FAQ
FAQ Overview:
1. I need a metal plaque. How do I start?
2. How do I decide which metal to use?
3. When do I use cast metal vs. etched?
4. How do you want us to submit text?
5. How do I know my content will fit the plaque size I have indicated, with the font and graphics I provided?
6. What about art submittals?
7. What is Vector art?
8. Is there a cost for layout/design?
9. Can you develop custom logo art?
10. What is your pricing philosophy?
11. What are your normal delivery times?
12. Can you do rush orders?
13. With all the questions about plaques, do you also happen to do metal letters?
14. What if we are tax exempt?
15. What if we have a change in the order or a cancellation?
16. What is your product return policy?
17. What is your payment procedure?
18. Do you provide mounting hardware?
19. What about installation?
20. Do you have a guarantee?
1. I need a metal plaque. How do I start?
The simplest way is to give us a call, email or fax letting us know you'd like to talk. It helps if you first skim through the site and the questions below, but we'll be happy to help. If you don't need to talk and can go right to the Quote page, all the better. The issues to address, in order:
- How fast you need it?
- What content do you want? (Text only, or text and graphics, or just graphics, like a corporate logo, for example)
- What content do you have? We'll need to see it to help you. The better and more final your content, the faster we can quote it and, if speed is important, the faster your plaque layout is prepared. See below for file and content submittals.
- Do you know which metal and process (cast or etched) you prefer?
2. How do I decide which metal to use?
When in doubt, call us to discuss, or give us a best time to reach you. Each metal has strengths and weaknesses. If you want a plaque for exterior use, and like the warm "yellow metal look" of bronze, brass and copper, it is the most durable, especially in the cast form. In the "white" metals of aluminum, zinc and stainless steel, stainless is the most durable, but is usually used in plate metal form (etched, not cast). Stainless can also be fabricated into shapes in both mirror polished and brushed finishes. In the white metals, aluminum takes casting best, and is cheaper than bronze. It does not wear as well outdoors. Zinc takes a deep etch better and sharper than plate aluminum, but is as heavy as bronze. In a recent project, we used aluminum tinted to appear as brass/bronze to display a 40" diameter municipal seal rather than bronze to avoid the cost and increased weight of bronze or brass in that size due to some unusual mounting conditions.
3. When do I use cast metal vs. etched?
Any metal can be used for interior display. Casting has the distinctive deeper distance between surface and low areas, and can be used for bas relief sculptural effects not possible in etching. Casting, which can be done with a hollowed back, generally achieves a greater depth appearance without having to purchase thick plate metal.
Etching, on the other hand, can hold finer and smaller detail than casting, and can display large areas of polished surfaces. Our photographic examples on the product pages show some of the options. Beyond that, we can advise you of other specific choices when we know what you are trying to do.
4. How do you want us to submit text?
If the text is relatively short, a fax submittal will work. For longer text, Please send your text in a Microsoft Word document or in email text, case sensitive, i.e., if you want it to appear in all caps, send it in all caps. If caps with lower case, we need to know which words you want capitalized. Without other instructions, we will assume you want all text to appear in the same size. If you want some text emphasized (larger than other type), send a hand sketch and/or create several font sizes in your Word document, anything to give an idea what you prefer. It may save a layout step.
5. How do I know my content will fit the plaque size I have indicated, with the font and graphics I provided?
This is one of the early stage issues, especially with cast plaques.
The etching process is more forgiving than casting of delicate lines and small font sizes and over-abundant text. When we review your submission(s), if we see a potential problem, we may suggest either some simplification or size modifications.
6. What about art submittals?
We can start short on this answer, then expand: In order to price a plaque that will have one or more graphic elements, you need to send us the largest and best image you have of each graphic, so that we can begin to get an idea of the reproduction issues, such as:
- the art is pixel based (such as tiff or jpg), not vector-based.
(Every plaque maker needs vector-based art, yet most buyers don't know about vector art. See explanation below) - the art is multi colored, and/or contains color blends.
- the art/lines are too small or thin to hold the detail in the graphic or plaque size indicated.
If you do have vector art, please send:
Mac format or PC (Mac preferred)
Outline all fonts.
Adobe Illustrator .ai or .eps files through CS2
Black and white only without grayscale or dot patterns
Adobe photoshop through CS2
No TrueType fonts.
When in doubt, let's discuss.
7. What is vector art?
Much of the art in your files are, like .tif and .jpg, raster based bitmap images, composed of pixels or dots per inch, and they are size sensitive, which means that as you enlarge them, the dots get larger and image quality gets worse.
All vector images are composed of lines like wireframes used to form images, and are size independent: no matter how much you enlarge them, the lines do not deteriorate. Converting raster based images can be simple or time-consuming, depending on the complexity of detail in the pixel-based image.
8. Is there a cost for layout/design?
Most design and layout is included in the cost of the plaque. If you already have the design, trust us to execute it faithfully. If it looks like the complexity or time involvement with additions or revisions justifies it, we will charge a layout fee which may be fully or partially credited to the plaque order.
The advantage we offer that is a bit unusual for a sign company is that we have senior design and consulting experience on staff, with 80 plus national awards for graphic excellence.
In cases where we develop a style for an ongoing plaque program, we will prepare a custom order form if appropriate for the ordering process for that plaque series.
9. Can you develop custom logo art?
While it is highly unusual for a sign company to have those skills, or for anyone to ask that of a sign company, we do. Because we have simultaneously run a professional design studio for 25 years, we have customer work in pdf form that would convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt that we possess that skill set. We have done illustration and developed custom pictograms as well. Budgets for logo development range from relatively inexpensive to somewhat costly, depending on a number of factors to cover in a conversation.
10. What is your pricing philosophy?
We sell direct to a wide variety of customers. To give you the best price, we don't have a dual price schedule for other sign companies so they can resell our products. Many of our products are priced on a square inch basis, with variations for material and finish selected as well as plate thickness in etched products.
We need your quote information (see quote form) and we will respond as quickly as possible, usually within a day or two.
We do not try to have the cheapest product. We work to have a fair and competitive price for the best quality product. Even when our price is similar to or even slightly higher than another, our 30-year history of award-winning graphic design often helps us tip the balance in our favor.
11. What are your normal delivery times?
We deliver many products in 15 working days(3 weeks) from approval of art and receipt of payment. When you have a time critical deadline, mention that within your first 3 sentences, and we will try to work with you to solve it.
When your deadline is too tight to ensure a quality product, we have provided temporary renditions of the plaque art for a ceremony for display purposes until the plaque arrives. This also works when you have numerous names to spell check and get approvals before incurring the casting expense with a typo.
The other side of the delivery coin:
We also greatly appreciate those who actually tell us that they can wait longer than the normal. It helps to know which jobs can be safely delayed when we are trying to shift priorities for rush jobs.
12. Can you do rush orders?
Yes. Some jobs can be rushed, some can't. Some rushes incur significant charges, some incur no additional charges, or something in between. Other factors include general workload at the time, whether it is during a holiday season, and whether such features such as a bas relief (sculptured graphic) is involved. The safest way is to discuss your specific need.
13. With all the questions about plaques, do you also happen to do metal letters?
Yes. We do cast, flat cut and fabricated metal Ð as well as plastic and other material Ð letters for nearly 30 years and we will add information about them here in the future. You can also visit our other site www.genericsign.com and look at the letters section.
14. What if we are tax exempt?
We abide by the applicable tax laws at the location of the delivery and they are added to any quoted prices. If you are tax exempt, please provide a copy of your applicable exemption certificate at the time of order.
15. What if we have a change in the order or a cancellation?
If you notice an error on an order that you have approved for fabrication, you have 24 hours to first phone it in and then follow up in writing. After that point, if we have followed your specifications and you require a change, additional costs may be incurred depending on the stage of work we are in at the time. You will be advised of additional costs before changes are made.
Cancellations are subject to all labor and material charges up to the time of cancellation.
16. What is your product return policy?
Since we produce a custom product according to a set of instructions and approved art, we do not offer any type of refund or credit for returned or unused items. If the product arrives defective, you must notify us and the carrier within 5 days of arrival of the product and we will replace the item. If you exceed 5 days, you have accepted the delivery and any defects. Do not send products back without getting an authorization from our staff first.
17. What is your payment procedure?
We accept payment with order, either by Master Card or Visa. You may also pay by check once you are in our system and approved. If you need an invoice in your system in order to send a check, please let us know.
If you are an official government agency, we will accept a purchase order in hard copy by fax, mail or email.
18. Do you provide mounting hardware?
Yes we do. Some types are included in the cost of the plaque, and some aren't. Mounting methods relate to how you plan to display the plaque, and the size of the plaque. If you are mounting to a wall surface, the method depends on the surface. Our Options page will show the hardware matched to the wall type. Plaques can also be ground mounted using metal stakes of several sizes, and an even sturdier mount includes an angled plate for the plaque, which mounts to a standard square metal post. You can also mount bronze castings into a concrete base set in the ground.
19. What about installation?
Our staff normally will quote installation in the metro Chicago area. We quote installation based on the details you provide about the site conditions, mounting surfaces and location.
For other areas, metal plaques can usually be installed by a carpenter or do-it-yourself person who is handy with drills and local to you with the mounting template and hardware. We have been known to provide procedures as a guide for installation, but the actual installer still must take responsibility for handling the plaque(s) and the installation. If a larger order of plaques is going into a limited geographic area and you want us to quote installation, we can do that as well.
20. Do you have a product warranty?
Yes. Our products are warranted to be free of defects in material and craftsmanship for 10 years. Our warranty on coatings is one year. Our obligation under this warranty is limited to repair or replacement, at our option. No other warranty expressed or implied is granted. We are not responsible for any costs or damages incurred during installation by parties other than our personnel.
