Magnesium is one of the most lightweight metals on earth and it etches clean and fast using nitric acid. These properties make it ideal for use in numerous applications: foil hot stamping, cold foil stamping, embossing, debossing, engraving, crash printing, thermal dies, plaques, awards, letterpress printing and making engraving masters for rubber plates.

The advancement in raw material preparation and the etching process have brought the quality of magnesium on par with heavier metals such as copper and brass. Though copper and brass will always have their place, magnesium is the correct metal to use for over 90% of die applications.

Raw magnesium comes in sheets of varying thicknesses that are coated in a pre-sensitized photoresist covering. When this covering is exposed to a light source the covering hardens and is impervious to nitric acid. The sheet is then developed and processed in a nitric bath which removes the magnesium that is not protected by the hardened covering. This results in a raised area that is perfect for stamping, embossing or printing.

The dies are then cleaned and cut down. Embossing dies have molded counters made and letterpress cuts are mounted to achieve type-high. The final product is then wrapped and prepared for shipment. The entire process takes less than an hour, which is why all production can easily be processed same day.

While magnesium production has advanced through the years, the process is very much an art, as the bath must be continuously balanced and knowledgeable craftsmen must be vigilant that they are taking the steps necessary to produce a consistent die every time.

PlateCrafters has multiple magnesium production lines and is proud of each of the craftsman that have been making dies for decades. We provide magnesium dies to some of the largest Fortune 500 printers in the world and can handle any need you might have. We can also help you with any copper die requests if you have a special job that might require it. Whatever your need, please contact us to learn how PlateCrafters might be able serve you: 888-Flexo-Plate