engraved nameplates

framah

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Mar 15, 2001
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death star driver
I'm looking for a new source of engraved nameplates. The company I have been dealing with lately has been screwing up too much.

Any one out there have a company they would like to share??
 
Here are some that gladly work with framers, although a local trophy shop might have the equipment in house to complete your order faster and cheaper. We have 2 within a couple miles and usually receive the finished product within a day.

Awards and Presentations (800-452-1052)
Sign Design Custom Products, Inc. (WI) (800-274-9161) www.signdesign.org
Brassco Engraving in Dallas www.brassco.com
Signs by Paul in Colorado (303-697-8003)
Quality House Engraving in Monroe, WI. (608-328-8381)
Village Brass Afton, Mn. (800-235-8067)
Greenwood Engraving, Boyertown, PA (610-473-7886)
www.titleplates.com

Hope this list is useful
Mike
 
I use Greenwood Engraving in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Manya used to be a framer and knows our business. She recently moved so I think that is new # is 610-489-3425, and her email is manyakaye@aol.com .

Susan Gittlen
Whispering Woods Gallery
Holland Pa
 
I found Sign Design Custom Products, Inc. (WI) (800-274-9161) www.signdesign.org to have the best prices. They charge by the plate size, not how many letters used. They are also very quick with service; and if you don't mind USPS, they don't charge postage.

Candy
 
Thanks all. I knew I could depend on finding what I need here.
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I have used several of the mentioned companies. I have found that trophy shops cost more but offer a nicer product. They seem to be able to produce plaques with more legible lettering. The "brass plaques" look more scratched than carved. but Sign design and Signs by Paul have come through well for me.
 
I use our local trophy shop. He actually "gives" me the plates alot of times just because I send biz to him and then he, in turn, sends folks to me.
 
They're usually about $10 at the local trophy place, one day service, no shipping fee.

We also had very good experiences with one of the national companies, but just opted to keep it local for the sake of convenience. (I drive by the place several times daily, its on the same street)

Mike
 
WOW Mike! 10 bucks! I charge 10 bucks for mine. How much do you retail them for, or do you not mark them up to your customers?

I get mine from a local trophy shop. He does both the laser engraving and the diamond drag. I like the look of the diamond drag much better.
 
I'm wrong, they charge $6 each. (I just checked Quicken) $10 is what we charge the client... If they're paying $400 plus to frame something worthy of a plate, I don't mind spending a couple extra dollars to have peace of mind that it'll be available quickly and can be re-done quickly if there's a prob.

They can be ordered engraved or laser printed via computer (TTF fonts and logos ok, but not as good of a look) We prefer the engraved look.

We used one of the national engravers in the past for a LARGE plate that was well over $100 (hundreds of words) and were happy - although shipping damage delayed our final order for an extra week and it had to be redone. That's why we switched to support a local business instead.

My concern is that the local guy recently started advertising "custom framing". Maybe we should start selling trophies!


Mike
 
Mike

I don't know if you are just half joking, but I have thought about getting into trophies. It is cheap inventory wise, the material markups are close to framing, it is truly a custom made product. I think it is a good blend with framing. The only thing is investing in the engraving equipment. Think of buying 1 or 2 more Wizards. One laser and one diamond drag, about 15K a piece.

This is something I have been thinking about for a year or so. There are a lot more trophy shops than there are frame shops in both my areas. However, this seems to be untapped by any large scale retailers.

Sorry, just thinking out loud here.
 
Jerry, the good part about adding trophies to your biz is the timing. Normally, when framing is a bit slow, trophies are selling. The only time I can see a real overlap in labor would be around graduation time. Corporate accounts seem to be going more w/the etched glass (or plexiglass) look these days. That might be another area to look into.
 
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