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What forms of payment do you
accept?
We accept Cash, American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and
Paypal. We will accept prepayment with a cashier's check, money
order, or a company/personal check. We do not ship orders COD.
How long does it take to get a personalized
award?
Our
normal turn-around time is one week, and
we
can produce virtually any quantity of almost any item in our catalog or on
our website within 7-10 days.
But if you only have 3 days, don’t
panic!! You can contact us to select items we have in stock, and we
will get them out in a hurry.
I have an awards ceremony coming up but I don't
know what I want to do. Can you help
me?
Yes, we can certainly help you! In the planning stages we will ask you
several questions that will help us better understand your needs.
Information such as your budget and the number of people you are planning
to recognize are most helpful. But the time-frame is also critical, we can
produce virtually any quantity of almost any item in our catalog or on our
website within 7-10 days, but if you only have 3 days you will need to
contact us to select items we have in stock. Also, the type of event you
are planning will determine what products we feel we should suggest to
you. Whether your needs are recognizing outstanding employees, honoring
customer loyalty or creating brand awareness with promotional products,
our design team can help.
Why can't I order online? How do I
order?
Due to the fact that every product that we produce is custom designed
to fit your needs, we felt that our customers deserved personal attention
when ordering from our company. Please review our products and if you see
something that you like please contact us so we can discuss the
decorating methods, their associated costs, and finalized your order.
If I need something engraved, is there a minimum
quantity that I have to purchase?
No!
The minimum quantity that you have to order if you want something engraved
is one! Many promotional products require a minimum, and of course,
you will get a better per-piece price if you buy in quantity, but since we
do all our engraving in-house, you can order just what you
need.
What are the different imprinting and engraving
processes?
Imprinting is the process of putting your logo onto a particular item.
There are many different imprinting methods that are available, each has
its own distinct look, and not all will work for all products. Below is a
brief description of some methods:
- Embossing
- Embossing is a process in which a die of the image is created. The die
is then pressed into the material from the underneath creating a raised
image on the top of the material.
- Debossing
- Debossing is a process in which a relief of the image is created with
a die. The die is then pressed into the surface of the material, leaving
a depressed imprint of the image.
- Hot
Stamping - This process is similar to debossing, only it doesn't use a
relief of the image, but the positive of the image to create the die.
The material to be hot stamped is laid in a press and covered with a
foil. The die then presses the foil into the material, creating a
permanent bond between the foil and the material. This process is
commonly used on books and Bibles.
- Laser
Engraving - A method in which the image is burned into an item with a
laser beam. Lasers will not only engrave an image, but they are also
capable of cutting though some materials such as acrylic, plastic and
wood. This allows us to cut designs out of the material as well as
engrave into the material. This method is most often used on glass and
acrylic, but is also used on many metals that have been coated
specifically for laser engraving. With these materials, the surface is
highly polished, then painted with a contrasting color or pattern. When
the laser burns off the pained coating, it reveals the bright metal
finish underneath. Materials that can be laser engraved include wood,
acrylic, plastic, stainless steel, anodized aluminum, leather, marble,
glass, ceramic, and more.
- Pad
Printing - The image is burned into a plate and ink is laid onto the
plate, filling the recessed areas with ink. The residual ink is wiped
clean. The ink is then transferred from the plate to the item with a
silicon pad. This is one of the most popular imprint methods for
promotional products such as pens, keytags, stress relievers, etc.
- Sand
Carving - Commonly referred to as sandblasting, the image is created by
a high-pressured stream of sand-like particles that etch the surface of
the substrate. First the image must be transferred to a masking
material. The open areas of the mask allow the particles to pass
through, thus creating the etched image on the item. The depth of the
image on the item is determined by the length of time the item is in
contact with the particles. This is the method most often used on
crystal awards and gifts. Other materials that can be sand engraved
include stone, brick, wood, metals, marble, and glass.
- Screen
Printing - Probably one of the oldest and most commonly known methods of
imprint, screen printing is achieved when ink is pressed through a
screen and onto the garment or item. First, the screens are coated with
a light-sensitive emulsion. The image is printed in black onto a
transparency. The image is then laid in contact with the coated screens
and placed into an exposure unit. The screen is then exposed to light.
Light is unable to pass through the black areas of the image, causing
the emulsion to not harden. The screen is then "washed out" leaving a
stencil of the image on the screen. Each color of the image will have
its own transparency and screen. Once all the colors are laid onto the
garment, the garment is removed from the press and put through a dryer.
- Sublimation
or Subligraphic® Printing - This method is one of the newest and
still-evolving technologies. This is a dye transfer process in which
specialty inks are permanently embedded into the surface of an object.
The image that is being transferred is printed using a traditional
ink-jet printer that has been converted to accept sublimation inks. The
object that is being imprinted must be specially coated to accept these
inks. When heat is applied to the transfer (about 400º F!) the inks
become a gas and they permanently bond to the coating on the item. This
is the method of imprint used to created full color, photo gifts such as
mugs, mouse pads, clocks, and more.
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Rotary
Engraving – Preparing artwork and logos for this process is perhaps the
most time-consuming process in the industry. For artwork to be rotary
engraved, all elements must first be converted into outlines. Then, the
areas that are to be engraved out must be filled with concentric lines
of a specific thickness and frequency. Of course, these lines must be
spaced very precisely in order to generate complex designs. This process
allows an engraving machine (which is like a tiny computer-controlled
router) to follow the lines and create the artwork. This process is
usually used on solid metals such as brass, aluminum, steel, and
precious metals like gold and silver.
Is there a setup fee for engraving my
logo?
Yes, as with all decorating methods, there is a one-time setup fee for
engraving any artwork. The cost depends on the time it takes to make the
artwork suitable for that particular type of engraving. The minimum setup
charge for engraving is $12.50 per order, although it is important to
remember that setting up artwork for the various types of engraving and
imprinting can vary from a few seconds to several
hours.
Do you have a question that
was not addressed above?
 
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