This page describes the requirements for creating proper artwork for the manufacture of cast plaques. If the proper format is not available, our designers can create the artwork.

We can work with artwork in almost any format. Following these requirements will minimize or eliminate additional costs and problems. Please refer to the images further down this page to see acceptable forms of artwork for casting.

TEXT
The smallest size text that will cast cleanly on a cast bronze plaque or a cast aluminum plaque is 1/4". This means, for normal text done in upper case and lower case, the lower case letters are 1/4" and the upper case letters are about 3/8". To allow for font ascenders and descenders, the space above and below the line is about the same height. This is shown on the following 3 lines where the center line requires around one inch from the bottom of the first line to the top of the third line;

Line 1
This is sample text
Line 3

BAS RELIEF
Images (portraits) for a bas relief should be as large as practical but no smaller than 4 by 6. Since a sculptor will be using this photograph in creating the clay model, please point out any physical attributes that are significant in your eyes but may be overlooked. We cannot be responsible for your artwork so please do not send any artwork that can not be replaced as it may get lost or damaged in shipping.

FLAT RELIEF ARTWORK
We can cast most any image you provide in flat relief. If you provide your own artwork (regardless of how clean it looks), there is a graphic artist charge unless you provide it in ACCEPTABLE VECTOR format (see below).

ETCHINGS & HALFTONES
Images should be as large as practical but no smaller than 4 by 6. Halftones at 45lpi are acceptable for etchings and halftones at 180lpi are acceptable for metalphoto process. The etching and halftone process will NOT improve the quality of the image provided.

VECTOR ARTWORK - Must be black and white and must not include color, grayscale or halftones. Artwork MUST be saved in either .AI or .EPS format and must be pure VECTOR artwork. It must not contain any placed bitmap images (jpg, gif, tif, or other).

Stroke width must be a minimum of 4pt and spaces between lines must be a minimum of 4pt. Flat relief logo castings have 2 heights, raised and background. Black is the raised casting and white is the background. Lines must join properly with no overlapping.

Typically, you can not find vector images on the Internet. Artwork you downloaded from the Internet in either .jpg, .gif, or .bmp formats are NOT VECTOR. We can only use these images for an estimate of the conversion charges. Autotracing of bitmap artwork and converting it to vector format usually does not work as the result is 'staircased'. If you decide to do your own conversion, you must eliminate all staircaseing and reduce the vectors to the minimum number of points.

To save time, please read this - We have found that most non-graphics people who ask the question 'what is vector format', can not provide acceptable vector format. We have not been able to come up with a satisfactory non-technical explanation of vector artwork. Vector artwork is composed of lines and points connecting the lines while bitmaps are composed of dots (pixels). If your company has a graphics department, they most likely have vector art capability.

We will determine at our sole discretion if an image is usable for casting. If it is not, we will advise you and you will have the option of either correcting the image or having our graphic artist provide that service. Artwork conversion costs are typically $120 - $250 depending upon complexity.

ARTWORK EXAMPLES - The images below represent how artwork must be modified in order to obtain a quality casting. Although the images on the left were technically 'camera ready', they were not in a form that would yield an acceptable casting and significant modifications were needed.

 

Examples of poor quality in a bronze plaque
These images show what happens when proper design tolerances are not adhered to during the design process for cast plaques. Customers sometimes ask us to make a plaque smaller by casting letters that are smaller or placing the letters closer together. They do this in order to save a few dollars. Since we will not create an inferior casting, we refuse and they go to the competition who will frequently accommodate them in order to make a sale (although we are sure there are many excellent competitors who will not do that). We have done many a redo that, in the end, cost the customer, far more than doing it right the first time. These images show you what happens when letters are too small or insufficient space is left between letters. We always try to accommodate our customers but we have the experience to know what will cast properly and what will not - you get the benefit of this experience when purchasing plaques from us. Click on the images and you will see that the letters in the lower image are NOT out of focus. The background IS in perfect focus and because of the way the letters were finished, the result is that the letters appear 'smeared' together. This is the result of leaving insufficient space between letters.
Click photos for larger images.