Engraved For You: Crystal & Glass Etching/ Engraving; Trophies and Awards; Wedding Invitations and Holiday Cards

WHAT IS ETCHING?

Since 1996 we've been providing custom etched gifts, awards, and designs to our customers. Etching or sand carving is a technique for "engraving" crystal and glass. Many of you may be familiar with engraved items that are usually limited to having names or initials on a few select items. This is due to the restrictions of the engraving machine which basically "scratches" the text onto the piece. Etching provides much more flexibility in the kinds of items we can etch and the designs that can be created because we are not restricted by the parameters of the machine. Each piece is sand carved individually and the shape or size of the piece is not a factor in this process. As long as there is a smooth surface area, we can etch it.

We can duplicate corporate logos, or include graphic designs such as flowers, sports figures, cars--whatever your event, we can usually find or make a graphic that's suitable.  This process lets you truly customize your gift or award, and in many cases there is no additional charge! We can even do stage carving which creates a 3-dimensional image. Contact us  for more information about this process and its applications.

The entire process requires many steps, but below we've outlined the major components:

First we create or download your design into clean black and white artwork.

Next, we transfer your design to special stencil material.

Then we process that material to create the actual stencil to be used on your particular piece.  This piece can be crystal, glass or metal and is sized exactly to fit that item.

We then prepare your item (award, trophy or promotional items) with special adhesive to receive the stencil .  Each piece receives a one-use stencil.

The stencil is then affixed to your item.  Now the entire item is covered, except for the stencil portion, to protect it during the sand carving process.

It is placed into our special cabinet to be etched.  Afterwards, the protective coverings and stencil is removed, the piece is cleaned and polished and ready for the lucky recipient.