If there is one sector that is thriving during the current “participation trophy era,” it is the Awards Industry. Not only is there an increased demand for participation trophies and awards, but recognizing employee efforts is becoming more and more common in the business world. The old standard for trophies and awards was engraving, however sublimation is quickly becoming a popular alternative. Sublimation allows decorators the ability to print full-color images, like photos, in addition to the traditional award and trophy templates. The other major advantage of using sublimation to print trophies and awards is that the equipment is far cheaper for decorators.
When it comes to trophies, the most common form of decoration is engraving the “plate.” With sublimation, the plate can still have an engraved look and have multiple colors or texts that are not possible with traditional engraving. Medals and plaques are also popular award options, and both can be decorated by sublimation just as easily as trophies. Even team or individual photos can be turned into attractive, more-personalized awards and the same goes for corporate awards. Employee recognition in the corporate world does typically involve higher quality products. This makes corporate awards very attractive business for product decorators, as they can charge more due to the perceived value of these products.
The reason that sublimation is taking over the awards and engraving industry is primarily the equipment. Engraving machines, especially laser engravers, are complex machines that are far more expensive than most sublimation printers and presses. Laser engraving machines use a laser to carefully etch or remove small layers from the substrate. The laser tracks across the X and Y axes without criss-crossing to avoid creating different depths in the resulting effect. Such complex equipment requires a computer and special software to run it, and some require special ventilation to safely remove the tiny particles the machine creates during the engraving process. There are also automated machines that work similar to laser engravers, substituting a drill and bit for the laser. However, these machines are still quite expensive. In addition to machine engraving, some specialty engraving is still done by hand.
Sublimation printing is far simpler. All a product decorator must do is print the design in the correct size for the decoration area with a special sublimation printer and special paper and then heat-apply the design onto the substrate. Certain sublimated products will require specialized heat presses in order to print onto different shapes. Mugs, for example, will require their own heat press due to their round shape. Still, sublimation printers and heat presses combined will cost less than an engraving machine and are much simpler to use.
So, while engraving has a high perceived value it has its limitations. The wide variety of possibilities that come with sublimation printing have made it a serious challenger to engraving. With lower costs, and more decoration options, sublimation printers ought to be able to continue to chip away at the Awards and Trophy Decoration Industry.
