General

Bronze plaques are manufactured using sand molds in a state-of-the-art foundry from raw ingot alloyed in the following materials:

	Equivalent to Copper Development Association Alloy C92200; 88% copper, 6% tin, 4% zinc, 2% lead.

Helpful Hints

• Bronze plaques are the choice for interior as well as exterior applications. Although the finish of bronze will naturally patina over time, the material itself will not deteriorate. Objects made from bronze have been found submerged in seawater for over 3000 years still in excellent condition.
  
  
• The weight of a bronze plaque may be roughly estimated by calculating the plaque's volume in inches (height x width x depth) x .31. For most smaller plaques (under 36" x 30") allow .25" as the approximate depth. Use .375" for plaques over 36" x 30".
  
  Example: For a 36" x 24" plaque calculate 36" x 24" x .25" = 216 cu. inches x .31 = 66.96. The plaque's estimated weight would be 67 lbs.

General

Once the background of the bronze plaque has been painted, the surface areas(these are the raised letters of lines of artwork) are highlighted by sanding (flat areas) or buffing (sculpted areas). To inhibit natural oxidization, a clear, protective coating is then applied.

Highlighting Finishes

	Satin Bronze The Natural metal color with subtle horizontal grain lines meets NAAMM finish designation M33-C11-060.
	Polished Bronze The natural metal color buffed to a high gloss, obtained by polishing with successively finer abrasives, then buffing with fine buffing compound. Meets NAAMM finish designation M42-M22-C10-060.
	Chrome Plated Bronze The raised surface of the bronze plaque is polished to meet the polished bronze specifications. The background of the plaque remains in its "natural sandblast" state, providing contrast with the polished raised surface. The entire plaque is then electro-plated using a standard commercial copper/nickel/chrome plating process.

Protective Finishes

In order to protect the natural, highlighted finish of a cast bronze plaque, two options are available:

Clear Protective Lacquer

Providing a low gloss appearance, this clear coating was developed to help ensure many years of carefree maintenance. This option should be selected when matching older plaques or when a lower gloss look is desired (particularly for interior applications.)

Diamond Shield® Protective Coating

A 2-part coating for protection in the harshest environments. Diamond Shield® can be factory-applied only and provides maximum protection. This coating is applied with a heavier thickness than our clear protective lacquer and is available in a high gloss version only. Diamond Shield® is particularly effective in harsh, exterior environments, where bronze plaques are exposed to salt, pollution and weather.

Helpful Hints

• The maximum size available for polished bronze plaques is 48" x 36". A polished finish is not recommended when there are large raised areas due to normal surface inconsistencies inherent in the casting process.
  
• The casting alloy of aluminum does not lend itself to polishing. Polished aluminum plaques are not available.
  
• Diamond Shield® is our standard clear, protective coating. Unless otherwise specified, all plaques will receive Diamond Shield® clear protective coating.

General

The border on a bronze plaque is cast integral with the plaque and is generally highlighted by either a stroke-sander, a buffing wheel or hand-rubbed to provide a pleasing contrast with the background finish.

Standard Borders

These standard bronze plaque borders consist of flat borders and are available at no extra cost on all standard sizes. Some designs are not practical on small name strips under 3" in height.

Straight Edge (SE) (no border)	Single Line (SL)	Bevel Edge (BE)

Single Line Bevel Edge (SLBE)	Double Line (DL)

Ornamental Borders

Decorative borders for bronze plaques are based on classic designs and are available at additional cost on most standard size plaques. These borders are dimensionally sculpted and hand finished. Because these are custom made, often they are used in combination with an unusual shaped or sized plaque.

Egg & Dart (with optional corner detail) 5/8", 3/4", 7/8", 1"	Beaded Bevel 1/4"	Lamb's Tongue 3/4", 7/8", 1", 1-1/8"
Ivy Leaf 3/8", 1/2", 7/8"	Oak Leaf 1"	Laurel 7/8", 1", 1-1/8", 1-1/4"
Reed & Ribbon 3/4"	Ogee (inside curve) 1/2" minimum	Water Leaf (with optional corner detail) 1"
	Union 3/4", 7/8", 1"

Flat Decorative Borders

These bronze plaque borders are produced from black & white line art. Borders are raised the same height as the bronze plaque lettering and are highlighted to match the raised copy. A few standard examples are shown; others can be easily created from artwork.

Adam (1-1/2" minimum width)
Floral Stencil (5/8"minimum width)
Greek Key (5/8"minimum width)

Helpful Hints

• Most of our standard borders are sized in proportion to the size of the bronze plaque. If exact border dimensions are required (for example, to match an existing bronze plaque) please specify when ordering.
  
• In addition to the width of the ornamental borders shown, custom widths may be sculpted by our pattern makers.
  
• Most of our borders - particularly the ornamental and flat decorative styles - may be cast and provided in lengths for use with other sign or decorative elements.

Bosses and Studs (BS)

Bosses (extra pads) are cast onto the back of the bronze plaque. These are drilled and tapped to accept a threaded stud.

Flat-backed bronze plaques(generally, smaller sizes) are drilled & tapped for studs without bosses on the back.

Recommended Uses;

For concealed, permanent mounting to:

• Brick walls
• Stone walls
• Masonry surfaces

Installation

Drill holes in the mounting surface slightly larger than the diameter of the studs. Fill mounting holes with silicone, epoxy or quickset cement. Set into the holes, and allow the adhesive to cure.

Rosettes and Toggles (RT)

Holes are drilled through the face of the bronze plaque for toggle bolts. Toggle bolts are threaded machine screws 4" to 6" long with spring-loaded butterflies that fold up and pass through wall holes.

Recommended Uses

For semi-permanent mounting to:

• Hollow tile
• Cement block
• Drywall
• Wood paneling over stud construction

Installation

Using the bronze plaque holes as a template, drill holes through the wall large enough to accommodate the butterfly assembly. Insert each machine screw through the bronze plaque and screw on each butterfly. Fold the butterfly assemblies and insert them through holes until wings spring open inside the hollow wall.

Pull back on each screw head to press the butterfly against the inside wall. Turn each machine screw, first by hand, then with a screwdriver.

If rosette covers are provided, screw rosettes into the toggle bolt heads.

Rosettes, Machine Screws and Expansion Sleeves (RM)

Holes are drilled through the face of the bronze plaque for machine screws. Each metal expansion sleeve (or lead anchor) has a threaded interior to house a machine screw. The lead anchor will expand when a screw is inserted and tightened.

Recommended Uses

For semi-permanent mounting to:

• Brick walls
• Stone walls
• Masonry surfaces

Installation

Using the plaque holes as a template, drill holes into the wall large enough to accept the lead anchor. Drill deep enough so the fully driven screw won't strike the back of the hole.

Insert expansion sleeves into holes, threaded cones first. Using a metal setting tool, strike tool with hammer to drive sleeve into each hole. Insert each machine screw through the plaque and tighten screws into expansion sleeves with a screwdriver.

If rosette covers are provided, screw rosettes into the machine screw heads.

Wood Screws (WS)

Holes are drilled through the plaque and countersunk to accept a flat head wood screw. Larger sized wood screws, #14 or #16, have the heads drilled and tapped to accept a rosette cover.

Recommended Uses

For semi-permanent mounting to:

• Wood walls
• Plaster walls (small plates only)

Installation

Using plaque holes as a template, drill wall holes. Insert wood screws through the plaque holes and tighten screws with a screwdriver.

If rosette covers are provided, screw rosettes into the wood screw head.

Invisible Frame (IF)

Angle clips are provided to mount to the wall with standard fasteners, such as toggle bolts, wood screws or machine screws & expansion sleeves.

The bronze plaque is then attached to these angle clips with flat head machine screws. These machine screws run through the top and bottom return edges of the plaque.

Invisible Frame mounts require the depth of the plaque to be a minimum of 1-1/4", to accommodate the angle clips.

Recommended uses

For concealed mounting when

• Plaque may need to be relocated in the future
• Plaque size is a minimum of 12" x 10"
• Typically used in museum applications

Garden Stake Mount

The Garden stake is 24" long and has 2 holes matching the 2 holes we drill and tap in the back of your plaque.

The top can be straight or bent at a 30 degree angle (shown) for easier reading of you plaque.

Recommended uses for a SINGLE Garden Stake

• Mounting into ground
• For plaques 12" or less in width
• Maximum plaque size 12" x 8"

Recommended uses for a DOUBLE Garden Stake

• Mounting into ground
• For plaques over 12" in width and up to 20" in width
• Maximum plaque size 20" x 8"

Square Post Back Mount

This mount size depends upon the plaque size. It is used for post mounting of larger plaques or for the mounting of plaques at heights greater than provided by the garden stake.

Recommended uses

• Mounting into ground
• Maximum plaque size is unlimited since multiple posts can be utilized.

Integral Post Cap Mount

A post cap is a decorative sleeve cast integral with the bottom of a bronze plaque to mount onto a round post. Post caps are available in several standard designs to accommodate 1-1/2" or 2" diameter post mounts.

Recommended uses

• Freestanding installation into the ground on a single post
• For plaques greater than 12" in width
• For double-faced plaques with copy on both sides

Curved Plaques

We can roll a bronze plaque to fit a curved wall installation. Provide the diameter, radius or circumference of the curved surface.

Parameters for usage

• Maximum size of plaque 96" wide x 60" high
• Flat backed castings, 1/4" or 3/8" thick
• Border design must be flat (Straight Edge, Single Line or Double Line)
• Mounting holes through the face are highly recommended.

Rosettes

All rosettes (except R77) are available in cast bronze, brass or aluminum. Rosettes marked with an asterisk (*) are standard---all others are available at additional cost.

All bronze plaques are manufactured with a background texture selected from the 4 textures below;

Pebbled
(limited to 30" x 40")

Bronze plaques are photographically reproduced from typeset letter styles. As a result of this technology, practically any letter style (or artwork) can be incorporated into a cast plaque. With only a few exceptions, most common windows fonts can be used (one of the most often requested fonts that CAN NOT be used is Papyrus.

Custom letter styles may also be provided for cast plaques.

Raised vs Recessed Graphics

The casting process creates plaques with 2 levels of graphics - raised and recessed. Graphic images such as text and borders are raised about 1/10 of an inch from the background texture.

Recessed Letters

Raised Letters

Letters can be recessed on a bronze plaque if the stroke of the letters is at least 1/8" at all points or serifs.

Example: Narrowest point on serif must be at least 1/8"

These plaques pictured below were made from the same artwork but the raised and recessed areas were interpreted differently.

Image Treatment Options

Options are available to enhance and personalize a bronze plaque through the use of standard or custom emblems as well as custom portraits.

Emblems - Standard

We have over 9,000 standard emblems including many civic and fraternal organizations, religious groups, government agencies, and armed services. These emblems are often available in an assortment of sizes to fit different-sized bronze plaques. They may have flat relief or sculpted bas-relief.

Flat Relief

Bas-relief

Please check with us for availability of a specific emblem.

Emblems - Custom

Virtually any emblem, seal, logo or crest can be cast in one of two ways:

Flat Relief Emblems

Line details are raised the same height as the raised copy. We require camera-ready art or an electronic file to photographically reproduce the emblem.

Bas-relief Emblems

Many emblems or logos lend themselves to a multi-level design for incorporation into a bronze plaque. We will either sculpt the image in clay from your artwork (photograph, drawing or black & white art) or model it using our computer-aided 3-D model maker.

Portraits

Portraits of people, places or events may be incorporated onto a bronze plaque using a variety of techniques. The best method depends upon many factors including the artwork available, the final appearance, the installation location and budget.

Bas-Relief Portraits

A top-of-the-line reproduction, our sculptors use photographs to model a dimensional, low relief clay sculpture of the subject.

Once the clay sculpture is approved, a sand mold is made and a cast metal version is produced. The cast bas-relief is hand-finished and mechanically attached to the background of the bronze plaque.

While most commonly associated with portraits, bas-reliefs are particularly effective for depicting buildings, historical vignettes and many logos.

Bas-reliefs are suitable for interior or exterior applications.

Flat Relief Portraits

An economical alternative to a bas-relief, this method begins with a black & white rendering of the subject. Once approved, a photopolymer pattern is produced. A raised image, two-level metal casting is manufactured and applied to the bronze plaque.

Flat relief portraits are suitable for exterior and interior applications.

Etched Portraits

This process utilizes a halftone dot pattern acid-etched on .100" thick bronze plate. The etched, recessed dots are infilled with black to contrast with the satin-finished background.

The best photographs for etched portraits have high contrast tones with bright white areas, dense black areas, and minimal gray tones. Photos that are monotone or have muted colors will produce poor halftone etchings. Etched portraits are recommended for interior use only.

Photoceramic Portraits

A photoceramic portrait uses a standard-sized ceramic blank as its base material. A photograph is scanned at high resolution and a digital transfer is produced and applied to the ceramic. A clear glaze is applied over this transfer, and the ceramic piece is cured in a kiln. The resulting product is an exact color (or black & white) permanent reproduction on a ceramic base.

While this product is suitable for interior or exterior applications on bronze plaques, the ceramic base itself is not vandal-resistant.

Metalphoto™ Portraits

Metalphoto uses a photosensitive aluminum sheet, available in either satin aluminum or gold-tone aluminum. The sheet is exposed using a film negative made from a photograph using a UV light source. The copy (or image) is produced in a permanent black image on the plate.

Metalphoto is recommended when the only art available is extremely detailed or the image itself does not have a lot of contrast (old photos, for example). This method can be used in interior and exterior applications on bronze plaques.