Why should an awards retailer add metal products to its arsenal?
In a word, perceived value. Consumers perceive real metal to have a higher value than plastic. Not only can metal increase the prices you charge, but it can also enable you to sell into higher end applications such as newspaper article reprints, diploma reproductions, architectural signage, corporate awards, and even industrial nameplates and labels.
The myth about laser markable metal is that it is too expensive and difficult to mark. However, various studies and tests of laser markable materials found that metals often cost the same or less than plastic. Similarly, many laser markable materials have become easier to mark due to coating re-formulations and improvements in laser marking technology. Those innovations, along with the laser marking guides available from companies like AlumaMark, make it is easier than ever to get extremely detailed, photographic quality marks on metal.
—Horizons ISG