"the inlays were applied by hand when the chips were manufactured."

I toured the BJ plant and watched this being done.
The inlays come on very large rolls, like stamps you buy at the post office. They are on a roller in front of a lady.
A lady picks up a chip peals an inlay and sticks it on. She only has 1 roll of inlays and 1 color of chips at a time.

I seem to remember Borgata chips with changed inlays on ebay right after they opened. $5 and $1 if I remember right.

Changed out BJ inlays have been common in the hobby.