A name cut clean out of steel reads as solid and permanent in a way printed signage never quite manages. House signs, business nameplates, memorial plaques, address numbers — all start as artwork and end up on a wall. Here's what the laser can do, where its limits are, and how to give us artwork that comes out looking sharp.
How fine can the detail be?
A fibre laser cuts steel to tenths of a millimetre, so crisp lettering and intricate detail are no problem — but two real limits shape what works:
- Thin features need to be wide enough to survive. As a rule, the narrowest part of any letter or line wants to be at least as wide as the steel is thick. Push hairline serifs or fine script too far on thick plate and they get fragile; on thinner sheet you can hold much finer detail.
- Closed letters need bridges. The centres of letters like O, A, P and R would simply fall out when cut. On a one-piece sign we either join the words so the counters are held, or add small "bridges" — tiny tabs that keep the islands attached. Choosing where those go is part of the design.
Fonts and artwork
Almost any font can be cut, but bold, even-weight typefaces read best and avoid the bridging problem. Very light or highly decorative scripts can be done — they just need careful handling. We work from vector artwork (DXF, SVG, AI or a print-ready PDF) where the text has been converted to outlines/curves. If all you have is a logo as a photo or low-res image, send it anyway — we can usually redraw it as a clean vector, and we'll always show you a proof before cutting.
Send us: the wording, the font (or a picture of the style you like), the overall size you want it to read at, the material and finish, and where it's going — wall, gate, post or freestanding. With those five things we can quote and proof quickly.
Flat, standoff or freestanding
- Flush to the wall — fixed flat with countersunk screws or hidden adhesive, for a clean, low-profile sign.
- On standoffs — mounted a centimetre or two off the wall on locators, so it casts a shadow and looks like it's floating. The most popular look for nameplates.
- Freestanding or post-mounted — for garden, driveway and trade signage, welded to a frame, stake or posts.
We hide the fixings wherever we can, so the lettering is what you see, not the screws.
Material, finish and the outdoors
Mild steel powder coated in your colour is the everyday choice and stands up well outside. For a sign that must never rust, stainless steel — brushed or polished — is ideal, especially near the coast. Raw steel left to weather gives a characterful rusted plaque for a rustic setting. Whichever you pick, edges matter on signage because the cut edge is the part you read against the light, so we make sure they're cleanly finished. There's more on choosing between finishes in our powder-coat guide, and on materials in which steel lasts outdoors.
Illuminated and backlit options
For business signage we can build lettering or a fascia panel designed to be backlit, so light spills around the edges or through cut detail for a halo effect after dark. This needs to be planned into the design from the start — the depth, standoff and any cut-outs all change — so tell us early if you want it lit.
Whether it's a single house number or a run of branded plates for a site, send us the wording and a rough idea of the look, and we'll turn it into a proof to approve.
Related: how custom fabrication works here and choosing a finish. Or browse letters & signs in the shop.