Archive: Sep 2020

All About Brass Nameplates

Brass Nameplate Material

Nameplates serve multiple industries for many reasons. If you’re looking for custom nameplates, the first feature you need to identify is the type of metal you’d like to use. Brass has a variety of attractive features that could make it a great choice for your nameplate order.

Benefits of Brass Nameplate

When it comes to different metal options for your nameplate needs, brass has an array of benefits that may support your labeling goals. Benefits of brass include:

• Durability: Brass survives well in multiple conditions both indoors and outdoors. It withstands weather conditions like the heat and cold, and it’s corrosion-resistant. Just as brass is unharmed by water, it can also survive exposure to chemicals, solvents, and dirt.
• Appearance: Unlike other metals, brass has a natural golden tone that makes it attractive and noticeable. The color comes from its composition, a mixture of copper and zinc. Industries use brass for a sense of luxury without paying the price for gold.
• Nonsparking quality: Ferrous metals, or metals that contain iron, will spark when another metal collides with them. Brass is a nonferrous metal, so it will not spark from any kind of impact. In industrial processes, sparks can be a fire hazard, so a nonsparking quality desirable for safety.
• Malleability: Brass includes a portion of copper, which is easy to manipulate into different shapes. Malleability is great for nameplates because it makes techniques like embossing and etching manageable and successful.

Industries That Use Brass Labels

Thanks to their striking golden hue and durability, brass nameplates have a place in many industries, including:

• Electrical
• Wood Working
• Plumbing
• Industrial
• Automotive
• Corporate

Applications of brass nameplates cover a wide range of purposes. Their overall appearance makes them a great material for any aesthetic intent, including use in plaques and memorial items.

With its corrosion resistance and nonsparking nature, brass is also practical for electrical and environmental uses. It can last up to 20 years in outdoor conditions, so it can be used for safety and information labels on outdoor equipment.

Processes for Brass

Along with finding the right metal for your nameplate, you’ll want to use an ideal carving or printing process for your desired material. Because of the malleability of brass, a few different methods can work well, such as:

• Embossing: For this technique, your metal will be sandwiched between two cut pieces to create raised text and images.
• Engraving: To engrave a nameplate, we use a computer synced with a cutting tool to make a precise cut of the customized design.
• Etching: This process uses acid to carve out a design, and we coat the carving with enamel to emphasize and protect the colors.
• Screen printing: For screen printing, a screen acts as a stencil, and we apply ink on top to create the desired design.

Trust American Nameplate for Metal Labels

Whether you’re searching for an aesthetically pleasing nameplate or an instruction label designed to withstand the elements, American Nameplate offers the services and materials best suited for your needs. If you’re interested in brass nameplates for your industry, request a free quote and our staff will contact you with more information.

All About Stainless Steel Nameplates

Stainless Steel Nameplate Material

When you work in industries like manufacturing, food service, or transportation, you have to meet safety regulations and provide information panels for machinery. Nameplates fulfill this purpose, but it’s important to choose a material that works best for the environment it has to exist within.

Stainless steel is an incredibly strong material that may be a great fit for your industry and application. Take a look at the advantages and printing methods for stainless steel to see if it’s the right metal for you.

Benefits of Stainless Steel Nameplates

Before choosing the metal for your nameplate order, you should consider the benefits of stainless steel, including:

• Durability: Stainless steel is impervious to corrosion because of its outer chromium layer. This layer and the overall composition make it able to withstand harsh weather, dents, scratches, chemicals, and physical pressure that might cause other metals to bend.
• Welding: When you’re attaching metal nameplates to your desired surface, you’ll find that welding to this material comes with no trouble. Stainless steel lends itself to welding more than other metals, so the attachment process is simple.
• Hygienic properties: Bacteria have a hard time adhering to the slick metal surface of stainless steel, so the material is easy to keep clean.
• Attractive appearance: With its stainless property, this metal has a nice sheen that rarely needs polishing, so it will always stand out and communicate its message.
• Long-term value: Though stainless steel’s initial costs aren’t as low as those of other metals, the material requires less maintenance and repair, giving it the best long-term value.

Industries That Use Stainless Steel Labels

Thanks to its versatility, stainless steel has a place in many industries. This strong metal works well in fields like:

• Aerospace
• Industrial
• Manufacturing
• Government
• Energy
• Food Service
• Transportation
• Military

Applications for stainless steel nameplates include designation plates, control panels, and military place cards. Any function that requires a strong material could benefit from the use of stainless steel.

Nameplate Creation Processes for Stainless Steel

American Nameplate offers a range of carving and printing methods to get your nameplate’s information across. Stainless steel works best with:

Engraving: Using a rotating cutting tool and a computer, our engraving system is highly efficient.
Screen printing: This process uses a stencil to print each design in ink, then seals it with a surface coat to make it last.
Etching: Using chemicals or acids to cut your nameplate design, this process can also be finished with an epoxy to protect the colors and emphasize the etching.
Embossing: This technique creates raised text by squeezing two cut pieces together. Since this process forgoes any use of ink, the design won’t fade with wear, and it can be painted over while still maintaining the message.

Buy Great Products From American Nameplate

For work in industries like manufacturing, aerospace, and energy, clearly defined information labels are crucial for safety and organization. At American Nameplate, we recognize this importance and strive to provide clear and long-lasting nameplates for a variety of purposes.

If you’re interested in our stainless steel products, request a free quote today. We’ll even hold onto your quoted price for 30 days so that you have time to make a decision about your purchase.

All About Aluminum Nameplates

Aluminum Nameplate Material

If you’re in an industry like manufacturing or energy, you may find yourself looking for metal nameplates to label equipment or other materials. Finding the right metal is just as important as the printed message. Aluminum nameplates are versatile and may be the right fit for your industry and plate application.

Benefits of Aluminum Nameplates

Aluminum offers a variety of benefits that you should consider before choosing your nameplate material. Its best qualities include its:

• Durability: This material forms a layer of aluminum oxide that prevents corrosion. As a result, it’s an excellent material for surviving bad weather conditions and harsh chemicals that could cause damage to other materials.
• Weight: This metal is incredibly lightweight compared to other nameplate metals. It can also be manufactured very thinly, making it ideal for wall-mounting.
• Color: Aluminum has anodizing and photo sealing capabilities for adding ink to your nameplate. Anodizing is a process that treats the outer layer of the metal. This outer layer absorbs color that won’t scratch or fade, while photo sealing presses and seals ink into the surface for scratch-resistant color.
• Cost: While aluminum is a pure metal, it has one of the lowest costs compared to the other pure metals we use for nameplates.

Industries That Use Aluminum Labels

We serve a wide variety of industries, and aluminum labels are popular among many of them. These nameplates are used in:

• Aerospace
• Defense
• Energy
• Industrial
• Government
• Manufacturing

Aluminum nameplates are widely used in a range of applications. These labels can make safety plates for large machinery or identification plates to raise brand awareness. Industries can also use them for barcodes and ID numbers to make it easier to catalog and track equipment.

Processes for Aluminum

At American Nameplate, we offer a range of printing options. You can use aluminum for many of our printing types, including:

• Etched: This option uses chemical or acid etching to print a design.
• Engraved: Engraving involves a computerized cutting tool that we’ll use to print your design a small fraction into the surface of your plate.
• Screen printed: Ink is applied and epoxied to the surface of your nameplate, then sealed to protect the color and make it last.
• Embossed: This process uses pressure to raise the text on the plate, making it bold and easy to read.
• Photo seal: Unique to aluminum, this process prints ink onto the metal then chemically seals it, leaving it on an inner surface layer where it will not be scratched.

Contact American Nameplate for Your Label Needs

At American Nameplate, we will strive to give you the best quality metal labels for your applications. Whether you’re involved in an industry like aerospace, government, manufacturing, or something totally different, you’ll find that our nameplates are designed to last. We value our customers, which is why we’ll make sure our products meet your needs and get to you in two to three weeks after you place your order.

If you’re looking for aluminum nameplates for your industry, request a free quote today. We’ll hold the price from your quote for 30 days to give you time to decide on your purchase.