Our Process

How Our Order System Works

It Starts with Your Idea

We have no phone menus so you can easily give us a call or use the “Get a Quote” form here on the website.

Naturally - we’ll need to know what type of product you’re looking for - award, sign, name pin, glassware, gift, trophy (the list is long!)

Since we have a number of different processes, with different pricing structures, we need to determine which way you want to go.

What budget are you working with?

Is It an Heirloom? a Memento? Something in Between?

Knowing this saves us a lot of time and we do a great job of working within these constraints. Don’t be shy - we all have to work within our budgets. (it sometimes seems like people get a bit extra)

Hint! If you tell us your budget and what product you’d like, we can give you options if the two misalign.

Process Options

Choices, Choices...

Sand Carving

Requires us to have black and white artwork, it is an expensive process involving a mask, transfer print, careful application and manual directing of sand at the mask. Sounds pretty simple but it requires the highest skill level.

Sublimation

Sublimation allows us to go wild with color! But photos or drawings still must be high resolution. It involves the same graphics program as the laser and we make a transfer that is then embedded into specially treated metal, plastic, ceramics or glass. It is the least expensive of the techniques we use.

Laser Engraving

Laser engraving also generally requires us to have black and white artwork. Our laser is great for wood, plastics, acrylics, bricks, and some glass. We don’t laser metal as it looks much better with the rotary process. While lasering uses the same graphics program as sublimation, much more machine skills is required.

Rotary or Diamond Engraving

Engraving with a diamond is challenging because it gives us only 2 colors to work with - the background and the material underneath. That’s what makes the software we use so amazing - we can create different cutting paths in lieu of the colors in a logo or graphic. Years are usually required to master this but the results can be exciting.

Will there be Logos? Graphics?

Why Is Everyone so Picky About Artwork?

Putting in the time

This is the artwork we got for the engraved black brass in the previous section. It took hours to make this graphic into the engraving you saw there.

The Fine Print
Yah, we have to say it but you don't have to read it!

Our $35 logo digitizing fee is for quality/high resolution artwork. If we have to rebuild the graphic there will be additional charges (we will let you know before we do the work). Artwork must be copyright free or you must have the right to use it. The $250,000 fine for selling something copyrighted makes us sensitive about this! Finally, excessive numbers of proofs needed will result in additional fees.

Vector Artwork

Vector artwork is made up of points and lines (.eps, .cdr, .ai, .svg, etc)

Raster Artwork

Raster artwork is made of pixels which are dots or squares (.jpg, .tiff, .png, .cpt, etc)

Hint! To see if your artwork is good quality print it out at the size you want it to be... computers can make unuseable graphics look good!

Proof

What You See Is What You Get

Once all the type of process, the graphics, logo and text have been submitted, we will get your job into our schedule. Typically our production schedule is a week to 10 days.

A day or so before your job is due, we’ll send you a proof (unless it’s very simple or a repeat of a previous job) from the email address proof@vermontawards.com once your proof is approved, the person who made the proof will ?t it into his or her work schedule - hopefully for that day.

On occasion we get orders that are laid out for us and that’s fine. If we think that design can be improved upon, we will often send a 2nd proof with our suggestion. We do many thousands of jobs each year and often find our customers most happy with our suggestion.

Using our skills and talents in layout and design is what we see as the value we add to the products we sell.

Once the order is complete, we will call, email or ship.

Billing

Cha-Ching!

Generally payment is due at pickup or before we ship, and we accept most any card and cash is even okay!

If your company has an account we often an email invoice when the order is placed, or an invoice copy may be with the order on pickup or shipping. Those accounts are 30 day accounts and some prefer to have us keep their credit cards on hand.

If you’d like your organization to have an account, we need to have the groups EIN, the name and contact info for the account payable person and if the organization is not taxable, we need a copy of the IRS determination letter.

We hope your order is a GREAT experience if so, tell your friends! If not, please tell us.