Two awards can look similar in a photograph and feel completely different when you pick them up.
The quality of the material, the sharpness of the printing, the weight in your hand, the finish around the edges, and even the way the piece is packaged all contribute to the final experience.
So, what are you actually paying for when you order a deal toy or award? Let’s pull back the curtain.
It Starts With the Material
Material is one of the biggest contributors to the cost—and perceived value—of an award.
Acrylic, crystal, glass, wood, and metal are available in different grades and from different sources. Products may look similar online, but lower-quality materials can reveal themselves through cloudiness, inconsistent color, rough finishing, surface imperfections, or a piece that simply feels less substantial than expected.
Premium materials provide:
- Better clarity, color, and consistency
- Cleaner cutting, polishing, and engraving
- Greater weight and presence
- Improved durability
- A more impressive presentation experience
The right material doesn’t just make an award look better. It helps the finished piece feel worthy of the achievement it represents.
Inks, Engraving and Embellishments
Your design still needs to be transferred onto the physical piece.
Depending on the product, this may involve:
- UV printing
- Specialty inks
- Laser engraving
- Color filling
- Metal or decorative components
- Embedded graphics or objects
- Multiple print areas or production techniques
The number of printed areas, colors, finishes, and embellishments all influence the work required to produce an order.
This is where technology and craftsmanship work together: specialized equipment delivers precision, while experienced production teams ensure the result meets the standard expected of a lasting recognition piece.
Preparing Your Artwork for Production
Even when you customize a product yourself, your artwork must be converted into something the factory can produce accurately.
Our online templates and built-in design elements are already prepared for production. When customers upload their own logos or images, our team may need to review or correct files that have resolution, formatting, scale, or print-quality issues.
That behind-the-scenes work helps ensure that:
- Logos reproduce clearly
- Text remains legible
- Artwork fits the available print area
- Colors and files are suitable for production
- Avoidable errors are caught before manufacturing
Unlike a traditional custom-design project, the online store does not charge a separate artwork or setup fee. Any standard preparation required to produce your order is built into the product price.
Setting Up the Factory
Before a machine can print, engrave, cut, or finish your award, it must be prepared for the specific product and artwork being produced.
The production team may need to:
- Review the production files
- Select and prepare the material
- Configure printing or engraving equipment
- Position and calibrate the artwork
- Test settings and alignment
- Complete finishing and polishing
- Inspect the final piece
This work is required whether you order one piece or one hundred.
Our online store has no minimum order quantity, so you can order exactly what you need. The store’s production-ready designs and streamlined manufacturing process allow us to offer single pieces and small quantities without adding a separate setup fee.
Skilled Hands Still Matter
Technology may provide precision, but it doesn’t replace craftsmanship.
Your order passes through the hands of people who understand how different materials behave, how artwork translates from screen to product, and what a finished award should look and feel like.
Depending on the design, the work may include:
- Material preparation
- Printing or engraving
- Assembly
- Polishing and finishing
- Cleaning
- Quality control
- Packing
These aren’t mass-produced objects pulled from a warehouse shelf. Each piece is personalized and produced for a specific recipient, achievement, or event.
Customer Service and Production Support
The product price also supports the people helping your order move successfully from customization to production.
That includes assistance with:
- Product and material questions
- Using the customization tool
- Artwork concerns
- Saved designs and account support
- Production updates
- Shipping and delivery questions
The goal is not simply to manufacture an object. It is to help you confidently order something important, often for a milestone, transaction, presentation, or event that cannot easily be repeated.
Packaging Your Order
An award needs packaging that does more than fit around it.
It must protect polished surfaces, sharp edges, printed artwork, and delicate components as the piece moves through the delivery network.
Packaging costs can include:
- Protective wrapping
- Product inserts
- Inner and outer cartons
- Reinforcement and cushioning
- Labels and documentation
- Materials appropriate to the product’s size and weight
Larger, heavier, or more complex pieces require additional protection. Good packaging helps your award arrive looking exactly as it did when it left our facility.
Shipping, Taxes and Duties
Shipping is charged separately from the product price because the cost depends on the order’s weight, destination, service level, and the number of delivery addresses.
Applicable taxes and import duties are also separate. These vary by destination and are calculated or collected in accordance with the requirements of the country or region receiving the order.
US customers: Any applicable U.S. tariff surcharge is included in the taxable subtotal of the invoice provided. If the final tariff amount is lower than the amount charged, the difference will be calculated and refunded.
In other words:
The product price shown before checkout includes the personalized piece and the work required to produce it. Shipping, applicable taxes, and duties are additional.
Your available shipping options and applicable charges will be presented at checkout or handled in accordance with the destination’s import requirements.
What You Won’t Pay
When ordering through the Altrum online store:
- There is no minimum order quantity
- There is no separate setup fee
- There is no separate standard artwork fee
- You don’t need to request a quote
- You can personalize and preview your design before ordering
The price isn’t simply for a block of material. It covers a complete production process designed to turn your artwork into a finished piece of recognition.
More Than the Sum of Its Parts
A deal toy or award brings together premium materials, production technology, skilled artisans, artwork specialists, customer support, careful finishing, and protective packaging.
The result is an object made to carry meaning.
It may commemorate a career milestone, recognize exceptional performance, celebrate a major transaction, or mark a moment that took years to achieve. Long after the event is over, the finished piece can remain on a desk, shelf, or office wall as a permanent reminder of what happened—and who made it possible.
That is the real value behind the price.
Learn More About Production and Shipping
