I hadn't thought of the possibility of a sticker-type thing; am going to google laser engraver and see what's in my neck of the woods....

[daveb]

Korin offers laser engraving on knife blades, would be worth a phone call / email to see if they could do the thermapens.   Ask for Mari.              

[dcarch]

laser engraving carves onto the plastic case, permanent but there is no color. Very detailed design is possible. You provide the artwork, set up charge is not much.

 

Labels will not last too long in a kitchen oily environment .

 

Silk screen is good if done right. Not cheap for small quantities.

 

 

dcarch

Edited November 18, 2014 by dcarch (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Forget labels and silkscreening...have it engraved!

[andiesenji]

If the engraving is done with a high speed ROTARY instrument it can be done very nicely and will not cause cracking.  And in fact, with fairly inexpensive equipment (NOT the vibrating "engravers") you can do it yourself. 

 

I did engraving in glass (and some plastics) for many years, including thin watch crystals, goblets of every size and type, eyeglasses - both glass and plastic, engraved car, van and motorhome windows (the latter were the shatterproof acrilics). 

 

I used a high speed dental engine for most but occasionally worked with a Foredom flexible shaft motor and in a pinch one of the smaller hand-held dremels.

You need a very fine carbide ball cutter.  It's nice to do it freehand in script and you can get metal letting guides and even guides with fancy "swishes" if you are shaky with freehand. 

 

While most of my engraving was one-of-a-kind images, some lettering was always required.  I think you can see the lettering on some of these pieces - it was all done freehand - however I spend years doing calligraphy too and back then had a very steady hand. (No longer...)

Edited November 18, 2014 by andiesenji (log)

[boilsover]

If the engraving is done with a high speed ROTARY instrument it can be done very nicely and will not cause cracking.  And in fact, with fairly inexpensive equipment (NOT the vibrating "engravers") you can do it yourself. 

 

I did engraving in glass (and some plastics) for many years, including thin watch crystals, goblets of every size and type, eyeglasses - both glass and plastic, engraved car, van and motorhome windows (the latter were the shatterproof acrilics). 

 

I used a high speed dental engine for most but occasionally worked with a Foredom flexible shaft motor and in a pinch one of the smaller hand-held dremels.

You need a very fine carbide ball cutter.  It's nice to do it freehand in script and you can get metal letting guides and even guides with fancy "swishes" if you are shaky with freehand. 

 

While most of my engraving was one-of-a-kind images, some lettering was always required.  I think you can see the lettering on some of these pieces - it was all done freehand - however I spend years doing calligraphy too and back then had a very steady hand. (No longer...)

Siberian trophies ...jpg

Andie:

 

  This is beautiful work.  The last time I looked for some competent hand engraving services for a presentation corkscrew, all I could find were computer-guided machines for hire.  In awful fonts and with limited graphics.  Basically, if it's not one of the available program options, it can't be done.

 

  I think this work has gone the way of fabric re-weavers.

 

  My suggestion to the OP is to find that steady-handed calligrapher and turn them loose on the Thermapens with fine-tip Magic Markers.

 

Cheers

[JohnT]

If you want each item with a different name, the only method would be engraving, either with a rotary engraving machine or laser engraving, as mentioned in the posts above. However, if you are looking at your logo etc. being applied to the gifts, on a curved surface, screen printing will not work properly. The only way to do this is get somebody with a tampon printer (sometimes called tampoprinting) to do it, which does very fine printing on curved surfaces. It can be done in multiple colours. You can also have foil printing done on the item - however, the foil is quite delicate and will suffer from abrasion very quickly. John.