Etched Metal Plates

This category includes etched zinc, aluminum, stainless steel, copper and bronze.

Zinc: Used for its superior ability to hold deep, sharp etching without “undercutting” of the metal. It has the white metal appearance of aluminum and stainless steel, but can be tinted to appear like brass, bronze or copper.

Aluminum can be etched, but can’t hold detail as well as zinc. It does have the advantage of lighter weight.

Stainless steel is the hardest of the metals and can be done in polished plate.

Bronze plate is often used in etching when the amount of detail does not allow the use of casting.

Copper shares many of the characteristics of bronze alloy, with a slightly more orange cast.

The advantages of etched metal plates:

The availability of thinner/lighter plates than casting.
Photo-etching can produce sharper detail when that is important to the job.
When a polished or mirror finish needs to be achieved, plate metals have an advantage.
Oxide and patina finishes can also give their own visual style to the plate.
Etched areas can be left unfilled, or “blind”, or can be infilled in a variety of colors after the etching process is completed.

For additional depth of sign, plate graphics can also be applied as a second layer on top of the under layer.

Working and Pricing Direct

We work directly with our customers and work to bring the most competitive pricing possible for the need. To do so, we avoid selling to third party providers.

Metal plaques are often able to be priced on a per square inch basis, but in more unusual projects, there may be other cost factors involved, such as layered graphics, additional or custom colors, patina finishes, custom fonts, or detailed or even bas relief sculptured graphic images which are part of the work.