FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions about Our Custom Front License Plates

Can you print just a single tag for me?

Our minimum order quantity starts at 5 auto tags at the low end, and ranges from 25 to 100 to 125 plates for other plates depending on production method, so we do not print single plates. Why the minimum order quantity? Two reasons: First, for most plate types, we utilize either screen-printing or official state-license-plate-grade production technology. These are the most durable and long-lasting methods of outdoor-grade printing available. Plus, regardless of plate type, we offer bona-fide custom plate design rather than quick-and-dirty fill-in-the-blank templates. Both of these factors require some up-front time before your job is ready to print, which we need to recover via the minimum order quantity.

So do you have a setup charge, then?

No, tag design and press make-ready are both included, except in rare cases — less than 1 in 10 — when art is complex.

Do you have a brochure or info packet you can send me by email or postal mail?

We used to when our product line was narrower. Since it has been expanding, however, we’ve decided to keep our efforts focused on the website for efficiency’s sake, as we run a lean operation.

Do you sell tag bla nks, fra mes, or cov ers?

We specialize in printing of license plates only. Selling fra mes and cov ers is outside our primary interest in producing an item with an emphasis on unique custom design. Offering tag bla nks would be a different business than screen-printing. (Requires an aluminum manufacturing or finishing plant, and/or warehousing operation.)

Do your front license plates have embossed (raised) letters like state-issued car tags?

Yes, some of them do (see our price/ features comparison chart). Embossed plates take longer to produce, though, with a standard production time frame of 3 to 5 weeks (excepting rush orders at added cost). Our flat aluminum plates cost less and can be turned around faster. The tradeoff is up to you. Embossed aluminmum plates do enhance the looks when viewed up close, however keep in mind that beyond about 10–15 feet, embossing is not as noticeable. There are several factors that determine how nice your license plates will look, the most important of which, we feel, is their graphic design, which we specialize in. Whether embossed or not, all of our aluminmum plates except our short-run ecosolvent-printed aluminum car tags are screen-printed or resin-printed, and all our plates printed on aluminum use glossy inks on a high-gloss, durable stock. It is a rare customer who finds the appearance anything less than first-rate or is less than pleased, regardless of plate type. See our testimonials page for customer comments.

So how long will your license tags last?

It depends on the type of plate material and inks used. See our handy price and features comparison chart for an easy-to-scan bird’s-eye view of the life expectancies of the different plates we offer.
About non-fade ink life, ink adhesion, and plate blank durability. In general, there are three factors that determine the overall usable lifetime: the non-fade rating of the ink used, how well it adheres to the substrate and stands up to weathering outdoors, and the durability of the plate material itself. (Fading is caused by the ultraviolet — or “UV” — rays in sunlight.) We sell several different types of license plates with different cost/ performance tradeoffs:

Screen-printed polyethylene plastic (#40255)
Screen-printed flat aluminum (#40124) and embossed aluminum (#40031 and #40033)
Commercial eco-solvent inkjet on aluminum (#40101)
Atlas Duraplates industrial-resin-printed aluminum (#40066)

Here’s how they stack up:
Screen-printed polyethylene plastic. With these plates the fade-resistance of the outdoor-grade screen inks, at 5–7 years, exceeds the durability of the plate material, which has a maximum life expectancy of about 5 years in serviceable condition. Important note: The cheapest type of plastic plates, polystyrene, which we don’t sell, have a life expectancy in decent condition of probably only about a year or two under real-world conditions. The most notable situation where polystyrene tags are used is with auto dealerships where the plates are put on cars sitting on the lot as well as being test-driven. Often the period of use lasts just until purchase, after which many customers discard them. While polystyrene can be fine in this type of situation, unless you have a similar short-term need, you may be disappointed, which is why we carry polyethylene plastic instead for longer-term name identification and promotion. For more details on polyethylene vs. polystyrene, see our Aluminum vs. Plastic article.
Screen-printed aluminum. Here, the situation is the reverse of that above, since the aluminum plate itself will hold up in good condition for some years after any ink fading begins to occur. Aluminum plates will easily outlast the 5 to 7-year non-fade screen ink life. (A 5 to 7-year fade-resistance rating is the best promise any printer can legitimately make — this is the maximum that will be guaranteed by manufacturers of screen inks, which have long been the de facto “gold standard” for printing durability outdoors.) We have seen some of our screen-printed aluminum plates on the road in good condition after 10 years. Even after screen inks begin to fade a bit, which may not be too noticeable, ink adhesion remains good. The overall ink lifetime is therefore significantly longer if you don’t mind a modest degree fading after 5 to 7 years.
Commercial eco-solvent inkjet on aluminum. These are actually printed on outdoor-grade vinyl sheeting as used in the commercial sign industry, which is then laminated to the aluminum. A layer of clear protective vinyl overlaminate goes on top of the printing, without which these inks would not stand up to the elements well. The Roland eco-solvent inks used have a reputation throughout the sign industry as the standard by which other solvent inkjet inks are measured, with a true 3 years of UV-resistance in sunlight outdoors before fading begins to take place. The clear overlaminate is good for about 7 years, which is less than the 10-year durability of the aluminum, and which thereby determines the overall material life of the plate.
Atlas Duraplates industrial-resin-printed aluminum. These are printed on a state license plate production line and use industrial resin inks, which have been superseding screen-printing inks for state license plate manufacture because they enable digital printing. (Industrial resin printing is also an industry standard in highway road sign manufacturing.) Industrial resin equals or exceeds the fade-resistance and weatherability of screen-printing inks. These plates will outlast any other volume-priced plates on the market, including our screen-printed plates, for two reasons that have to do with the plate construction and materials both. The debossed rim (depressed flange) around the perimeter stiffens the plate to a level that resists bending from accidental bumps and impacts better than other aluminum plates. (Even better than the added rigidity of our embossed plates from their embossed outer border.) Also, the tough highway-grade clear overlaminate applied after printing (same as specified by state transportation departments) protects against small stone-chipping to maintain the artwork’s first-class appearance against wear and tear longer.

What’s the difference between screen-printing inks and industrial resin inks? Is one better than the other?

Screen-printing and industrial resin inks have approximately the same durability in terms of fade-resistance (5 to 7 years — longer than any others commonly used outdoors) and superior long-term wear-resistance to the elements. Aside from the chemical differences, which we won’t get into, the main practical difference is in the cost and the applications each is used for. Screen-printing is least expensive and can be printed on pre-cut license plate blanks. Industrial resin inks are printed digitally and used with continuous roll-fed printers and materials — in our case, with reflective license plate sheeting as used on state-license-plate-grade tags, which are more deluxe plates overall.

Can you print more than one plate design or color scheme for the same plate order?

With two of our Atlas Duraplates-brand plates (items #40063 and #40066), yes. With all other plate types, each order must consist of the same design and color scheme for all plates in a run. Atlas Duraplates are manufactured on a state license plate production line that is able to handle semi-automated ganged production at a reasonable extra cost. (For additional order amount, see the specific product pages.) This is how we can offer EMS and fire department plates with individualized officer/ member titles that need to be custom-fitted to the available space. Also, Atlas Duraplates can be printed with what is called “variable data” output, such as serial numbers or other unique lettering imprinted in the same font, size, and location on each plate (item #40067).

Can we use front license plates in our state?

Here are the states allowing front bumper auto tags: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia. U.S. territories: Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. Canadian provinces: Alberta, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Yukon Territory.

We’re ready to get started and would like you to design our plates. What do we need to do for you to begin?

Just email or fax us a rough layout or sketch, and/or
send us your logo, symbol, or other artwork, plus
the info you want on your license plates,
and we’ll do the rest.
Once we have everything we need from you, in three days we’ll have your design posted to a web page for your review, and will email you the link.

How long till my order ships?

Standard turnaround varies depending on plate type from 1 or 2 to 3 to 5 weeks (counting from the date payment is received), plus the UPS Ground delivery transit time. (See our price/features comparison chart for an overview of production times.) Delivery time usually ranges from 2–4 days depending on which state you’re located in, but may be shorter or longer in some cases.

What about rush orders?

In a few cases — limited to customers who are prompt in supplying us with any needed artwork in usable form, and reply to communications quickly when feedback is needed — we may be able to accommodate rush orders. Keep in mind this is on a case-by-case basis, limited to any extra capacity that might be available at the time, and involves rush charges. Note: Rush orders require payment by credit or debit card.
If we are more than “normally busy,” rush work isn’t always feasible, so we advise planning ahead.

If we reorder at a later date, will the artwork created for our original order still be around to use?

Yes, you bet. All artwork for every order (whether created by us or supplied by you) is kept on file permanently, so reorders are a breeze. You also receive a discount for repeat orders that use the same exact artwork. See main pricing page for the discount amount.

Can colored backgrounds be printed full-bleed to extend all the way to the edge of the tag like white backgrounds?

For screen-printed plastic: Yes. Our polyethylene plastic plates are die-cut after printing, and full-bleeds are not a problem.
For screen-printed aluminum: No, not quite. Printing takes place on pre-fabricated blanks, and colored backgrounds (printed on white plates using ink) are surrounded by a narrow white margin of 3/16” for flat aluminum plates, and 1/4” for embossed aluminum. This minimum distance must be allowed for between the edge of the license plate and printed areas to accommodate the silk-screen squeegee stroke and/or handling plates during the stacking process when curing/ drying plates. See our pages of license plate designs for examples.
For Atlas Duraplates state-license-plate-grade tags: Yes, with a slight qualification. With our state-license-plate-grade printing process, artwork is first printed onto roll-fed, adhesive-backed, white reflective sheeting, then automatically laminated onto roll-fed aluminum through a conveyor/ applicator before stamping out the plate. This process requires that the reflective sheeting be slightly narrower than the full width of the aluminum, after application, so that the adhesive-backed sheeting doesn't gum things up moving through the conveyor apparatus. “Full-bleed” printing in this case will be completely full-bleed on the top and bottom of the plate, and it will also cover the full width of the sheeting as well. However, there will be a 1/16” margin of silver-colored aluminum on the left and right plate edges adjacent to the printed sheeting.
In practice, this isn't particularly noticeable or worthy of comment, especially since the debossed rim inside the outer perimeter of the tag defines the perceived edge of the plate artwork more strongly when viewed close up. This is actually exactly how official state license plates are produced if you look closely (although some states may not deboss the rim). There is no other way to print and successfully laminate roll-fed reflective sheeting onto aluminum economically with an automated method at high speed. If you have any concern at all here, just ask for your free sample for evaluation which we’re happy to provide.

Can you match the color of our organization’s logo?

For spot-color screen-printed plates: Yes. But see the additional explanation two paragraphs below about how closely colors can reasonably be matched. Also remember that if the color is not within the range of standard colors offered for a given plate type, you need to specify a Pantone Matching System (PMS) number or furnish a physical sample for us to match. See our standard ink color chart page for more details.
If you do need a color-match, it will be reasonably close, but we cannot guarantee an absolutely perfect match. Please understand that this is a situation you’ll face with any company printing license plates, due to the inherent nature of the pigments used for outdoor inks. For those of you used to specifying Pantone/ PMS colors for commercial offset printing on paper, keep in mind that silk-screen inks used for printing on aluminum or plastic are different from regular inks that follow the Pantone system. Outdoor screen inks are formulated for durability and fade-resistance as primary concerns, so they utilize different pigments than those for regular commercial offset printing.
Screen inks consequently have different mixing characteristics so that standard Pantone ink-mixing formulas and ratios do not apply. Because of this, matching Pantone colors with outdoor silk-screen inks is inexact to some degree. While some colors can be matched very closely (though perhaps not perfectly), others may be less accurate, though still at least “reasonably close.” (For the same reasons, color can also vary a slight amount from one production run to another, should you reorder in the future.)
That being said, if you have a Pantone swatch book available, you can rely on the PMS number equivalents we list for our 45 standard colors as being very close. Though they may not be perfect matches, the Pantone swatch numbers listed in the chart were chosen as the closest PMS equivalents based on side-by-side comparisons with actual printed license plate colors. Where there is no “best” equivalent, we note the two PMS numbers the color falls between in the chart.
If you aren’t familiar with the Pantone system and have concerns about how your plates’ ink color(s) will look, we can send a color inkjet proof ahead of time. This will give you a better idea of what the color will look like than computer monitors. Computer displays vary in color depiction, sometimes widely, and shouldn’t be relied on for color verification decisions.
For full-color state-license-plate-grade tags: Colors can be matched to a degree, but remember that process-color photographic (CMYK) printing is inexact compared to Pantone color-matching. That said, we will do our best to see that the color is reasonably close, though as any printer will tell you, process-color printing by its nature frequently does not permit close color-matching. If you have concerns about how your plates’ ink color(s) will look, we're happy to send a proof on actual white reflective sheeting for your review prior to the production run for a modest additional charge. (Note: Be sure to allow for the extra few days required in your overall time frame to receive and review the proof.) This will show you exactly what the color will look like. Computer displays vary in color depiction, sometimes widely, and shouldn’t be relied on for color verification decisions.

My car doesn’t have a bracket for mounting an auto tag on the front bumper. How do I attach the tag?

In many cases there are holes already in place (sometimes hidden behind plastic caps) for mounting front license plates, where all you need are mounting bolts. However, some vehicles will require a special license plate mounting bracket, which can be purchased from an auto dealership. Alternatively, universal brackets may be available from auto supply stores to fit your vehicle in the $2–5 range.