Design Online
While our ‘Design Your Own’ software is robust and comprehensive, it would almost be impossible to create such a revolutionary piece of software that could appease the creative appetites of all our customers.
We also understand the needs of our customers when it comes to immortalizing the images of lost loved ones. Our vitreous enamel and ceramic photo tiles are made to last and complement our bronze plaques beautifully.
The colors will not fade even after being exposed to the elements for many years. In this day and age, the common trend amongst consumers seems to be to go for cheap and disposable product.We, however, choose to help our customers along more of an eco-friendly path with products which are made to last.
With Forever Shining’s DYO (design your own) system unleashing your creative potential has never been easier. Once you have an idea of the type of bronze plaque you would like, its as simple as following easy steps to complete a professional looking design which will honor your specific needs through the ages. Our Online Design System is very easy to use, whichever element you click on, will bring up the associated design tools. Your product can be designed from the comfort of your own home on any device; mobile phones – Android or Apple, tablets, Desktops or Laptops.
You can save, share or edit your designs and email to friends or family. Once you’re happy with your design, you can buy it online
No design skills? No problem!
Our plaques are cast and painted, then the top surface of the inscription, motifs and border is machined to highlight the natural bronze colour. The background is painted with a high quality polyurethane coat of a color selected by our customer. When the manufacturing operation is complete, the whole plaque is sealed with a high quality clear lacquer that helps to preserve the bright shiny color of the natural bronze.
At any time during the design process you can click the check price button to determine the price of the design.
You can save, edit and share your designs as much as you like. Once you’re happy with your final design you can order it online.
We have developed patented systems to enable international customers – big or small – to do business with us in a seamless trouble free process.
US patent application no. 15/773,294 – “A design system and method” | Our ref: US15/773,294
Step by Step guide to designing online
Select Shape
Select your desired shape, this can be changed later without losing your design. Custom shapes are available on request.
Select Size
Select your overall size from the ‘Select Size’ menu using the ‘Width’ and ‘Height’ sliders or by using the ‘+ or -’ buttons. You will see the price change accordingly once your size is selected.
Fixing system
Select a fixing system according to how you wish to attach your finished plaque. Lugs with Studs is the most permanent system and highly recommended.
Select border
Select a border design from the ‘Select border’ menu or ‘No Border’ at your own discretion. Rectangular shapes have more options for borders, circular shapes only have 1 option but custom requests are an option.
Background color
Select a color from the ‘Background color’ menu to define the overall color of the plaque. The actual design work will be raised and bronze colored.
Various cemeteries have different requirements and limitations on the size of plaques that they allow to be installed on their property. Before an order is placed for one of our plaques these issues should be discussed between the customer and the cemetery to ensure that the needs of all parties are satisfied.
Inscription
Start typing after you click in the ‘Add Your Inscription’ window. You can move your text on your design by clicking and dragging. Adjust the font and size of each line to suit.
You can also rotate your lines of text for an interesting effect
Photo
A Ceramic tile photo or Vitreous Enamel tile photo can be attached to your plaque for an extra fee. Select a high res photo from your computer then crop, scale and rotate to suit. There are also color options available.
Add-on image option
Ceramic or Vitreous Enamel Image Overlay?
You may upload your own image, which can be added to your design as an image overlay with a choice of enduring materials, (See below).
Vitreous Enamel Overlays are more durable and can be safely attached to plaques which will be placed on the ground or hung in potentially hazardous areas.
Ceramic Image Overlays are cheaper but more like a dinner plate, it is long lasting but not suitable for sustaining impact.
Both types of overlay images are available in the following sizes and come in custom sizes by request. They can be rectangular or oval shaped, landscape or portrait format.
| Size in MM | Size in Inches |
|---|---|
| 50 x 70 mm | 1 31/32 inches x 2 3/4 inches |
| 60 x 80 mm | 2 23/64 inches x 3 5/32 inches |
| 70 x 90 mm | 2 3/4 inches x 3 35/64 inches |
| 80 x 100 mm | 3 5/32 inches x 3 15/16 inches |
| 90 x 120 mm | 3 35/64 inches x 4 23/32 inches |
| 100 x 130 mm | 3 15/16 inches x 5 1/8 inches |
| 110 x 150 mm | 4 21/64 inches x 5 29/32 inches |
| 130 x 180 mm | 5 1/8 inches x 7 3/32 inches |
| 180 x 240 mm | 7 3/32 inches x 9 29/64 inches |
Vitreous Enamel Images
Vitreous enamel is created by fusing powdered glass to steel. The powder melts and hardens as a smooth durable coating images are the perfect compliment to a bronze plaque. The vibrance and permanence makes it a good match for bronze’s durability.
Stainless steel baked vitreous enamel is reputed for it’s durability which is why its used on solid fueled ovens, campware and cooking utensils.
We’ve battered our products with tests that mimic the most common areas of damage in cemeteries and our stainless steel vitreous enamel images passed every test with flying colors.
We think its the BEST color image you can buy and would recommend it to any customer wanting full colored images.
The life long corrosion protection of the enamel and the high corrosion resistance of the stainless steel back plate will keep your plaque looking like new for many lifetimes to come. Not only is it longer lasting when exposed to sunlight than any other colored metal but its also gra ti resistant and stain proof.
Contact us if you need an overlay for existing memorials. we provide a FREE quote and mock up of your image.
Lifetime guarantee
Because of its durability, all Vitreous enamel products have a lifetime guarantee that the enamel applied to the Stainless Steel plate will never peel off. In addition to this, the precision laser-cut Stainless Steel itself has a life long protection against corrosion.
Vitreous Enamel Images
Ceramic Image Overlay
A ceramic image overlay is a colored, glazed porcelain image of a photo or image that is fixed to the face of your design. A ceramic image overlay is available as an oval or rectangle in specific sizes only. A porcelain photo overlay has a flat face with a thickness of approximately 6.5mm. The edges are smooth and rounded.
During the manufacturing process porcelain photo overlays are fired at 800 degrees centigrade, giving this product an anticipated life well exceeding 100 years.
Make your loved ones plaque extra special by placing their photo on a ceramic image overlay. Get the images of your loved ones in colored, glazed oval shaped porcelain tiles.
The image for your overlay can be the photo of a person, a logo or even a specific design.
To ensure the quality of the final output, the image needed for the photo overlay should have a clear, high quality resolution. The image provided can be black and white or colored. The quality of the image you provide for us will highly determine the quality of the final output. For best results we would suggest:
500kb to 1mb file size for a 4’’ x 4’’ image size or smaller
2MB to 3MB file size for an image size bigger than 4’’ x 4’’
In case no electronic copy of the image is available, a hard copy of the photo should be submitted for scanning purposes. The photo will be returned afterwards.
Choose the size that you need and upload your image via the ceramic image overlay section of the website. Set the location and the orientation of your photo on the design.
If there is a trademark or copyright associated with an image or logo that is required on a plaque, please ensure that written permission for us to reproduce the image or logo is provided by the owner of the trademark or copyright and that permission is supplied with the order. The order will not be processed without that permission.
You also have the option to add an image directly to the plaque. To do this, the photo must have the right style of neutral flat lighting (see below).
This is a less popular option as it costs a little more and the clarity would never be as good as a ceramic or vitreous enamel image overlay.
For overall consistency and maximum durability this is the best option.
2.75″ X 1.98″
70mm X 50mm
3.54″ X 2.75″
90mm X 70mm
3.54″ X 4.72″
120mm X 90mm
Example of image Quality required
Example of image Quality required
Example of image Quality required
Unacceptable Low resolution, poor lit image under 300 dpi
Unacceptable Image with no definition
Unacceptable image with uneven, shadowing due to poorly directed lighting
Emblems
We have a wide range of Bas Relief (low relief) emblems which can be applied to a design at set sizes. These create a great 3d effect to really bring your plaque to life.
>Bas Relief Emblem – These are created by our sculptor in a three dimensional shape. The irregular surface is highlighted in bronze on the plaque providing an emblem with depth and perspective.
Emblems
We have a wide range of Bas Relief (low relief) emblems which can be applied to a design at set sizes. These create a great 3d effect to really bring your plaque to life.
We have 1000s of quality motifs to choose from. You can make your own borders or tell a story with them. Serious designers will enjoy the flourishes while kids will enjoy the animals or toys categories. There’s something for everyone.
Flat Or Bas Relief Emblems
The appearance of a plaque can be enhanced by the use of emblems. They can also help to express beliefs, ideas and feelings in a way that may not be possible in words. There are 2 types of emblems: Flat relief and Bas relief.
Bas Relief Emblems can be positioned anywhere on the plaque. There are seven sizes available but unlike flat relief emblems (or motifs), not all of these can be flipped and the sizes are fixed because they are made from molds.
There is a much larger range of flat relief emblems (motifs) because they don’t require molds, just the computer generated graphics files.
We have an extensive library of thousands of motifs for you to choose from.
These motifs will be raised and of the same bronze color as the border motifs and the inscription.