Patent ID: 8459086

Claim:
A method of making an impression die for use in an embossing, hot foiling, or hot stamping process, the method comprising the steps of: providing a single substantially planar bendable bimetal plate having a non-ferrous metal layer and a steel layer bonded together, wherein said bimetal plate includes leading and trailing edges; forming a relief pattern in the surface of the non-ferrous metal layer by an etching process; removing substantially all of the non-ferrous metal layer along at least a portion of each of the leading and trailing edges of the plate to expose the steel layer at said leading and trailing edges to secure the edges together; forming the plate into a single non-planar sleeve with the non-ferrous metal layer on the outside; and securing the leading and trailing edges of the plate together along at least a portion of the exposed steel layer so as to form a single continuous sleeve.