Struck Metal vs Full Color Inserts: Which Medal Do You Need?

Your artwork decides, not your budget

These are the two real choices in medal decoration, and clubs pick wrong often enough that it is worth spelling out. The deciding factor is not budget. It is your artwork.

When struck metal wins

A struck medal carries your crest as three-dimensional relief in the metal itself. For a bold, simple crest it is the more premium-looking option by a distance, and there is no printed element to age. Its limit is hard: relief is single-tone, so gradients and photographs simply do not survive the translation.

When a full-color insert wins

A printed center disc set into a metal frame reproduces anything you can print, including photography, gradients and exact sponsor brand colors. If a sponsor is funding your medals and has brand guidelines, this is usually the only option that satisfies them.

The common mistake

Clubs with a detailed, multi-color crest often ask for it struck because struck sounds better. The relief flattens the crest into one tone and the detail disappears. Send us the artwork and we will tell you honestly which method it suits before you commit.

You can mix them

Nothing stops you striking the champion medals and using inserts for the sponsored squad medals in the same order. Minimum order is 12 medals, production runs 2 weeks, and the mockup is free within 24 hours.