More Information on CUSTOM DIE CAST MEDALS
More Information on Custom Die Cast Medals

MORE INFORMATION ON CUSTOM DIE CAST MEDALS

How are your Custom Die Cast Medals better than your competitors?
There are many good medal manufacturers out there, however please be aware that most of the time you get what you pay for. When looking at a medal's quality, consider the following:
  • Is the thickness of the medallion equal to what was promised, or did the manufacturer decrease the thickness to save on costs? Most medals have thicknesses of at least 3mm. Does the medal feel "substantial" and does it have considerable weight relative to its size?
  • Are the letters and images clear, crisp and detailed? (Less Clarity can result from a rubber "spin cast" mold, you may want to insist on a mold or die)
  • Is the buffing and plating consistent across all medals?
  • On antique finishes, are the medallion's edges buffed, or did the manufacturer cut corners by leaving all the edges blackened.
  • Are the ribbons attached with clips and jump-rings that match the medal's plating? For example, antique silver jump rings should be used on antique silver medals.
  • Is each medal attached to a neckband, poly-bagged and packaged properly?

How are the custom die cast medals made and what about mold fees?
Custom medals are typically liquid cast in a mold or die. Dies are made by skilled artisans and high tech 3D CNC's. Medals cast in steel molds/dies show amazing detail and quality. Many manufacturers will use a disposable rubber mold (spin cast) which decreases mold/die charges and overall costs but produces a less detailed medal and sometimes some inconsistencies. Our factory uses a steel die/mold. Mold fees are rolled into your quoted unit cost. All molds are kept on file by our foundry for up to 3 years from the last use. Re-orders of the same design within this time-span would then have a reduced unit cost as the mold fee would not apply if its already been made.

What finishes are available?
The finish color of your medals is up to you! Common finishes are Antique or Shiny/Polished in Gold, Silver, and Bronze colors, or solid White, Black or other solid colors. Antique finishes tend to be lower in cost than Shiny/Polished. There are usually no added charges for mixing colors of the same finish (ie Antique Gold, Antique Silver, and Antique Bronze are priced equally).

What is your minimum order and delivery time?
We have a strict minimum quantity requirement of 200 or more medals of the same mold/design. Finishes can vary, along with the neck ribbons, and/or backside lasered text. Typical production time will run approximately 5-8 weeks minimum. Keep in mind that our foundry closes for approximately 2 weeks (usually in February) for the Chinese New Year, causing a delay in production at that time.
If you need custom medals sooner than this timeline you may want to consider one of our other Custom Medal options.

What about artwork and do I need it?
Vector artwork is required for submittal to the foundry for production. We require you to provide your high quality artwork or logo that you'd like turned into a medal. We'll use this to create your medal, making it mock-up and production ready for your review.
We can typically make small design changes like changing colors, adding text, making it into a certain shape, etc. but any extensive drawing, design, or editing will incur a design time fee. We normally do NOT create art from scratch. See information on acceptable art files HERE and HERE.

Can I add color?
Yes! Medals can be color filled with enamel, glitter enamel, or glow in the dark enamel. Our foundry also have the capability to UV print artwork in full color (UV printing will be flat, but is great for complicated designs or maintaining color gradients). Adding color to your medal is often well worth it if you have a logo or design where you want to maintain branding. You will be surprised how much color adds to the overall look of your medal!

What is 2D and 3D?
"2D" or two dimensional custom medals maintain two or more flat plains or levels. Most often, a 2D medal has a low recessed level and a raised higher flat level.
"3D" or three dimensional medals have variations or graduations in levels making images look more realistic. Three Dimensional molds are more expensive to make.


What makes a custom die cast medal look good?
As you might expect, the final appearance of your medal has a lot to do with the art. Not to mention, a medal's beauty really is in the "eye of the beholder." This aside, a medal with an abundance of raised area tends to enhance its appearance. Medals with a large amount of open recessed areas may look bare and empty, and actually reduce the overall weight of your medal. Often, adding a slight texture to the medal's recessed background area can help the overall appearance.

Do you make your custom die cast medals at your facility?
Our die cast medals are manufactured overseas by talented artisans with the highest quality, fastest turnaround, and superior prices. Outsourcing overseas is very common in the die cast Industry as foundries are very limited in the US due to material and labor costs. We have a fantastic relationship with our foundry overseas.
We are a certified manufacturer's representative for our die cast medals. Most American and Foreign die cast medal manufacturers work through dealers and reps such as us, instead of selling direct. If you're wanting a medal made "in-house" at our facility in Minnesota*, consider one of our other Custom Medal options.

*Some medals are still originally produced overseas and we offer finishing options like adding custom inserts or printed art, with a quicker turn-around time as they are in our US inventory.

What kind of Neck Ribbons do you offer?
For Custom Die Cast Medals, we typically we offer the neck ribbons as 7/8" wide or 1.5" wide and 34" long, and either sewn attached to your medals or attached with jump-ring hardware. Other sizes can be quoted but please note this in your request (ribbons can be made up to 3" wide). We can also quote for velcro-closure by request if they need to be removable.

Stock solid colors for Neck Ribbons offered by the foundry are:


All solid colors are made with grosgrain material. Other solid colors can be produced but usually incur an additional small fee for the custom colored grosgrain material.

We can instead full color sublimate custom neck ribbon designs - this is a great feature only offered with our Custom Die Cast Medals. Custom designed Neck Ribbons are typically only pennies more than solid colors so we highly recommend them, especially because they are made from a premium silky-smooth material. It can be the finishing touch to your completely CUSTOM award. We can use several colors, gradients, graphics, text - you name it. It is also a great option to signify the Place or Category utilizing varying print designs).

Can you provide designs on both sides of the medals?
Yes, the medals can be molded on the backside as well (2D or 3D). This will increase pricing to accommodate the mold on the second side and we'll need the art or content for the second side, and to know whether or not you'd like color fills. If you have more than one variation of the backside needed (like Place, Names, or other varying text) then the medal can be made flat and lasered Black or White text can be added to each (this is much more economical than having a new mold made for each variation).

What size and thicknesses are your medals?
The standard thickness we offer is 3mm, but if you'd like a different thickness please specify this.

Pricing came in too high....what can we do to help decrease the cost?

To reduce the price of your medals, you might consider the following:
1. Increase the quantity per mold / Order for several events at once (bulk quantities = lower unit cost)
2. Decrease the medal thickness
3. Decrease the medal size
4. Request a standard solid color neck ribbon (see colors above)
5. Eliminate color fills
6. Provide usable vector artwork if possible, to avoid art fees
7. Change plating to "Antique" (most economical)
8. Change from 3D design to 2D design

What's next?
We would be happy to give you pricing. Please fill out a QUOTE REQUEST.
Thank you for your interest!