What acrylic engraving looks like

Laser engraving removes a thin layer of acrylic and leaves a frosted surface. On clear acrylic that frosting reads as white against the clear sheet; on colored and black acrylic it shows as a lighter, matte version of the color. It's permanent, it won't peel or rub off like a printed decal, and it can be wiped clean.

We engrave parts as we cut them, so an engraved sign, award, or panel is one order. Add engraving in the calculator by entering the engraved area, or put the artwork in your drawing on its own layer and upload it at /quote#upload.

Front engraving vs reverse engraving

Front engraving

The artwork is engraved into the face you look at. You can feel it with a fingertip, it catches light at an angle, and it works on any color, including opaque white and black. Front engraving is the right choice for name plates, labels, control panels, and anything on opaque sheet.

Reverse engraving

On clear acrylic, we mirror the artwork and engrave it into the back face. You see it through the full thickness of the sheet, which gives it depth and protects it: the front stays smooth and wipeable, and the engraving can't be scratched. Reverse engraving is what makes clear awards, wedding signs, and lobby signs look polished. It's also the side we paint when you want a color fill. Reverse engraving acrylic goes into the details.

Filled vs line engraving

  • Filled engraving (also called raster engraving) frosts whole areas: solid letters, logos, and photos. The laser sweeps back and forth like a printer, so the time, and the price, follows the area you engrave.
  • Line engraving (also called scoring or vector engraving) traces a thin line along a path: outlines, fine drawings, hatching, borders, and measurement marks on templates. It's fast and crisp and costs much less than filling the same shape.

Most artwork uses both. A logo can be filled while the border around a sign is a line. If you want a lower price, outline text instead of filling it, or make large solid areas smaller. Laser engraving acrylic: settings and results shows how different approaches look.

Cast vs extruded acrylic for engraving

This is the single biggest thing that changes how engraving looks:

  • Cast acrylic engraves a bright, even, frosty white. Crisp text, high contrast, the look most people expect. We use cast for engraved work unless you ask otherwise.
  • Extruded acrylic engraves fainter and clearer, with less contrast. It cuts beautifully and costs less, so it's the better choice when there's no engraving or the engraving is only a light mark.

Colored, black, and white acrylic engrave to a lighter, matte version of the sheet color. On mirror acrylic, reverse engraving through the mirror backing gives a clear, see-through design; front engraving frosts the surface. More in cast vs extruded acrylic and mirror acrylic explained.

Color fill

Engraved areas can be filled with paint so the artwork shows in color: black text on a clear sign, a gold logo on a black plaque, or your brand color on a reverse-engraved award. On reverse-engraved clear acrylic we can also back the whole design with a second color, so the artwork shows in one color and the background in another. Tell us the color in your order notes (a Pantone number or a sample photo helps), and we'll confirm the price before we invoice. If you'd like to try it yourself, how to paint acrylic sheet covers which paints stick and which crack the surface.

Edge-lit engraving

Light shone into the edge of a clear sheet travels through it and comes out wherever the surface is engraved. Engrave a design into 1/4 or 3/8 in. clear acrylic, set it in an LED base, and the engraving glows while the rest of the sheet stays clear. We cut and engrave the panel to fit your base; tell us the slot width and length. Fluorescent acrylic does something similar with no power at all, glowing at the edges and engraving. Read how edge-lit acrylic signs work and see edge-lit LED signs for sizes.

Artwork requirements

Vector artwork is best: SVG, DXF, AI, EPS, or a vector PDF. It engraves with clean, sharp edges at any size, and it's what we need for line engraving.

Raster images are fine for filled engraving: PNG, JPG, or a high-resolution PDF. Aim for at least 300 pixels per inch at the final size; a 6 in. wide logo should be at least 1,800 pixels across. Black-and-white artwork with no gray gives the crispest result. Photos can be engraved too; they come out as a frosted grayscale image, best on cast clear or black acrylic.

  • Convert text to outlines, or tell us the font name.
  • Keep text at least about 0.08 in. (2 mm) tall for filled engraving and line widths at least about 0.01 in. for line engraving.
  • Put cut lines and engraving on separate layers or colors.
  • For reverse engraving, send the artwork the right way round. We mirror it.
  • Only have a logo on a business card or a low-resolution file? Send it anyway. We'll tell you if it needs cleaning up, and help with it. How to convert an image to SVG explains the process if you want to try.

Our free laser file checker shows the size of your artwork and flags open paths in DXF and SVG files before you upload.

Sizes and what we engrave

We engrave anything from a 1 in. keychain to a sign several feet across, up to the size of a full 48 × 96 in. sheet. Typical engraved work:

Personalized runs, such as 200 name badges with different names, are no problem. Send the names as a spreadsheet with your artwork.

Pricing and lead times

Engraving is priced by the area of filled engraving and the length of line engraving, plus the cutting and material of the part itself. Larger filled areas take longer. Quantity breaks apply across the run. You'll see it all in the instant quote. Most engraved orders ship in 3 to 5 business days after we confirm them, and rush orders in 1 to 3 business days. Orders with color fill may need an extra day for paint to cure; we'll tell you when we confirm.