How We Make Our Plates

Classic Raised-Letter Plate — $29.95
Choose a solid plate color. Your letters are vacuum-formed directly into the polystyrene (plastic) plate—not embossed metal.

Flat Sublimated Plate — $34.95
Choose a background from our catalog or upload your own. Your background and any added wording are printed flat, with no raised lettering.

Sublimated Background + Raised Lettering — $39.95
Choose a background from our catalog or upload your own. The background is printed flat, then a separate clear plastic overlay with vacuum-formed raised letters is placed on top.

The raised-letter overlay is separate from the protective cover. These are novelty/display plates, not government-issued registration plates. Learn about flat sublimation.

Prices are before shipping and tax.

The steps below show how we make raised-letter plates. Fully flat sublimated plates are printed without vacuum forming or hand-painted letters.

How the clear raised-letter overlay fits

The overlay carries the raised lettering and sits directly over the flat printed background. The protective cover is a separate piece.

Flat printed plate and clear raised-letter overlay held apart
The two layersThe plate background is printed flat using sublimation. The clear plastic overlay is made separately.
Close-up of raised blue lettering on the clear plastic overlay
The raised letteringThe letters are vacuum-formed into the clear plastic and painted.
Framed novelty plate with blue raised lettering over the flat printed background
The finished plateThe clear overlay is placed on top of the printed plate so the background shows through.

Step 1

Vacuum Forming & Lettering

For a classic solid-color plate, we heat polystyrene (plastic) and vacuum-form it over the letters, so the raised lettering is part of the plate itself.

For a sublimated background with raised lettering, we print the background flat and vacuum-form the letters into a separate clear polystyrene overlay placed on top. The background is not molded, and the raised-letter overlay is separate from the protective cover.

Step 2

Painting & Drying

On raised-letter plates, each letter is hand-painted to match your selected text color, then hang-dried for 15–20 minutes to set the paint. Fully flat sublimated plates do not use this painting step.

Step 3

Final Assembly

Holes are punched for easy mounting, and the plate is framed with a protective cover to maintain durability and shine.

See Raised Lettering Made at a Show

At in-person events, watch our family make raised-letter plates while you wait.

Online orders are made in 1–3 business days, plus shipping time. Contact us for upcoming event details or start building your plate online.