Welcome to the latest installment to the EC Awards Blog, providing you with a one stop shop for anything you need to know for Awards in 2019. The team will be looking at the various different materials we have on offer from Glass to Wood, Acrylic to Metal, we’ll talk you through how each of the respective materials can be branded, timescales that each take to produce and also any bespoke options that are feasible.
Acrylic / Lucites / Tombstones / Deal Gifts – The lowdown on the most versatile material in the business.
We see so many different awards on a day to day basis here in the office, trends have come and gone, we’ll never forget the kaleidoscope ‘electric’ column awards from the mid 90’s!, but one alternative to traditional awards has stood the test of time, and that’s right where we are going to start today. Acrylic Blocks, Lucites, Tombstones, Deal Gifts, all mean one thing, a great looking award, and generally a more economical cost to a glass alternative. These first became popular in 1980’s when large financial institutions wanted to celebrate landmark deals and create something for each of the team members to place on their desk, this is still very much a tradition in many of the household names we know and as time has passed, they have become more and more creative (with a little help from us of course!).
Encapsulation is one way to truly stand out from the crowd and whilst this often has a longer lead time, the finished article really will wow your recipients. From circuit boards to engine parts, peanuts to oil, we have done it all, and we are always happy to give something a go.
Of course, these great awards don’t stay a secret for long and with the costs of bespoke glass and alternatives often being at the higher end of many budgets, we have seen a real increase in companies placing orders for Long Service, Employee Rewards and also Corporate Events. The bottom line being, our clients are able to get fantastic looking awards with either a print or etching in vibrant colours, which are on brand due to our pantone matching technology, at a vastly reduced cost comparatively, all within a short space of time (usually around 7 days dependent on complexity and quantity).
So, if you fancy a change this year but may be limited on budget, why not give Acrylic a go? For now, I will leave you with some examples of recent projects we have completed.
Next up – Wood awards. A relatively new type of product for us that we only started stocking last year, however they are flying off the shelves. We have two main offerings a range of stock shapes and then once again a bespoke service.
For our stock wood products, we only deal with businesses that hold full FSC certification and other recognised environmental standards this makes sure the products not only look great but have a natural satin finish. The type of finish varies according to product use, but all are chosen to stand the test of time. By producing sustainable awards, the cost is slightly higher– but the cost is worth it, it’s very important to us here at EC Awards to be as eco-friendly as possible and that starts on the frontline with our Wood Awards.
The Standard products come in over 10 unique shapes, we have something for every taste from Standard Blocks to Ticks, Thumbs up and Flames also there are currently 3 different types of woods available in these shapes, which are as follows: Cherry, Oak or Walnut. Aside from the pre-cut shapes we also offer acrylic, metal or wood fronted options, these provide a great change and allow a great contrast to brand on to. We’re able to colour print or laser engrave on these ranges, so no matter what your requirements are, we can deliver a high-quality sustainable product on brand all within 7 days turnaround.
We have also more recently become more involved in the production of bespoke wood awards. These are often done and quoted on a piece by piece basis, however, there is not much we are unable to do combining materials and different types of wood to create unique pieces that are perfect for your event! Take a look at the Award we produced below for the recent World Steak Challenge 2018, we created an award with 5 different woods, finished with a fantastic looking colour print and “branded” effect on the logo. Check it out below!
So, you may be sat here with an event looming over your head, and having looked through page after page of Glass and other Awards, still not found what you are looking for. So here is a whistle-stop tour of the glass range, from the types, to finishing, and turnaround times.
I’m sure you have seen many different glass awards over the years, but these days there a 2 main types of Glass – Jade Glass and Optical Crystal. The most obvious difference in these is the colour and a general rule of thumb is that the Jade Glass will have a slight green tinge to it, it may sometimes be thinner than its Crystal counterpart and is very often more economical. That being said, it provides a fantastic surface for an engraved design and can be a great option for bulk buys. On the other hand, Optical Crystal is seen as the premier award material, with the incredible looking finish and noticeably heavier weight. It’s a very versatile material for branding, being able to be colour printed, engraved or infilled, but more about that later…
I’ve popped an example of a couple of our best sellers below, have a look and let us know what you think in the comments!
Branding is such a key part of every event and why should your awards be any different? We specialise in 3 different types when it comes to our awards – Engraved, Colour Print and Infill.
The engraved finish is the traditional option, often seen to be the most elegant, with the frosted finish from sandblasting, it allows even the most intricate of designs to be bought to life and glimmer under the spotlight on stage. Lead time on these is usually 5 days, but our express service even in busy periods can get these done in as little as 3 working days, yes 3! Here is an award we produced for a client recently at their awards dinner.
If you are looking for a slightly more modern finish, perhaps wanting to bring your award to life or perhaps give greater exposure to your own or your sponsors brand, our Colour Printing is a fantastic option. Using high quality printing technology, we are able to print any design onto over 100 products in our range, meaning you now have a greater selection than ever before to stand out from the crowd this year. Our standard delivery times apply on these too, so these can be ordered on a Monday and in your hands by Thursday, no stages or quality check skipped.
The final method is Colour Infill on Engraving – this is only available on a small selection of awards due to time taken for detailing. What you do get is an unrivalled finish on a crystal award that will leave your recipients in awe. This does come at a slight premium however, but what you will get is the benefits of engraving whilst staying on brand and ensuring the copy stands out on the Award. Please allow extra time for this as it can take up to 7 days for the team to get this done – we accept nothing but perfection before despatch.
Something that we have grown massively here at EC Awards in the last 18 months are our Metal offerings. Be this bespoke or stock items, the team are confident we are now able to supply not only the highest quality Metal Awards in the industry, but also the provide the best value.
Metal is just as versatile as the majority of our other materials; albeit at generally slightly higher cost. This is something we believe will gradually change as experience, technology and manufacturing methods develop, for now though we are able to cut bespoke shapes, create spectacular 3D Pieces and also colour print or engrave all of our range!
As the demand for Metal awards increase, we have been looking to expand on our stock pieces, one of the best sellers is a wonderful looking Cubix award, with a brushed aluminium finish alongside the glass block it can be both engraved and colour printed and looks fantastic! Alongside our off the shelf range, we are able to produce truly spectacular one off and unique pieces, that are sure to not only look great in the spotlight at your event, but leave the recipients overjoyed.
This brings our blog to a close, thank you for sticking with us, and I hope you now feel much clearer on what you would like in 2019. For those that haven’t made notes (yes you at the back!) here are a few key takeaways and a nice discount code as a thank you!
- Turnaround on 80% of our stock pieces can be as little as 3 days – possibly quicker. However, we always recommend 5 days minimum where we can!
- Colour printing, Engraving and Bespoke designs are all possible but we need great quality logos to work with, PDF’s, EPS and Ai files are great, JPEGS can be used, anything less than this and we may need to re-draw.
- If you can’t see something you like the look of on our website, give the team a call, we have over 25 years of industry experience, if it’s out there we will find it.
- Use the Discount Code: ECADWC1 for 10% off your next order, either in checkout or quote to one of our team.
