As we said in the first part, a well thought out typeface speaks volumes about your company’s image. Context as well as clarity is another aspect, and this is profound with engraving and etching. Here’s another selection of ‘must-use’ typefaces. This time, we are focusing on serif typography.
Your chosen typeface says a lot about your company’s corporate image. For example, the Design Research Unit’s Rail Alphabet screams ‘British Rail’ – even in an age where individual rail franchises choose their own typefaces. You expect to see a sombre though classy typeface for a funeral directors’ business (Comic Sans MS will never do). From the smallest of startups to the mightiest of multinationals, clear typography is everything.
With all the typefaces we can download, free and paid-for, we could go crazy and play with decorative fonts. Sometimes, less is more; with engraving and etching, clarity matters. Here’s our selection of ‘must-use’ typefaces, starting with Sans-Serif typography.
Microsoft’s Arial Bold is one of the best-known, and most widely, distributed typefaces on any computer system. Created in 1982 by Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders, the Arial family has subtle differences to similar sans-serif fonts, which is why it can be mistaken for similar typefaces like Helvetica Bold or Univers Bold.
Best for: direction signs, room numbers, and plaques.
Max Miedinger’s most famous font family was created in 1957 and – like Arial – has its roots in the earlier Akzidenz-Grotesk typeface. It is an excellent all-round typeface for publicity materials but its use in the world of engraving makes for clear lettering that can be read from a distance. It has inspired a fair number of similar typefaces like the Rail Alphabet, Frutiger, and to some extent, Jock Kinnear’s and Margaret Calvert’s Transport typeface (which you see on today’s road signs).
Best for: direction signs, room numbers, and plaques.
If you have an Android-powered smartphone or digital tablet, you may come across this font on a daily basis. Christian Robertson’s Roboto typeface was designed in 2012 for Google’s devices. It is also free to download and makes for a good alternative to Arial and Helvetica. Roboto Bold and Roboto Black typefaces are good for signage whereas the regular Roboto font is suitable for engraving onto trophies. Roboto Black and Roboto Bold Condensed is suitable for headlines.
Best for: direction signs, room numbers, plaques, and headlines (Roboto Black/Bold Condensed).
For the best part of 50 years, the Helvetica Compressed and Futura II Extra Bold typefaces have been a popular choice for newspaper headline text. Owing to their striking nature, they are suitable for being read from a great distance.
Best for: signage and headlines.
Created between 1970 and 1977, Ed Benguiat’s Avant Garde font family was never committed to hard type (which, in other words, means we didn’t see the typeface in metal type form). Starting out as a phototypesetting based face, it was a popular choice from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The Medium, Demi Bold, and Bold weights are suitable for signage whereas the Book and Medium variants are suitable for engraving trophies.
Best for: direction signs, room numbers, and plaques.
For the second part, we shall be looking at serif typefaces and mulling over which ones would be suitable for engraving work.
Able Engraving, 26 September 2016.
Cast your mind back to 1927 when Trafford Park, Europe’s first industrial estate, was in full swing. The industrial estate was dominated by Metropolitan Vickers, which in its prime employed 10,000 people. With the formation of the Central Electricity Board (which led to the creation of a national power grid network), 1927 was a record year for Metrovicks. During the same year, there was a quiet revolution at Trafford Park, incidental to changes in Britain’s electrical supply: the creation of Traffolyte.
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There is something wonderful about stainless steel. Without which, our cutlery would be stuck in the Dark Ages. Our modern-day buildings would lack the sheen this material gives. At Able Engraving and Design, its absence would mean one less revenue stream.
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Laser: originally an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation when built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories. Today, we see lasers used in several things. Compact Disc, DVD, and Bluray players cannot operate without them. In our industry, laser engraving is a revolution.
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Effective safety signage is an absolute must. For employers, no exceptions, whatsoever. It enables us to don protective clothing, evacuate safely, warn people of potential risk, and prevent us from doing dangerous acts. As well as for our own benefit, also to the employer’s advantage in lieu of better productivity and lower insurance premiums.
A well thought out system of safety signage is imperative on a number of levels. We at Able Engraving and Design offer engraved safety signage. Everything conforms to the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996. This system is based on four colours, as detailed below. Continue reading
There seems to be a revolution in the world of CAD/CAM processes these days. One example is 3D printing, where a set of coded instructions allows you to create anything from plastic tape. Another example is computerised engraving using CNC [Computer Numerical Control]. CNC has been with us for quite a while with PLC [Programmable Logic Controller] automated milling machines.
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This infographic is brought to you by Able Engraving and Design and it outlines the history and overview of engraving, from start to finish. Over the years engraving has evolved (as with everything else) and here you can read on how it has evolved and what material are now used as opposed to materials in the early days.
For mankind, the practice of engraving has been an essential part of human communication since at the Palaeolithic era. The earliest form of human engravings dates back to 60,000 BP where the emerging civilizations engraved etchings on the walls of caves and bone or ivory fragments. Larger Petroglyphs engraved on ancient rocks still remain to this date.
More advanced engraving developed over time and by the reign of the Egyptian and Greek empires engraving as a form of documentation and communication had developed. Again, to this date documentation from ancient Egyptians remain in museums around the world, leaving an engraved insight into an ancient world.
In addition to being a form of communication and documentation, engraving was used to reproduce printed artwork, documentation and in printing. Engraving has been used to create printing templates out of metal to reproduce newspapers, books, currency and art. To this day, engravings are used to produce unique moulds to create intricate currency the world over.
To find out how we can help your company, contact Able Engraving today!
Materials
We can produce signs with the following materials:
Techniques
Hand Engraving
Traditional hand etching is an excellent way to add the personal touch to a very special. . . Read More
Machine Engraving
Modern machine techniques can reproduce intricate designs and styles accurately and quickly. . . Read More
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth unveils an Able Engraving plaque at the opening ceremony of a new campus at East Surrey College on the 18th November 2011.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited East Surrey College in Redhill to officially open its new campus.
A crowd of enthusiastic well-wishers gathered at the college gates in London Road to catch a glimpse of the royal couple, who arrived in a maroon Bently on Friday afternoon.
The Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Sarah Goad, acting college principal Jayne Dickinson and chair of governors Barbara Spittle greeted the pair.
While the Duke spent time joking with Crispin Blunt, Reigate MP, in the foyer, the Queen spoke visit this page with some of the students.
After a two-hour lunch sitting, the group re-emerged for a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities.
The much admired plaque is an A3 size engraved silver anodised aluminium plate with black infilled detail, mounted on an oversized 5mm thick clear acrylic backplate with polished edges and supplied complete with dull chrome stand off fixings.
After unveiling the college’s new plaque, the Queen smiled as she was presented with a small bunch of flowers, arranged by the horticultural department.
Students and staff flocked to the front windows to wave goodbye as the royal entourage made their way to the waiting car at about 3.30pm.
Photographs courtesy of East Surrey College
