Acrylic Awards or Glass Awards: Which Is Right for You?

When recognizing someone's achievements, whether a lifetime accomplishment or an outstanding athletic performance, it's essential to present high-quality awards. These awards not only honor the recipients but also enhance your event's reputation. Acrylic and crystal awards are excellent choices due to their perceived value.

While acrylic and crystal have similar appearances, there are a few key differences between the two. Which style award is best for you? Let's discuss the benefits and options for each type of custom award.

Benefits of Custom Acrylic Awards

Custom acrylic awards offer several benefits, making them a popular choice for recognizing achievements:

Affordability: Acrylic awards are often more budget-friendly than crystal or glass awards, making them a cost-effective option for organizations with limited budgets.

Durability: Acrylic is a durable material that's less likely to break or shatter, making it suitable for long-lasting awards that can withstand handling and transportation.

Versatility: Acrylic awards come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. They can be customized and shaped in creative ways, allowing for versatile designs to match the theme or branding of the event.

Lightweight: Acrylic awards are light, which makes them easy to handle and display. Their weight is particularly beneficial if the awards need to be moved during the event.

Clarity: High-quality acrylic awards have excellent clarity, resembling glass or crystal. You can polish them to achieve a smooth and glossy surface, enhancing their visual appeal.

Ease of Customization: Acrylic can be easily engraved, etched, or printed upon, allowing for intricate designs and personalized messages. You can add logos, names, and other details with precision.

Low Maintenance: Acrylic awards are easy to clean and maintain. A gentle cleaning with a soft, non-abrasive cloth can restore their shine, ensuring they look impressive for a long time.

Environmentally Friendly: Acrylic is a recyclable material, making it an eco-friendly choice for awards.

Quick Production: Manufacturers can often produce acrylic awards relatively quickly, making them a convenient option for last-minute or urgent award needs.

These benefits make custom acrylic awards popular and practical for many types of recognition events and ceremonies.

Benefits of Custom Crystal Awards

Recipients admire crystal awards for their elegance and sophistication. Here are the key benefits of choosing glass and crystal awards:

Luxurious Appearance: Crystal awards have a sleek and timeless aesthetic. Their clear and flawless appearance adds a touch of refinement to any event or ceremony, making them ideal for prestigious occasions.

Exceptional Clarity: Crystal is renowned for its unparalleled clarity and brilliance. It reflects light beautifully, creating stunning visual effects and enhancing the overall appeal of the award.

Durability: While glass is delicate-looking, it's surprisingly durable. High-quality crystal awards are sturdy and resistant to chipping or breaking, ensuring longevity.

Customization: Glass awards can be intricately engraved or etched with detailed designs, logos, and personalized messages. The precision of these engravings adds a level of craftsmanship and personalization to the awards.

Versatility: Crystal awards come in various shapes, sizes, and styles, allowing for versatile customization. From classic designs to contemporary shapes, there is a wide range of options to choose from to match the theme of the event.

Corporate Branding: You can customize glass awards with company logos and branding elements. This branding opportunity not only adds a personal touch but also promotes the organization's image.

Timeless Appeal: Crystal awards are everlasting, making them suitable for various events, from business ceremonies to sports competitions. Their enduring beauty ensures that they remain relevant and appreciated over the years.

In summary, custom glass awards offer a combination of elegance, durability, and customization options, making them a preferred choice for honoring exceptional achievements and leaving a lasting impression on recipients.

Acrylic or Glass—How to Choose?

Consider Your Budget

As a general rule, acrylic is a more affordable material than crystal. If you need a large quantity, acrylic is your most economical option. If you only need a single recognition award, consider glass or crystal. The higher price tag translates to a higher perceived value.

Think About Aesthetics

Acrylic is a fantastic option for themed awards, helping you achieve a cohesive, brand-forward presentation. We can easily cut acrylic awards into custom shapes. Imagine a translucent snowflake-shaped award for your winter event or polar plunge.

In contrast, glass or crystal awards come in elegant prefabricated shapes. They're ideal for rewarding major accomplishments, including corporate achievements.

Prioritize Personalization

You can personalize both acrylic and crystal awards. Acrylic awards typically provide more room for customization, including additional color and text. Crystal awards are the perfect canvas for custom engraving.

Present the Right Perceived Value

Generally, glass and crystal awards have a higher perceived value than acrylic awards.

Methods of Customization

There are three primary methods of customization available for acrylic and crystal awards:

• Engraving: We use laser technology to engrave custom designs, like text and images, on acrylic awards and some glass awards. 

• Sandblasting: We use a special stencil to add text and graphics to our crystal awards. This method typically provides for a deeper etch of your custom design. 
• Color Printing: We color print directly onto acrylic, glass, and crystal awards, with some exceptions. This option enhances the award by making the design truly stand out.

Designing Custom Crystal and Acrylic Awards

Whether you choose engraved acrylic awards or crystal awards, Maxwell Medals & Awards can help. Our team has over 43 years of experience in the awards industry. We're happy to answer your questions and work with you to achieve your perfect crystal or acrylic award design.

We do all our design and production in-house, so you can rest assured knowing essential details won't be lost in translation.

Are you ready to design custom awards you can be proud of? Start the conversation with one of our experts!