Post #23844 by SugarCaddyDaddy on Fri, Feb 21, 2003 10:03 AM

jukeboy56 wrote:
Does anybody know an approximate age? Or are these things available today in the gift shop?...makes me think maybe its a modern reproduction instead of an old one.

Congrats JukeBoy!
Your's actually is in better shape and older than mine. I don't know the exact age, but the shape of the ashtray and the cigarette "wells" are common to most of the pre-mid-1970 ashtrays. The one I have is more of a later 1970's to 1980's shape and the printing is on the backside. (Depending on the manufacturer, printing can be either on the inside or outside, but most chose outside printing so that the customers name didn't wear away from multiple use.)

Your printing is also much sharper than mine. The pad printing on mine is not as 'exact'(meaning that lettering and/or pictures seem a little fuzzy and run together a bit). Alot of the pre-mid-1970's ashtray producers actually had much better quality control on their printing and had great artistic graphics which is why alot of the older ashtrays have a more visual appeal in comparison to the 1980's ashtrays.

Oh, and "pad printing" is similar to what a rubber stamp does, only it's called a "pad" or "tampo" printing. So if you look at your 2-color ashtray, you will most likely see that the black was done first, then the white (if it was printed on the backside). If the printing was done on the front, then the white was printed, and then the black.

These ashtrays are not available at Bali Ha'i. Hope this info helps.

SugarCaddyDaddy

(FYI-I am familiar with pad printing since I had a pad machine back when I owned 2 recording studios and an in-house duplication facility and pad printing on audio cassettes (remember those?) was a daily routine, and also took side jobs printing on various items for a nearby advertising firm.)

The Caddy and The Tiki Transporter

[ Edited by: SugarCaddyDaddy on 2003-02-21 10:40 ]