It is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of tasks. For instance, it can involve making one plaque in a week for a retiring person, while making hundreds of plaques for another organisation within a week to meet their annual recognition scheme. It may sound straightforward; however, the job varies depending on the material, design, and scale of the award.
Keep in mind that you should consider this when choosing someone to work with, since not every award maker is good at making all kinds of awards. Some of them specialize in certain materials and particular styles only. However, some award makers have experience designing and engraving various items, regardless of the material used.
Details that Set Good Award Makers Apart
Most award makers look quite similar. These websites have various product categories, contact information, and photo examples. But the differences become clear when you need to order something that doesn’t fit a simple request, such as a special shape, a unique combination of materials, or a deadline that requires a quick response. The differences between competent and less skilled companies are visible mostly at this stage.
Certain things distinguish competent manufacturers from others.
- Do they make custom shapes or have only pre-set templates
- What is the number of materials they actually use compared to the number of materials they sell
- Do they proofread the design or send it immediately for manufacturing
- How do they deal with requests that do not fit into the typical categories
In case an organization orders the same kind of plaque every year, these distinctions may be missed. But when it is needed to order something unusual, such as a new shape, an unusual material, or an object that should be embedded into the award, the distinction is quite clear.
When Your Awards Need A Custom Approach
Not all orders require custom design, but many do, and here is how a custom award maker earns a reputation just by engraving names on available items. Custom design involves creating something based on a concept, a design that represents an industry, an item that reflects existing branding, or an item that incorporates an object.
The custom designing process is different from the regular engraving process in the sense that:
- Designing a concept or identity as opposed to simply using a template
- Working with different materials for the same design process
- Dealing with a complex production process that involves the process of embedding objects or layering acrylic.
- Making design modifications before starting production.
Organizations that require such services sometimes assume all award suppliers can provide custom designs.
How a Trophy Manufacturer Shapes the Final Award
Trophies stand alone as a distinct product group, separate from plaques or other engraved items, and trophy manufacturers often have specialized skills that may not overlap with plaque production. In general, trophies are more complex in shape, often single pieces with tiered bases and sport-specific toppers, than a simple flat engraved item.
Here are a couple of aspects worth looking at when considering making trophies:
- The capability to produce custom shapes, or to assemble trophies from ready-made components.
- The process of putting together multi-part trophies, with a base, a figure, and a plate
- Their trophy-making capabilities across various groups – sport trophies, corporate trophies, academic trophies, each having its own design traditions
- Their ability to preserve a common design of the trophy through the whole season or program
A company good at plaques is not automatically good at trophies, and vice versa.
Choose the Right Maker for Your Award
An award maker, a custom award maker, and a trophy manufacturer do not necessarily coincide, even if the same company provides all three. A plaque, a fully customized award, and a particular trophy shape require different maker abilities, including flexibility in design and materials and accurate proof review before manufacturing.
In fact, the three areas of specialization reviewed above are not interchangeable titles; rather, they are three different jobs under one name.
The bottom line is that before placing an order, you need to confirm the maker’s skills and capabilities, rather than discovering the problem only when it is too late. A maker who does one kind of job well does not necessarily do all three.
Awards A Plus specializes in plaques, custom designs, and trophies; however, no matter which order you choose, we apply the same proof-review system. If you plan to order awards or trophies, standard or fully customized, contact Awards A Plus to learn more about your needs.