Andrews & Arnold Ltd
BRACKNELL
Andrews & Arnold Ltd offer laser engraving services. We can engrave up to 600mm by 450mm (24"x18") in plastic, wood, ceramic, and many other materials (not metal). We have various materials for making signs.
Simple rectangular text signsSimple retangular text signs do not incur an artwork/setup charge. Email us the text (which we will copy and paste as is), and your choice of font and size. Specify the exact size and material/colour you require and we will typeset the sign and produce it for you.
Custom artworkFor more complex artwork, mixtures of fonts/sizes, and images included, we charge a minimum £10.00+VAT artwork/setup charge. This is a one-off charge for each new artwork or change to artwork you require.
If you provide ready to print artwork which we can use, then we do not charge an artwork/setup fee. Ideally artwork should be in SVG format with any bitmaps at least 600dpi bt preferrably vector based artwork. Using SVG, red lines and curves are cut and all other artwork should be black/white. The prefered format is SVG as produced by inkscape (which is available for windows, linux and mac). We can handle convert many other formats if needed. If we have to make any changes to the artwork, then the artwork/setup fee applies.
MaterialsA number of materials are available. If you provide your own material then we will make our best efforts to engrave it, but cannot guarantee that the material will laser engrave cleanly. We cannot take any responsibility for damage to materials provided. It is sensible to provide a sample first. We can advise on materials.
The common materials for signs are 1.6mm coloured rigid plastic. This has a thin layer of colour on the surface which is laser etched to reveal the colour below (usually white). We can also make rubber stamps, and even fridge magnets.
Other common materials are 6mm thick wood, and 3mm and 6mm acrylic sheet. We can also engrave coloured acrylic sheets (reverse engraving) where the colour is removed leaving a transparent area which can be painted.
We currently do not list all prices for materials, please ask if you need a quote.
Costs consist of a possible one-off artwork charge, charge for engraving and material based on the area in the job, and postage (at cost).
For a simple text sign on coloured plastic or acrylic sheet we have a simple charge system based on the overall area of the sign. For other work the cost is base on materials and machine time. We stock coloured plastic and acrylic and can source some other materials - but usually we would expect you to source materials for complex jobs. We can cut materials but this is all part of the machine time, so for simple rectangular items it is usually best if you can supply pre-cut materials. Prices are as follows:-
Artwork should be suitable for 600dpi printing. Vector cuts should be provided in SVG or Corel Draw format. In Corel Draw hairline thickness lines and curves are cut. Using SVG, any red lines and curves are cut. The prefered format is SVG as produced by inkscape (which is available for windows, linux and mac). We can accept images in most formats - png is preferred. Please do not use jpegs for anything other than photographs - as soon as you have lines, text or drawings on a jpeg you get fuzzy edges!
Images are normally monochrome, with black being cut away. However, for wood, we can cut images based on the grey level of the artwork providing a 3D effect.
We use inkscape and recommend it if you wish to make artwork for us to engrave. Inkscape is free! and available for windows, linux and mac. Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, Freehand, or Xara X using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format. Supported SVG features include shapes, paths, text, markers, clones, alpha blending, transforms, gradients, patterns, and grouping. Inkscape also supports Creative Commons meta-data, node editing, layers, complex path operations, bitmap tracing, text-on-path, flowed text, direct XML editing, and more. It imports formats such as JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and others and exports PNG as well as multiple vector-based formats.
OrderingYou need an account set up with us first. If you do not have one, go here. Once you have an account number, email us your order (and artwork).
If we have the material required in stock, we can usually produce and post the work same day, depending when we receive the order. If we do not have the material in stock it may take a day to order in, or longer for unusual materials.