Plastic Award, Plaque, Tag,Thing-a-ma-jig Material Stuff.......

[spalted]

I have a hunch I am going to be asked to give a bid on some award plaques for a convention.

They will be wanting engraved name plates attached to the carved wooden awards. The wood part I got, no problem I know what to do. But the engraved plates is were I hit the wall.

This is out of my realm of knowledge, and not my normal product line. I'm not even sure what to search for. Cast acrylic, FRP...........

I would like something with a laminated face and a contrasting core color to highlight the text to eliminate painting.

I'm sure I could find something, but will it carve decent in the cw is another question.

Does fact that I don't have any idea mean I'm under qualified........ nah, I don't think so.......lol

But I'm sure some of you will have great suggestions.

[TerryT]

This may not fit the theme of your projects. If not disregard. Rather than trying to carve something go to your local trophy shop and ask them to use their laser engraver to make a trophy type stick on plate. Thats what I do for most of my trophy plaques. He charges me less than $4 each. You can see them in my blog "Profitable Products". If it absolutely needs to be a carved plastic tag thing-a-ma-jig. Then Al is the man you need to talk to. He is the expert in cutting and carving plastic tags.

Hope this helps.

[spalted]

Yes Terry those plates are exactly what I was thinking of.

A local sign shop just ordered a new laser I could have them cut there.

[c6craig]

If you could find some cheap corian cut offs they would look nice too and you could carve them yourself. Should be easy to use scraps since you need such small pieces.

Craig

[Digitalwoodshop]

I have a variety of plaques here. Some are press board with a vinyl wood grain coating on it.... Well, it probably is not Vinyl since cutting Vinyl on a laser makes a poison gas that also rusts the laser bearings and rails... A thin wood Veneer is more like it and Lasers Text GREAT. Not much you can do with a CW with press board plaques.

I got some solid Walnut Plaques and used the CW to carve a Train Car into them. I found the Walnut was stained and the lighter wood showed up when I carved them. They did not come out that well...

Then there is the press board Sublimated Plaques. They have a white face similar to my Fire Tags and I can color print on them. They are great until you drop the plaque and the cracked corner looks like paper layers.... A Black Marker will fix some drops...

Then there is clear pine.... My Favorite for a project like this is to use the CW to carve a plaque and use the V60 to carve the name... Skip the Laser Plastic or Metal Tags. Rather than raised text use V Text.... Easier to do.

When asked to come up with something different for a Fire Competition at the country fair I did it with the CW. They loved it... Our Carve Buddy Chris helped me deliver them when he lived in my area.

My vote is to come up with a solid wood version and use clear pine... Stain the plaque and paint the letters. A little trick is to use V Text and paint the text. Then when dry sand it flush and stain the plaque. Use LP Air to blow the stain out of the letters using a respirator.

Here are some pictures...
1 and 5 are the walnut plaque. I stained the plaque again and it looked better.
2 is the Second Place Winner.
3 and 4 are the participation plaques and trophies.

AL

[Digitalwoodshop]

Here are some that were Lasered and some that were Sublimated.

1 and 2 are Sublimated Press board Plaques.
3 and 5 Are Laser Engraved press board veneer and white paint color filled. Wipe on wipe off.
4 is another press board plaque and printed with CLTT or Color Laser Toner Transfer. Basically a color Laser Paper printer using a Teflon type paper. Using a heat press to transfer the color to the plaque like a T Shirt transfer.

AL

[Digitalwoodshop]

If you could find some cheap corian cut offs they would look nice too and you could carve them yourself. Should be easy to use scraps since you need such small pieces.

Craig

If you have not joined Sawmill Creek then you need too... There is a guy that does many Corian Plaques that we could all learn from.... And the CW will cut the same plaques just fine.... Look for a Counter Top maker and get some Corian to play with.

Don't under price yourself when making the plaques. Call around and find out what the going prices are.

Good Luck,

AL

[spalted]

Thanks for taking the time to post all the info Al, very helpful.

I never intended to get into the award business, but a local awards shop is retiring and closing up. I know another guy who it pushing hard for the majority of that market. He is very good and will get most of it. But I decided I wouldn't mind picking up a little of the specialty stuff.

Things have slowed up for me because people just don't have the disposable income they once had, so expanding my horizons may help a little.

Awards production is something I just never paid any attention to in the past, but I'm learning.

[TerryT]

Awards production is something I just never paid any attention to in the past, but I'm learning.

Making a niche that didn't previously exist is a good way to make some extra money. I have had some income for the last two years with the awards stuff. I have some advice for how to do it in my blog "Profitable Products". I don't care what new thing you can imagine, someone, somewhere will either race it, show it or compete against someone else with it some how. So the demand for awards, especially unique awards should be there for quite a while.

[spalted]

Terry I have read your blog post. It was your post that made me think I should not dismiss the awards market segment. I also have been aware of Al's tags production. He is much better equipped for that than I am, but none the less I need to change my thinking a bit.

The CW has the potential to open up new opportunities for me and I need to keep my eyes and mind open so I don't miss them.

A person has the tendency to get stuck in a rut. However the changes in the economy have really had a negative effect on my business. Not as many people have the disposable income to spend on large luxury pieces, non functional things like art and decor and extravagant architectural details. Unfortunately all those frivolous things are what I spent years building my business around.

I really appreciate you guys sharing your wisdom and experiences, it's very helpful. I like to have some knowledge of the proper way to do something before I jump in.

[dbfletcher]

Plus dont forget about the new trend in youth sports where EVERYONE is a winner. I just wonder how long it will be till it is carried in to High School Sports.

[spalted]

That made me laugh Doug, but it's so very true.

Plaques and award for the entire school system for every event could be rather lucrative.

"Yahoo! I got 85th place!I'm a winner"....lol

[Digitalwoodshop]

Here is a offer for readers of the Engraving Etc Forum. A free 6 months of Engraving Journal. You can try signing up, I am sure they are always looking for new readers... I let my 6 year subscription laps and just signed up for the free 6 months. https://www.engraversjournal.com/offer/strialsubeeforum

A word of caution.... This free offer comes with strings.... A few e mails from Suppliers of engraving material.... A Mail box full of catalogs, samples, and flyers.... The 4 major Laser Engraver companies will be calling to offer you a good deal on a NEW LASER.... UPS boxes of Granite Tiles and Plastic Samples..... I was surprised just how much stuff I got....

Engraving Journal is a great resource for anyone thinking of getting into the Awards market.... Lots of stories on how to use the Laser and rotary Engraver to make stuff and a Detailed tips on using Corel Draw.

Good Luck,

AL

[spalted]

Thanks for the link Al, thats what I need is a good introductory exposure to what others are doing. That will get the old wheels turning.