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Head Office: Unit 4 Faraday Close, Pattinson Industrial Estate, Washington, Tyne & Wear NE38 8QJ UK Tel:+44 (0)191 417 4505 Fax:+44 (0)191 415 3410
South East Sales Office: Office 5, Unit One, 22-28 Moorfield Road, Slyfield, Surrey, GU1 1RU UK Tel:+44 (0)1483 447 590 Fax: 0870 132 4645
Suregrave Ltd are members of the Trodat Group Reg. No. 6034809 England. Wharton Street, Birmingham B7 5TR
Service and retail industries dominate the UK employment market with millions of employees in these sectors; every employee with customer contact wears a recognition badge or has a nameplate on their door or desk. As well as for identification businesses ask their employees to wear badges to build awareness of their brand.
The range of badge types is extensive and Suregrave provide equipment and materials for traditionally engraved badges and colour printed (sublimation) badges.
As in other industry sectors engraving offers a distinct advantage, by physically cutting into the badge the engraved mark is indelible and consequently resistant to wear. Engraving has higher perceived
value than printing too, a printed badge doesn't communicate the same feeling of quality when compared to an engraved alternative (and long may it continue).
Badges can easily produced in engraving laminate in traditional rectangular form or cut to custom shaped designs by the engraving machine. Colour logo's can be added to engraved badges using a screen printing process and to give an engraved badge a professional finish it can be bevelled or coated in acrylic.
Sublimated badges are generally thinner being manufactured from white coated aluminium or a thicker FRP (fibreglass reinforced plastic). The profit potential for printed badges is lower due to their shorter life span and lower sales value.
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 Materials
Engraved badges are manufactured from engraving laminate, Satin material will outlast Micro Matt due to the thicker capped top surface of plastic rather than foiled Micro's. Coating the badge with Accudome (resin) makes the badges more durable and accentuates the finish. Engraving laminate can be readily cut to any size or shape. Sublimated badges
Many awards and gifts can be engraved directly  with no need to engrave and affix a plate. Volume trophy orders are better engraved using a batch production method called "badging" where the plate layout is copied and engraved many times over on a cut to size piece of trophy aluminium. The badge feature allows different text to be engraved on each plate (or part thereof). |
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 Machine
The right machine for you will be dictated by volume. The Wizzard 6 will suit business start ups especially with the option to trade in the machine for its original purchase value within 12 months against a larger Suregrave machine. The bigger Wizzard 12 & Wizzard 16 offer increased speed and production but volume suppliers of badges will choose either the 2516i or 4824i system machines due to high productivity and expansive work area.
 A Co2 laser engraver is also an option for it's ability to reproduce photographic images, detailed text and also because of its ability to engrave and cut in a single cycle.
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Machine Options
A professional badge maker will want to control the  depth of cut accurately and to aid this we recommend a Swarf Extraction system, cutting multiple badges form a sheet of material is the fastest and most profitable method but if buying your badges pre-cut a centre opening vice is recommended for work holding. |
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 Workshop equipment
To take advantage of the badge function for volume you will require a Varga Saw to cut a full sheet down to the machine bed size and then to cut the engraved plates. Corners can be rounded using the corner rounder unit and a durable and glossy resin finish can be added with Acudome.
Software
Surelab Lite will provide the basics for text import  and engrave but signmakers wanting to Scan and Vectorise logos or produce Braille signs should choose SureLab Pro. SureLab is also available in a laser output only module SureLab PhotoLaser + which includes a host of special features for laser technology. |
Click here to see more pictures of samples 
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