Corporate Recognition

Another year is coming to a close with the holidays and new year approaching where employees are getting ready for a break while employers are preparing to take a quick breather and get ramped up for the next year. Throughout the year employers work hard to stay ahead of the game, motivate employees, get their work done and work towards keeping the company in the green leaving them competitive in the market. While employers work hard to make game plans effective and try new tactics to keep employees to work efficiently... employees are coming in early, staying late and working through their lunches to make sure that they get all their work done to meet deadlines and quotas. Lets be honest though, we've got some slackers that hold the rest back... going around spreading gossip and causing more headaches than solving problems.

So how do you keep spirits high and keep momentum? Encourage creativity and reward hard work.
Take Zappo's for example, where they have continuously been on Forbe's Best Companies to Work For list and have relentlessly strived to bring the best out of their employees and make it a place where everyone works hard, has fun and is respected. From the inception of Zappo's, they have become an industry leader by broadening their horizons, challenging themselves and the employees.

These like many companies are closing up a successful year where they have sustained growth and continuously build momentum within their company structure.  The one thing we don't do enough and we are ALL guilty of it is say THANK YOU. Take this opportunity to say thanks to all of the hardworking teams, creative managers, exceptional sales reps, imaginative marketing and advertising teams to just name a few of those who deserve praise and acknowledgment. Here are a few awesome suggestions from Lut Crystalworks on how we can help you spread the creative appreciation.

Reward employees with unique recognition awards - check out Lut's selection here: http://lutcrystalworks.com/products/

If you dont see what your looking for... give us a call where one of our custom designers can help you create the perfect way to say thank you. 

How to Engrave

Everyday we give or receive awards to commemorate hard work, achievement and success. With this we take time to personalize each piece to acknowledge the individual or team/ company that have exceeded expectations and should be recognized for their efforts.
So how do we get your name on the award? Well, the engraving process takes time and has a sequential order to it. First we start with picking out the select style of the award(s) that will be engraving. Once the awards are picked- we make sure we get art approval. Basically we mock up all the names and logo(s) that will be on the award as well as clarify where they will be etched.
When art work is approved, we have to create photomasks of the art work that will be placed onto the awards.

Steps to Create a PhotoMask:
1. Create the art work and print the designs onto a film print.
2. Expose the film print art work to a photoresist film using UV lighting. Areas exposed to the UV light will harden because the film print prohibits the UV lighting to shine through the photoresist which will leave an exact outline of the artwork.
3. Use pressurized water to wash the photoresist film which will wash away the non-exposed areas and leave you with a photomask of your art work design.
4. Clean the appropriate spaces with some glass cleaner where the artwork will go on the awards.
5. Once awards are cleaned and dry- place photo mask on the award where the engraving will take place.

Check out this video to see how to apply a photomask to a flat surface. 

However, applying a photomask to a flat surface may not seem as hard and time consuming. So you may ask - what about curved surfaces? Well, curved surfaces are definitely a bit more tricky and timely. As seen in the video above, the artwork needs to be scaled at 100% to make sure it is perfectly accurate. Though, if its a curved surface (such as a bowl or a vase) we need to curve the wording and sometimes the image to make sure it fits well.

  Check out this video to see some helpful tips on applying a photomask to a curved surface.

Now that we have approved artwork, turned the artwork into a photomask and applied it to our piece(s) - its finally time to etch/engrave. When sandblasting,  we need to use a high-pressure of compressed air and sand that is only the best, purest and highest  quality rated that doesn't have any debris which can cause imperfections onto the piece being etched. Once the photomask is taped on and ready for engraving, it is placed in an etching machine where it the piece sits on top of a rack while high pressure sand is sprayed over it. The sand eats through the lighter part of the photomask which in turn ends up being the etched area on the award. 

Take a look and let us know what we can engrave for you today!

http://lutcrystalworks.com/

Lets Get Ready for the Holidays!

Now that Halloween's over and Black Friday is right around the corner, it's time to start thinking about the Holidays and gift giving. What better way than to give your clients or employees crystal ornaments!
Ornaments carry significance of appreciation and thoughtfulness and a great way to finish the year by saying Thank You!








Lut's stocked crystal ornaments are made from crystal or clear, jade or star-fire glass.

Since ornaments carry such significance, we understand that sometimes your looking for something more specific... for example - an ornament of your logo? Well, let us know what you specifically want so we can make it happen. We can water jet the shape and laser engrave, etch, or digital print your custom design onto the ornament. The ornaments come in pouches or presentation boxes. Prices may vary, dependent upon what type of material is used. Ornaments will be available on our site coming this week! Take a gander...