What kinds of wood do your plaques come in?

Walnut, rosewood, bamboo, laminate and piano finish. Walnut and rosewood are natural hardwoods. Bamboo is lighter and lower cost, and is used on styles such as the Bamboo Engraved Plaque and the Renewal Large Plaque Award. Laminate copies a wood look on a manufactured board. Piano finish is a gloss lacquer built over the board rather than an exposed grain, which is why it reads solid black or deep red instead of showing wood figure.

Is piano finish real wood?

Piano finish describes the lacquer, not the timber. The board underneath is wood, and the surface is a gloss lacquer built up and polished so it reflects light like a piano lid. That is why piano finish styles are listed in black or rosewood color rather than by grain, and why the Laser-Etched Piano Finish Plaque is offered in black or rosewood. If you want visible wood grain, choose solid walnut or rosewood instead.

How many wood plaques do I have to order?

Almost every style starts at one piece. The most common quantity breaks in this range are 1, 4, 7, 13, 25 and 1, 5, 12, 25. The Fairfield, Ashford, Onyx and Renewal families price at 1, 6, 10 and 25, and the Solid Walnut Laser-Engraved Award Plaque prices at 1, 5, 25 and 100. Open the style you want and read its price table, because the breaks belong to the style rather than to the category.

Can I put a full-color logo on a wood plaque?

On the styles that price a full-color imprint method. The Fairfield and Ashford plaque awards in rosewood both price a digital full-color process alongside laser engraving, for one side and one location, and the Bamboo Engraved Plaque prices both as well. Roughly 15 of the wood styles here price full color; the rest price laser engraving only, which reproduces artwork as a single engraved tone. Check the imprint methods on the product before committing to multi-color artwork.

How big is the engraving area on a wood plaque?

The plate area is listed per style and is always smaller than the board. The Fairfield Large Plaque Award is a 12" x 9" board with a 9.75" x 6.75" horizontal plate; the medium is 10" x 8" with a 7.75" x 5.75" plate. The Solid Walnut Laser-Engraved Award Plaque is 8" W x 10" H with a 6" x 6-1/2" area. Because the same plaque can list one area for engraving and another for full color, confirm the area for the method you plan to use.

What is the difference between a cove edge and a rolled edge?

Both describe how the outside of the board is cut. A cove edge is scooped inward so the border reads as a shallow channel around the plate, as on the Walnut Cove Edge and Etch/Oxidized Walnut Cove Edge styles. A rolled edge is rounded over. A notched border, as on the Notched-Border Rosewood Plaque, cuts small steps into the corners. The edge does not change the imprint area, only the outline of the finished piece.

Do wood plaques carry a setup charge?

Most do, and it is listed next to the price table on the individual style. Across this range the setup charges run between $25 and $100. Because setup is a single fee rather than a per-piece cost, it weighs far more on a run of ten than on a run of two hundred. Compare the setup alongside the unit price when you are choosing between two styles at similar quantities.

Custom Wood Plaques Engraved with Your Logo, Bulk

Custom Wood Plaques for Recognition Programs

Wood is the backbone of this catalogue: 124 of the plaque styles we stock are wood, which is why a service award, a sales award and a retirement gift can all come from the same family and still look like a set. The finishes divide into four groups. Solid walnut and rosewood are the natural woods. Piano finish is a gloss lacquer built up over the board rather than a wood grain, so it reads black or deep red under office lighting. Bamboo is the lighter, lower-cost option. Laminate copies a wood look on a manufactured board and is the least expensive of the four.

Sizes and how the plate drives them

Most wood plaques are sold in a small, medium and large version of one design, so a tiered program hands out the same look at three levels. The Fairfield Large Plaque Award is 12" W x 9" H x 0.75" D in rosewood with a 9.75" x 6.75" horizontal plate; the medium is 10" x 8" with a 7.75" x 5.75" plate and the small is 9" x 7" with a 6.75" x 4.75" plate. The Onyx Large Plaque Award runs 9" W x 12" H vertically. The Renewal Large Plaque Award in bamboo is 10" W x 8" H x 0.63" D. Decide the wording before the size, because the plate area is what limits how much text fits.

Imprint methods are set per style, not per category

Laser engraving prices on 95 of the wood styles here and is the default. It cuts into the finish and reads as a single tone, so it suits names, dates and a one-color logo. A digital full-color process prices on 15 styles when the artwork needs more than one color: the Fairfield and Ashford families both price laser engraving and full color for one side and one location. The Bamboo Engraved Plaque prices both, with plate areas at 5" x 7", 6" x 8" and 10" x 13". Edge treatment is the other variable. Cove edge, rolled edge and notched border all change the outline; the Walnut Cove Edge style prices five plate sizes from 5" x 7" up to 8.5" x 11".

Quantities and setup

Wood plaques start at one piece on nearly every style, which is why they work for a single retirement as well as a program. The break patterns you will see most are 1, 4, 7, 13, 25 (50 styles) and 1, 5, 12, 25 (30 styles); the Fairfield and Ashford families use 1, 6, 10, 25, and the Solid Walnut Laser-Engraved Award Plaque runs 1, 5, 25, 100. Setup charges on this range fall between $25 and $100 and are listed next to the price table, which matters far more on a run of ten than on a run of two hundred.

Ask our team for a quote with your wording, your logo file, and the date you need the awards in hand.