A medal is a physical object that says a specific thing happened on a specific day. That is why people keep them for decades and why the specification matters more than it looks: the difference between a medal that ends up in a drawer and one that ends up on a wall is mostly weight, finish and whether the name on the back is the recipient’s.
Everything on this page is the same product with different settings — base metal, shape, finish, plating, ribbon. Choosing between them is a specification exercise, not a choice between different products, so they are all here rather than spread across eight pages.
| Zinc alloy | Iron | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum size | 65 mm | 50 mm |
| Cut-out holes in the design | Yes | No |
| Level of detail | Finest — intricate logos, fine lettering | Good, but softer on small detail |
| Ribbon stitch | Loop-stitched | V-stitched |
| Right for | Corporate awards, premium sport, anything with a complex shape | Large participation runs where unit price decides |
| Finish | What it looks like | Reproduces |
|---|---|---|
| Imitation hard enamel | Colour filled flush with the metal and polished — smooth, glass-like | Flat brand colours |
| Soft enamel | Colour recessed between raised metal lines — textured to the touch | Flat brand colours |
| 3D relief, no enamel | Pure metal, raised and recessed, showing the plating | Sculptural detail, no colour |
| Full colour doming | Printed artwork under a clear resin dome, glossy and scratch-resistant | Photographs, gradients, complex logos |
| UV colour print on 3D relief | Full colour printed directly onto a sculpted surface, colour following the relief | Colour and texture together |
| Standard 50 mm shape | A stock round medal with a full-colour dome, no new die | The fastest and cheapest route to a colour medal |
Eight plating colours are available, and gold, silver and bronze can run inside the same order for first, second and third place without multiplying the setup cost. The back of the medal is usable space: a raised or sunken secondary logo, or engraved names, numbers and dates that differ on every piece. Personalising the back is the single cheapest thing that makes a medal worth keeping.
Every medal includes an 80 cm polyester neck ribbon. The default is up to three colours with a silkscreen logo on one or both sides. Full-colour printing on both sides is available and is worth it when the event has real artwork rather than a logo. A recycled rPET ribbon is available where sustainability is part of the specification. Loop-stitched on zinc alloy medals, V-stitched on iron.
| Specification | From EUR |
|---|---|
| Standard 50 mm shape, full colour dome | 1,99 |
| Custom shape, iron, 3D relief | 1,99 |
| Custom shape, zinc alloy, hard enamel | 1,99 |
| Custom shape, iron, full colour dome | 2,29 |
| Custom shape, zinc alloy, 3D relief | 2,29 |
| Custom shape, zinc alloy, full colour dome | 2,39 |
| Custom shape, zinc alloy, UV print on relief | 2,59 |
| Custom shape, iron, soft enamel | 2,69 |
Indicative starting prices including the standard ribbon, before delivery. Quantity, size, plating and ribbon printing all move the figure, so treat these as the shape of the range rather than a quotation.
If the event is in under three weeks, or the quantity is below a hundred, tooling a new shape does not make sense. Use gold, silver and bronze stock medals, which are 7 cm, embossed, ship from stock and take laser engraving or an applied sublimation print. For outdoor and sustainability-led events, wooden medals are a different object with the same job. For corporate recognition where nobody wears the award, glass trophies are the right category.
Zinc alloy casts finer detail, allows cut-out holes in the design and goes up to 65 mm, so it is the choice for intricate logos and anything that should feel premium. Iron is cheaper, cannot take cut-outs, holds slightly less detail and tops out at 50 mm, which makes it the sensible base for large participation runs. On a 2 000-piece race order the difference in feel is smaller than the difference in invoice.
Hard enamel is filled and polished flat, so the surface is smooth and glass-like. Soft enamel sits slightly recessed between raised metal lines, giving a textured surface you can feel. Doming is not enamel at all: your artwork is printed in full colour and covered with a clear polyurethane dome, which is the only one of the three that reproduces photographs and gradients.
Two ways. Full-colour doming prints the artwork and seals it under a clear resin dome — the cheaper and more common route. UV colour printing prints directly onto a 3D relief surface so the colour follows the raised and recessed metal, which no other method does; it costs more and requires a zinc alloy base.
Yes. The same tooling produces all three, so a single order can include first, second and third place medals in gold, silver and bronze plating, each with its own engraved name or number. This is the normal way competition orders are placed and it does not multiply the setup cost.
An 80 cm polyester neck ribbon, loop-stitched on zinc alloy medals and V-stitched on iron ones. The ribbon can be produced in up to three colours with a silkscreen logo on one or both sides, or printed in full colour on both sides. A recycled rPET ribbon is available where sustainability is part of the brief.
Yes. Names, numbers and dates are engraved on the back, and they can be different on every piece. Supply them as a list; there is a small per-piece charge but no additional setup.
Typically 100 pieces for a custom shape, because each shape needs its own die. Roughly three to four weeks from approved artwork. If the date is closer than that, use the standard 50 mm shape, which needs no new tooling, or gold, silver and bronze stock medals, which ship from stock.
Custom medals with ribbons for anything with a tooled shape, gold, silver and bronze stock medals when there is no time for tooling, wooden medals for outdoor and eco-led events, laser engraved glass trophies for corporate awards, and velvet presentation boxes when the award is handed over one at a time. Also worth pairing: button badges and printed lanyards.
Our EU-based production means we meet even the tightest event deadlines.
Each product is created specifically to meet your unique event needs and brand guidelines.
Sustainable materials are available, incl. recycled and biodegradable wristbands.
