FAQs

Please toggle below for frequently asked questions and answers.

 

Place orders directly with experienced customer service representatives at AGE Nameplate by email or fax. For detailed contact information please visit our Customer Support web page.

The complexity of your graphic design, along with the materials that best capture the image your company wishes to create, will determine the overall cost. AGE Nameplate uses multiple graphic processes with “best in class” materials from American suppliers. The detail capabilities of digital graphics can be combined with the color blending capabilities of silk-screen printing to produce beautiful results.

Along with state-of-the-art roll-cutting, AGE Nameplate offers the quickness and accuracy of laser die cutting. Great for small volume orders or OEM prototypes where quick turn-around is critical to the development or production of your product – we’ll have your order ready in as little as three (3) working days.

AGE Nameplate has the process technology to produce graphic overlays with complex designs, fine lines and curves, all with brilliant color. We can also combine digital processing where complex gradients or very fine text is required. For mixed processing we start by calling on our digital presses to effortlessly apply multiple colors, lines, and shapes in just one pass. Then we transfer rolls or sheets to the screen printers to apply as many layers as needed to create the ultimate graphic image. Backing materials, adhesives, and die-cutting complete the job. We offer many of our products in just 10 working days!

AGE Nameplate produces Graphic Overlays, Labels, and Nameplates in any size using any combination of state-of-the-art digital and traditional silk-screen print processes.

CMYK is the standard for digital print 4-color process. With 256 variations (0~255) of each of 4 colors, the result is nearly 4.3 Billion color combinations. The differences between most combinations are so subtle that they are rarely detectable by the human eye. Pantone® has created 1,114 solid colors for easy use in 4 color digital processes.

Precise color matching usually starts with a specimen provided by you. We color match the specimen to our digital printing equipment using spectrographic tools. Then we take the time to visually examine and determine the best corresponding CMYK (4 color) process. Differences in material substrates (plastic, paper, metal, etc) have different light characteristics that affect the visual result. As a final step, AGE Nameplate produces a press-proof for our customers to approve before moving into final production.

The Pantone® Matching System (PMS®) is a reference tool for selecting, specifying, matching and controlling ink colors. The Pantone® formula guide, consisting of 1,114 solid PANTONE Colors on coated, uncoated and matte stock, shows corresponding printing ink formulas for each color.

The digitally-created PANTONE Process Color System® chips and guides provide a comprehensive palette of more than 3,000 colors achievable in four-color (CMYK) process printing. The PANTONE solid to process guide compares a solid PANTONE Color to the closest possible match in CMYK four-color process that can be achieved on a computer monitor, output device or printing press.

More information on Pantone® can be found at www.pantone.com.

Produce extremely detailed graphic images with digital process technology. Digital presses work by regulating the amount of ink applied to the substrate material. Six-color (6-color) digital presses like those at AGE Nameplate, allow two additional custom-colors to be blended with the standard CMYK. This greatly increases the potential for color-matching. Fine lines and complex gradients with intense color transitions produce graphic overlays with eye-catching results.

Silk-screen printing is the staple of the printing industry. It provides durability, opacity, and color-blending flexibility that are unrivaled by any other process. Silk-screen inks are deposited onto the substrate thicker than digital inks. These inks bond to the substrate producing a finished product that lasts for many years, even in harsh environments and climates. At AGE Nameplate even our digital products are completed with a silk-screen background which helps to lock-in the digital inks, add opacity to otherwise translucent graphic overlays and enhance the color brilliance of the fine digital graphics. If color-matching is critical, then a silk-screened print process is your solution.

Generally speaking, anything that can be silk-screen printed can be produced digitally. The reverse is not always true: Silk-Screen printing adds opacity to your custom overlay – a feature that cannot be produced digitally. In addition, silk-screen print technology offers the ability to create custom blended colors not found in the CMYK spectrum. Six-color (6-color) digital presses like those at AGE Nameplate, allow two additional colors to be blended with the standard CMYK. This greatly increases the potential for custom colors.

Color blending (matching) and opacity are typically the only limitations to digital print technology. For very challenging graphics, AGE Nameplate may opt to combine digital printing with screen print process. The result is fine graphic details with brilliant color backing and opacity to hide the controls, switches, and housing materials behind the graphic overlay.

Special high-quality inks that contain metallic compounds, such as carbon or silver, are applied to a flexible polyester substrate using a silk-screen process. These inks carry electrical signals from the actuation point to a wiring harness, and eventually to an application processor in the main PCB of the OEM product.
 
At AGE, we use high-quality conductive inks to ensure low resistance, typically 30~50ohms per circuit (switch) depending upon the length of a given circuit. AGE performs on-going life tests and maintains empirical data – All polyester membrane switches are tested to exceed 1,000,000 (one million) actuation cycles per circuit.
 
 
Membrane switches are comprised of several layers of processed materials. AGE Nameplate uses both digital and screen print processes to produce brilliant graphic overlays utilizing simple or complex designs provided by the OEM. Beneath the graphic layer is the circuit layer: Special high-quality inks that contain metallic compounds, such as carbon or silver, are applied to a flexible polyester substrate using a silk-screen process. These inks carry electrical signals from the actuation point to a wiring harness, and eventually to an application processor in the main PCB of the OEM product. Stainless Steel snap domes or embossed domes act as the switch actuation points.
 
 
Quite simply, mechanical switches wear out sooner than membrane switches. In medical, food-service, and many factory automation applications, membrane switches are specified to meet bacterial requirements. Seamless graphic overlays cover and protect membrane switches, making them much easier to keep clean and bacteria-free than mechanical switches.
 
 
At AGE, we use high-quality conductive inks to ensure low resistance, typically 30~50ohms per circuit (switch) depending upon customer requirements. AGE performs on-going life tests and maintains empirical data – Polyester (aka “polydome”) membrane switches have been tested to exceed 1,000,000 (one million) actuation cycles. Stainless steel snap domes are specified by the manufactures at 1M~3M actuations.
 
 
Polyester is a slightly more rigid material, which makes it the best performer for membrane switches requiring 1million-actuations. From a cost standpoint, polyester is slightly more expensive than polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is easier to emboss, and because it is a more flexible material, it will conform to curved surfaces. Average life-expectancy from a membrane-switch standpoint is around 75k actuations per button.
 
 
AGE Nameplate uses a system of roll-fed equipment to produce large-volume orders with exceptional quality and consistency. From complex graphic overlays to pressure-sensitive or adhesive labels, roll-fed equipment gets the job done on time.
 
 
 
AGE Nameplate offers flexibility to its OEM customers. Our best customers turn to us for prototype runs that require a quick turn-around. Product development and proof-of-concept rely on the sheet-fed equipment that AGE is committed to keeping as part of its overall customer support program. When OEMs gear up for large production runs, they can count on AGE Nameplate to be ready with roll-to-roll processing from beginning to end.
 
 
 

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