2 Ways To Get Custom Medals Fast

Short on time? That doesn’t mean you’re short on options!

Sometimes waiting more than a month for custom medals to be made just isn’t an option.

Maybe you’ve found yourself racing against a looming deadline or organising an impromptu event. Or maybe you’re watching the months slip by faster than you can catch them. 

Luckily, there are a few lesser-known ways to secure custom medals fast, without losing out on that ‘wow’ factor you’ve come to know and love.

At Badges And Medals, we’ve used these methods to help hundreds of clients win their race against time, ensuring they deliver memorable medals on even the shortest of notices. We reveal two of these in this article and how you can personalise them to your liking within your tight timeframe.

1. Custom wooden medals: 22-day turnaround time, including delivery

Luxurious materials can be added to wooden medals, like paua shell.

Wooden medals not only infuse your event with a warm, eco-friendly charm but also offer a speedy alternative to traditional metal medals. Unlike metal medals, which are made using complex moulding and casting processes, wooden medals are cut and engraved with a laser, resulting in a much quicker turnaround. Think three weeks instead of four! They even come with a custom design.

The best part is? This speed does not come at the cost of quality. Laser engraving is precise. It ensures the delicate features of your chosen design are etched with remarkable accuracy, leaving you with a flawless final product.

The medals themselves are often crafted from a variety of premium timbers, giving them an extra dash of luxury. The team at Badges And Medals can even cut the medals from wood native to your country if you want that extra special touch!

How long does it take to make a wooden medal?

Getting the design just right usually takes around 1-2 days. Once that's signed off, it takes another two to three weeks for the medals to come to life. Manufacturers often pair wooden medals with a custom ribbon since it takes about the same time to whip them up as it does to make the medals.

Do I have time to customise the wooden medal even more?

There are two ways you can customise your wooden medals, and each one adds time:

• Incorporate unique materials
  One of the most visually striking ways to customise wooden medals is by adding unique materials, such as paua shells or metallic stickers, because they add a sense of luxury. However, attaching them can be finicky work, adding up to 2-3 days to your wooden medal order.
  
  
• Engrave a personalised message
  Personalised engraving creates a unique connection between the recipient and their medal. Keep in mind that laser engraving may add an extra 1-2 days to the turnaround timeline.

2. New ribbons on old medals: 4 to 32 days turnaround time, including delivery

Adding new ribbons to old medals revamps their look in no time!

Do you have a collection of old, unused medals tucked away in a cupboard somewhere? If so, this is an excellent opportunity to breathe new life into them without the time constraints of purchasing brand-new medals. By simply changing one custom ribbon for another, you can give your old medals a fresh look and make them relevant to your upcoming event.

Here's how to go about it: 

• Check your old medals
  Give your old stock a once-over. Check they're clean and unblemished. Then check if they have anything that dates them, such as the previous event's year or sponsors. (This option might not be for you if they do: recipients might feel cheated or confused if they find out the medal they won wasn't made for them.) Next, find out what size ribbon you need by measuring the width of the medal's old ribbon or, if that's not available, the inside of the medal's ribbon bar.
  
  
• Select your new ribbons
  Pick a colour, style and design that best matches the theme or purpose of your event. Remember that the ribbons with the highest 'wow factor' are always custom-made and that you may need to contact a medal or ribbon manufacturer to help you achieve your goals.
  
  
• OPTIONAL: Send back your old medals
  You could carefully remove the old ribbons from your medals and attach the new ones in their place. But, honestly, who has the time? Reach out to your medal manufacturer and ask whether you can send them your old medals so they can do this step for you. Chances are that they can, and they even do it faster than you, given they've got the right equipment.

How long does it take to update a medal?

The time it takes to update your medal depends on the kind of ribbon you choose and if you need help putting it on. Take a look at your options and decide what suits you best: 

• Plain ribbons (2-5 days)
  You can purchase plain one- or two-coloured ribbons from a medal manufacturer or craft store in just a few hours if there's one in your town. The brunt of your time will be cutting the old ribbons off your medals, and then sewing or hooking the new ribbons on.
  
  
• Plain ribbons, plus help attaching them (3-5 days)
  It will take a few days for the medal manufacturer to receive your old medals in the post. Once they have them, they can take off the old ribbons and add the new ones quite quickly. We at Badges And Medals can take ribbons on and off our medals much faster than our competitors because we build a secret slot into the ribbon bars of our medals. Meanwhile, our competitors have to sew their ribbons on. We can 'update' about three medals a minute!
  
  
• Custom ribbons (27 days)
  It takes about four weeks to design, make and ship custom ribbons. During this time, you can remove the old medal's ribbons. It will take another few days to sew or hook the new ones on.
  
  
• Custom ribbons, plus help attaching them (30 days)
  It will take a few days for the medal manufacturer to receive your old medals in the post. This won't affect your dispatch date because it will take about four weeks for your custom ribbons to be made. Once they're ready, it takes a day or two for manufacturers to add them on.

Do I have time to customise the revamped medal even more?

Want to add a personal touch to your medals? No worries! You can get a custom engraving on the back of each one to include the recipient's name, the event they won, or the date of the achievement. Just keep in mind that this might tack on a couple of extra days to your medal order.

Want more information?

Being too short on time is something we all bump into now and again. That’s why we at Badges And Medals crowned 'speed' one of our three core company values: we understand how quickly event deadlines can crop up and close in. This commitment to speed is a value we've held dear. 

Over the past five decades, we've helped hundreds of customers deliver remarkable medals on short notice, and in writing this article, have taught you how you can follow in those footsteps.

However, if you're finding yourself truly pressed for time, we encourage you to explore our dedicated article, 'Fastest Ways To Get Last-Minute Custom Medals'. In this piece, we reveal the two fastest ways to secure unforgettable event medals, beating even the tightest of deadlines.