Plaques & Letters: Cast, Etched & PictureCast Plaques Overview

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Cast Plaque	Etched Plaque	PictureCast Plaque

Cast Plaques
Materials: Bronze, Aluminum & Brass. Aluminum costs approx. 30% less than Bronze; Brass, 50% more than Bronze (which is why it's rarely requested). All materials use the traditional sand casting method. Minimum cast letter size: As small as 1/4" ALL CAPS or 3/8" CAPS & lower case.

Cast Bronze with Bas Relief Building Image	Cast Bronze with Double Line Border & Rosettes
For a basic size estimate for cast plaques, count the number of characters and spaces then divide by four. This provides typical plaque size in square inches, allowing for design features such as borders, enlarged header and the like. Letters are usually raised. The largest size castable in one piece is 120" x 120". Thickness: Average size plaques are 3/8" thick. For larger plaques, say 36" and above, thickness increases to 1/2" or even 3/4".

Etched Plaques
Materials: Bronze, aluminum, brass, copper, zinc, & stainless steel. Etched plaques are reproduced by exposing a piece of film onto a photosensitive metal plate. This allows for extremely fine reproduction details. Minimum etched letter size: Prime Benefit- Unlike cast plaques, letters can be as small as 1/16".

Etched Stainless Steel with Recessed Text	Etched Brass with Recessed Text & Bevel
Standard etching depths are .01" to .02". Braille available for ADA compliance, deep-etched to .032”. Broadly, etched metal plaques cost 30% more than cast plaques. Best application is for when your specified plaque size is too small to meet cast letters size considerations. Letters are usually recessed, but can be raised. Thicknesses: 1/16", 1/8", 3/16 & 1/4" are most common. Greater thicknesses available. Unlike with cast, the thickness you specify has a price effect.

PictureCast Plaques

PictureCast Plaques are an economical alternative to plaques with Bas-relief images. For a manufacturing method price comparison chart, see PictureCast Pricing. Maximum size in one piece: 72" x 36". Thickness: Plaque is 3/8" thick...the same as cast. Image itself is 1/8" thick. Thin, but best reflective of Image supplied.

Minimum PictureCast plaque letter size: Same as Cast: 1/4" ALL CAPS or 3/8" CAPS & lower case. PictureCast bronze or aluminum plaques are a best value for "3-D" i.e. sculptural imagery, particularly if your plaque text is limited. These plaques are appropriate ONLY if your plaque entails a Portrait.

ARTWORK: Vector--eps, ai, dxf, cdr--(not jpeg, gif or bitmap) files are required for production art. Art charges of $25.00 or more apply to non-compliant art to facilitate file conversions. No art charges for text-only, standard-sized plaques. Bitmaps and jpegs are preferred for layout submissions.