| Custom Engraving Tips For Plaques |
|---|
|
1. Don't over specify your engraving request.
We use the best engraving equipment and our engravers have many years of experience.
We perform some of the best work in the industry.
Usually the more a customer specifies engraving details, the worse it looks.
2. Many customers specify too many words per line. This forces the use of a small font size and makes the engraving hard to read. For square plaques, the number of words per line is approximately equal to the number of lines. 3. Don't use any of the Old English fonts for lengthy messages as they are difficult to read. Don't use Old English Newsprint font unless you have a good reason and use it sparingly. It is very difficult to read. If your salutation contains the word "Love," consider Fancy Cursive Script or Connective Script fonts. If this is for business, consider Times New Roman or the italic version. If you have a lot of text on a small item and you know the font size will be very small, use Arial font. If you don't know what font will look best, leave the font selection for our Master Engraver who has over 30 years experience. 4. It's all right to use different fonts for different plaques, but don't mix too many fonts within a message. One font and its italic are usually sufficient. 5. Unless otherwise specified, we center all engraving. It is often a mistake to right or left justify lines. 6. Most plaques come with protective paper or clear plastic on the surface. Remove the protective covering before presenting the gift. 7. Black oxidizing plaques makes the engraved letters stand out against the gold brass plaque and makes the plaque easier to read. Artwork or logos with fine crosshatching look better without oxidizing. Only bright brass plaques can be black oxidized, not aluminum plaques or engraved products such as brass telescopes or compasses. 8. Except for initials or short abbreviations, never use all capitals with cursive or connective script fonts, or with any of the Old English fonts. All capital letters in script or Old English fonts don't even look like English.  10. Carefully check your grammar and spelling. We DO NOT check spelling. Whatever you enter in the engraving section is electronically routed to our engraving machines. We do not retype your engraving so we cannot make typographical errors. |
| Initials vs. Monogram | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| There is often confusion on the difference between initials and a monogram. Initials abbreviate a full name in the standard order of first, middle, and last name. For example, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's initials would be FDR. A monogram is where the first letter of the last name is placed in the center and made larger than the other two letters. In this way, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's monogram would be FRD. | |||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
| When ordering initials or a monogram, simply type the three letters in the order they will be engraved (i.e. FDR for initials and FRD for a monogram), then in the special instructions section specify whether you want initials or a monogram. If you desire a monogram, you may wish to specify that the center letter is larger for clarity. | |||||||||||||||
| More Personal | |||||||||||||||
Initials are great where space is limited, but people identify with their full name.
When space allows, consider engraving the recipient's full name.
 |
|||||||||||||||
| The Most Personal | |||||||||||||||
A heartfelt message definitely creates the most memorable and cherished gift.
Don't forget the recipient's name, your name, and a date for special events.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
