Winning Combo: Brushed Bronze On Black Acrylic

Bronze On Black Acrylic

New Material In NZ Catalog: Two-Color Acrylic

Bronze On Black Acrylic

Anyone fired up about the Winter Olympics in February? We are! (Who doesn’t love hockey, skiing, ice skating and curling, oh my!) And while bronze typically represents third place, our new brushed bronze on black acrylic is tops in our book.

While we love our brushed gold and brushed silver acrylics, the new brushed bronze on black is currently winning the favorites game. It has a subtle, darker finish that shows a lovely range of color when caught by the light. So classy. So elegant. And perfect for making signs, jewelry, bookmarks, electronics enclosures, clocks, or name tags and event badges.

Get Inspired: What You Can Make With Brushed Bronze On Black Acrylic

Why does this new brushed bronze on black acrylic work so well for so many applications? It’s all about the contrast.

Contrast is one of the key principles of design (in addition to alignment, hierarchy, balance, repetition, proximity, balance, color and space). It grabs attention and creates focus. So while contrast is critical for successful designs in print and online, it’s especially important when it comes to laser cutting.

In the past, makers would have to painstakingly hand paint details onto signs, jewelry and other small parts to get a striking contrast. But with two-color acrylics, achieving a sharp finish is oh-so-easy.

This is particularly true when it comes to typography. Text and geometric shapes work incredibly well on two-color acrylic, making it idea for signage like this functional (and necessary!) restroom sign.

Bronze On Black Acrylic 1 - Sign

For more decorative signs (like this one for a bed and breakfast), add graphics, script text and a unique shape for a one-of-a-kind brand builder.

Bronze On Black Acrylic 2 - Sign

With the holidays coming up, create beautiful ornaments and baubles to give to family and friends or sell in your Etsy shop. Add a name to personalize it!

Bronze On Black Acrylic 3 - Holiday Ornaments

You can even design slotted pieces like this Christmas tree decoration. Just look at the engraved snowflakes. So pretty!

Bronze On Black Acrylic 4 - Christmas Tree

When designing for two-color acrylics, don’t forget to think beyond the contrast of the substrate. Include contrast in typography (traditional vs. modern; serif vs. sans serif), lines (thick vs. thin; straight vs. curved) and shapes (big vs. small; geometric vs. organic) to create the most interest and impact. If you’re doing corporate work, ambigram logos also look really cool when laser engraved.

Benefits Of Two-Color Acrylics

Because the top layer is engraved away, the bottom layer of the acrylic is revealed. This results in excellent readability because the precision of the laser cutting gives the illusion that the graphic and lettering work is printed. Thus, this brushed bronze on black acrylic is ideal for products that need text or graphics along with the unique shape achieved with laser cutting.

Compared to printed paper products that seem more disposable, two-color acrylics offer more permanence and longevity. Cardstock is 0.3mm where this brushed bronze on black acrylic is 1.6mm thick—a massive difference compared to paper—so use two-color acrylics as an upgrade to standard printing for a more robust product to make an impact.

Two-color acrylics are also manufactured with a UV-resistant additive. So while there will naturally be some fading with extended sun exposure, these acrylics hold up much better in UV light, making them quite durable for signage applications.

Finally, this material is Microsurfaced Impact Modified Acrylics. This means it contains a small amount of polymer that is similar to rubber to give the acrylic extra strength and flexibility. As a result, two-color acrylics are slightly more flexible and melt a bit more during cutting than standard acrylics. This ability to be bent makes two-color acrylics particularly suitable for trophy plates.

Now Available: Brushed Bronze On Black Acrylic

With the addition of brushed bronze on black acrylic, there are now seven two-color acrylics in the NZ Catalog.

Bronze On Black Acrylic Sheet

Learn more about Brushed Bronze On Black Acrylic here and snatch a sample here.

Maker Tip: When designing for this material, make sure the small details for cutting are a bit bigger than they would normally be constructed on standard acrylics. Also keep in mind that the top layer is very thin so the underlying substrate is sometimes visible along the cut line as well. This is most noticeable in corners or angles of designs, so prepare files accordingly.

Be A Winner: What Will You Laser Cut With Brushed Bronze On Black Acrylic?

Want to create a winning look with your next project? This new bronze on black acrylic will take your designs from ordinary to extraordinary by creating contrast with color, typography and graphics.

Are you as stoked about this new two-color acrylic as we are? What do you want to make? (We’d love for someone to make a set of medals using the brushed gold, silver and bronze acrylics. Just sayin’!) Let us know what great ideas you have for using brushed bronze on black acrylic by leaving a comment below!

 

 

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