Which side??

[Patrick Licata]

Hello fellow Creekers,was wondering what the consensus was in regards to what side is engraved for glass awards! Most of the acrylics I do are done on the back side, is this the same for glass. Didn't know if the material made a difference.
Thanks for your input, Patrick

[Dan Hintz]

There will be no consensus, so do what you think looks best for the particular product. Sometimes it's the front, sometimes it's the back.

[Patrick Licata]

Thanks Dan, I figured that was the answer. Just wasn't sure if the way glass engraves made a difference.

[Mike Null]

Those in the awards business generally prefer to engrave the back of both acrylic and glass. The depth seems to enhance the appearance.

In twelve years I've never engraved (carved) the front of glass.

I worked for a high volume awards company and they also engraved the back.

[Gary Hair]

Patrick,
I agree with Mike, always on the back. Except... the only time I'll mark the front is on an item I can't mark on the back. Glasses, vases, etc. Other than that, I'll always try to mark the back. It may be personal preference, but I think it's much harder to see the marking on the front of acrylic or glass, unless you paint fill of course.

I'm sure you won't get 100% consensus but I'd bet that most professionals, at least 75%, will agree with marking the back.

Gary

[Joe Pelonio]

I just did a bunch of them on the FRONT. Actually, it was because I placed colored vinyl on the back.

[Mike Null]

Gary is right about the glasses and vases being front engraved. My remarks deal with products which permit both front or back engraving.

[Frank Corker]

I prefer to engrave acrylic on the back because the depth makes the engraving more noticable. That said I also do a lot of engraving from the front and almost always do so when engraving glass. I disagree that it looks better on glass from the back, but as already stated, it's personal preference.

[Mike Null]

The only time I engrave glass from the front when there's a choice is if I'm color filling. If you want accurate colors you must fill from the front.

[Patrick Licata]

Thanks to you all! I guess the consensus is do what you like.
Frank, with both being clear, is it a depth perception difference between glass and acrylic that you prefer to do the fronts on glass?

[Frank Corker]

Yes it is.

[Martin Boekers]

Typically I engrave the back, unless as others have said you have to engrave the front.

Sometimes on acrylic awards I do engrave on both sides of the same to give it a bit of dimension. Maybe alogo on the front top with text below on the back.

Marty

[Frank Corker]

On that thought, one negative point to engraving on the back, is peoples sweaty dirty hands when the lift the item up. They seldom put their fingers on the front, but they often do on the back. Getting dirty grease marks off an engraved surface without a good scrub is quite difficult.

[Rodne Gold]

If you blast and not laser engrave - both front and back are fairly attractive - laser engraving on glass which can give a fairly shattered effect is normally better from the back.
If you actually dont use solid colours and use greyscale and let the laser dither the output you get far better effects engraving glass and front engraving doesnt look as bad on large area's.
On thick pex , we often do both front and back engraving for a more layered or dimensional effect , often filling the front with colour. I actually make all my thick acrylic awards myself , I dont have any easy way to get em.