Ordering a personalised plaque online can feel like a lot of small decisions at once — size, font, wording, maybe a logo, maybe a border. The good news is that none of these choices are locked in until you've seen a proof and said yes. This guide walks through each personalisation option step by step, so you know exactly what to expect before you click "add to basket".
What You Can Personalise on Your Plaque
Every plaque we make starts from the same basic building blocks, whichever range it comes from — Wall Plaques, Tree Stake Plaques, Bench Plaques or our Business Plaques range. When you personalise engraved plaque orders on the product page, you'll typically choose:
- The plaque size, based on how much text and imagery you need to fit
- An optional wooden backing board, for a more finished look when mounting on a wall or post
- A font — Arial, Montserrat, Open Sans or Times New Roman (we cover font choice properly in a separate guide, so we'll keep it brief here)
- Your engraving text, up to 300 characters
- Whether to add a logo or image alongside the text
- An optional scalloped decorative border
- Colour-coded screws, if you'd like the fixings to blend in or stand out
None of these are compulsory beyond size, font and wording — logos, borders and coloured screws are all optional extras you can add if they suit what you have in mind.
Adding a Logo or Image to Your Engraved Plaque
A logo can lift a plaque from a simple nameplate into something that clearly represents a business, club, school or family. If you're planning to add a logo to an engraved plaque, a little preparation on the file itself goes a long way.
Engraving works best from clean, high-contrast artwork. As a rough guide:
- Vector files (such as .ai, .eps or .svg) give the sharpest result, since they scale to any size without losing detail
- A high-resolution image (ideally 300dpi or higher at the size it will be engraved) also works well
- Simple line-based logos and single-colour crests tend to engrave more crisply than logos with fine gradients, thin text, or lots of tiny detail — engraving translates artwork into depth and line, not colour, so anything too intricate can lose definition at smaller sizes
- If you're not sure whether your logo file is up to scratch, just send it over — we'll tell you honestly whether it will engrave well, and suggest a size that will show it off properly
You don't need to be a designer to get this right. Most customers simply upload the logo they already use on letterheads, vehicles or a website, and we take it from there.
How a Logo and Text Are Combined on the Plaque
Once we have your logo and your wording, we lay them out together on the plaque so the whole design feels balanced rather than crowded. Logos are commonly positioned above the text, to one side of it, or centred as a standalone feature with wording underneath — the right layout usually depends on the shape of the logo and how much text needs to sit alongside it.
This is one of the reasons the free artwork proof matters so much when a logo is involved: seeing text and logo together, at actual proportions, is the only real way to judge whether the balance works. It's easy to picture a layout in your head that looks quite different once it's drawn up properly.
What a Scalloped Border Adds
The scalloped border is a decorative scalloped edge, engraved as a continuous wave pattern around the perimeter of the plaque. It doesn't change the size or shape of the plaque itself — it sits just inside the edge as a finishing detail.
It tends to suit traditional or classic-style plaques particularly well, adding a bit of visual interest without competing with the main text or logo. For a plainer, more contemporary look, plenty of customers prefer to leave the border off entirely and let a clean edge and simple font do the talking. Neither is more "correct" — it's really down to the setting the plaque is going into and the style you're after.
Backing Boards and Colour-Coded Screws
Two smaller options can also make a difference to the finished look. A wooden backing board sits behind the plaque and gives it a bit of depth and a warmer frame, which many customers like for wall-mounted plaques indoors or in a porch. And if you'd rather the fixing screws didn't draw the eye, colour-coded screws let you match the fixings to the plaque finish, so they sit quietly rather than standing out as bright metal dots.
Why the Free Artwork Proof Matters
Every single order — logo or no logo, border or no border — gets a free artwork proof, sent within 1-2 working days of ordering. This is the single most useful step in the whole process, and it's worth taking a proper look at rather than skimming.
The proof shows you exactly how your plaque will be engraved: the wording, spacing, font, logo placement and any border, all laid out as they'll actually appear. Production only begins once you've reviewed it and given your approval, so this is your chance to catch anything that needs adjusting — a line of text that's too tight, a logo that could sit a touch larger, spacing that doesn't feel quite right — before anything is cut into metal.
Once you approve the proof, production and delivery typically takes 5-10 working days, so it's worth taking your time at the proof stage rather than rushing it.
Tips for Getting Your Personalised Plaque Right First Time
A few habits make the whole process smoother, whether or not you're adding a logo:
- Keep wording concise — shorter, well-chosen text almost always reads better on a plaque than a long paragraph squeezed in
- Double-check spelling, names, dates and any titles before you submit your order, since text is engraved exactly as typed
- If you're adding a logo, send the best-quality file you have — you can always ask us in advance whether it's suitable
- Think about where the plaque will be viewed from and how close people will stand, as this affects how much detail (in a logo or a scalloped border) will actually be visible
- Read your proof properly when it arrives, ideally with a second pair of eyes, before approving it
If anything on the proof isn't quite right, just let us know — with 96 "Excellent" Google reviews, we've built our reputation on taking the time to get these details right for each customer, rather than rushing designs through.
Any Questions Before You Order?
If you're weighing up whether to add a logo, how a scalloped border might look, or anything else about personalising your plaque, our team is happy to talk it through before you commit to an order. You can reach us at sales@plaquestore.co.uk or on 01332 460435.
Ready to start designing your own? Take a look at our range of personalised wall plaques to begin choosing your size, font and finishing touches.