Personalizing an Etch Glow Display

Personalization starts with something that exists and then adds a little something more to it (usually text) in order to make it more significant and unique to an individual.

This is different from Customization which usually starts from scratch or modifies an existing item to make something completely new.

Personalizing an Etch Glow Light Display is easy, rewarding, and can be quite profitable.  

The two traditional ways to personalize any item is to, 1) engrave a name or message on a plate and affix it to the item or 2) engrave the message directly on the item itself.

Original baseball design and examples of the three discussed personalization options on the baseball display example

Etch Glow Light Displays provide an additional method to personalize – Put Your Name or Message In Lights.

Adding an engraved name plate will instantly give your Etch Glow that trophy or plaque feeling.

Engraved plaque example of the name "Steve Smith" on a baseball display, where the plaque is on the base stand

Name plates are not included in the kit but can be purchased from any trophy or engraving supplier. 

Another option is to use different material when making the front part of the base. A 2-ply engraving plastic or wood material make excellent choices.

The left image shows a black plastic with a gold effect when engraved, the right image shows a plywood engraving example - Most of the engraving examples on this page will use the baseball design with the name "Steve Smith"

The Etch Glow Kit comes with 1 ply material (black) that does not show a different color when engraved. Engravable wood and 2-ply material can be purchased from any engraving supplier.

 Shows a draft vector example of personalization on a football display with a name and athlete playing number, the right side of the image shows an image of the real display on a desk

The ultimate way to personalize an Etch Glow Light Display is to engrave the name or message on one of the acrylic panels and let the lights work their magic.

Many of our designs and shapes were created with personalization in mind. 

There are three examples - the first is a firemen badge with a name, the second is the baseball design with a name, and the third is a flower bouquet with the message "happy mother's day"

 

An example of this is the Baseball design: 

 Shows with labels the three design layers of the baseball display, highlighting that the front acrylic piece has no etch design

It comes with design objects only on the Middle and Back which leaves the Front open for you to design anything you want. Since the personalization would be on its own layer, it can be customized to any color by itself.

In our example Steve Smith is put on the Front Panel. We recommend ‘punching out’ the letters from the back panel to avoid overlapping images and unexpected color blending when lit up.

Our Tips and Tricks tutorial covers overlapping objects and punch outs. 

Another technique is to take a shape (oval in this case) and punch it out of the design on the Back panel:

Baseball design punchout with all etch layers showing an oval punch out on the back layer rather than a letter by letter punch out

This now gives you an area to personalize without having to punch out individual letters.

No matter the technique you use or market you support, personalization is a great way to make your products more attractive and unique.

Green Bulldogs mascot with a personalized name engraved and lit up

The people in your life and/or your customers will love them!

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