Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is laser engraving?
A: Laser engraving uses a low power laser to burn an image into a variety of materials. The materials that can be used include wood, plastics, glass and a variety of stone types. Items are customized to include names, logos, clip art, and even photographs. Low power lasers cannot engrave (burn) through metals such as aluminum, stainless steel, etc. However, a chemical process can be used to permanently "mark" certain metals such as putting a name or an outdoor scene on a metal knife blade. This marking process is often used to create metal inventory tags for businesses to track their assets. We also have products that are made of anodized aluminum. Anodized means that a colored coating is placed on the aluminum. We have some knives and business card holders in our catalog that are anodized. When anodized aluminum is laser engraved the underlying white color shows through. See our Business Gifts category for an example. Any wood can be laser engraved. Basswood and red alder engrave well and leave a contrast image. Woods such as pine, oak, walnut can be engraved but there is no significant contrast and the engraving cannot be seen from a distance without using a "color fill" of some kind to create a contrast.

Q: What is "color fill"?
A: "Color fill" is a method of applying inks, paints, etc. to highlight an item so that it displays a more pleasing contrast.

Q: Do you engrave customer's artwork?
A: Yes, we do customize using customer artwork. Clip art generally can be engraved as delivered. However, photographs and logos may require some modifications before they can be used.  Vector based images images such as PDF or EPS file types are the best for us to process. We can also work with other bitmap file types such as JPG or GIF. Most digital cameras produce a JPG image. When in doubt, email us the image and we'll be able to tell you how it will engrave. We don't charge for inspecting your images. If the image modifications are significant, a fee may be charged. The customer will be notified before work is begun if a fee is deemed necessary.

Q: Do you have stock images for engraving on products?
A: We are currently culling through our images to determine which would be best for the various products. We will be posting images for customers to select for products shortly. Please check back or if you would like to be contacted by email when we have the images loaded, simply email info@shadycreekengraving.com. We would also be happy to answer any questions you have about our site or products.

Q: How are credit card payments processed?
A: We use PayPal for online payments. You may also pay through a PayPal account if you have one. However a PayPal account is not required to buy from Shady Creek Engraving. After you complete your shopping, the shopping cart will take you to the PayPal site to either log into your PayPal account or allow you to enter your credit card information. We at Shady Creek do not see your credit card number as it is entered into the PayPal system.

Q: What if I don't want to pay by credit credit card online?
A: If you are uncomfortable entering your credit card number online, you may call us and we can enter it manually through a credit card machine connected to a telephone line. In this case, we would send you an email after processing your credit card as a receipt of the transaction. You may call 866-258-1170 toll-free.

Q: Do you take checks or money orders?
A: Yes, we do take checks and money orders. In this case, you may select your purchases and print out the shopping cart and sent that printout with the check or money order.  Using the shopping cart allows you to enter the attributes for the products such as color, size, etc. and helps ensure that you receive your correct order.

Q:Can a company logo be added to your products?
A: Yes, we can add a company logo to most of our products if there is sufficient space. Logos are commonly added to business card cases, plaques, knife handles or blades, shirts, caps, aprons, etc. To process the logo properly we need the image in a vector format. The logo can be converted from either a raster (bitmap) image or a hardcopy such as a business card. If the logo needs to be converted  there is a $35 one-time fee. Once we convert the image to vector, we will keep it on file for any future purchases.

Q: What are raster and vector image formats?
When dealing with a logo, we must use a computer graphic type called vector. Most photographs are used in a bitmap format such as a .bmp or a .jpg (there are many others). The bitmap format is also called raster. The bitmap or raster format use pixels that is usually expressed as dpi (dots per inch). The vector format that we need for engraving purposes is composed not of dots but uses a formula to describe the image. The vector image can be resized to make an image larger or smaller. You could take a vector image used on a business card case and increase its size to fit on a t-shirt. If you tried to enlarge a raster (or bitmap) image to that degree you would lose much of the resolution and the result would look "grainy".