Choosing a Lettering Style

The five styles

Style	Look	Ideal for
Classic serif	Elegant, traditional lettering with fine details (Playfair Display)	Weddings, anniversaries, family names, “Est.” dates and keepsakes
Modern sans	Clean, simple and very readable (Montserrat)	Names on bottles and pencil cases, business text, longer lines
Script	Flowing, handwritten-style lettering (Great Vibes)	Single names, romantic messages, bridesmaids and Mother’s Day
Typewriter	Slightly worn, vintage typewriter look (Special Elite)	Quotes, recipes, dates and retro or rustic designs
Bold block	Tall, strong capitals (Bebas Neue)	Home bar names, stag do shirts, slogans and anything that needs to stand out

Tips for readable lettering

Shorter text engraves and prints larger

Your text is sized to fit the space available, so the more characters you type, the smaller each letter becomes. “The Walker Bar” will be noticeably bigger than “The Walker Family Home Bar & Lounge”. If you want impact, keep it short. Abbreviations such as “Est.” help too.

Be careful with Script and all capitals

Script lettering is designed for upper and lower case, like handwriting. Typed in ALL CAPITALS, script letters become very hard to read. If you choose Script, type your text normally, for example “Emily & James” rather than “EMILY & JAMES”.

Bold block is always capitals

Bold block only has capital letters, so whatever you type will appear in capitals. That makes it great for short, punchy text, but less suited to long sentences.

Fine detail and small items

Classic serif and Script have thin strokes that look beautiful at a decent size. On small items, such as keyrings, or with long lines of text, a bolder style like Modern sans or Bold block will usually be clearer, especially when engraved.

Engraving vs printing

Engraving is single tone, burned into the material, so bold, simple lettering tends to give the crispest result on wood and glass. Printing is full colour and copes well with finer styles. See how laser engraving works for more.

Curved or straight text

On round items, such as our engraved wooden coasters, you can choose curved or straight text. Curved text follows the edge and suits short lines; straight text is easier to read for longer ones.

Check your spelling

We engrave and print exactly what you type, including capitals, punctuation and spelling, and we don’t correct names because unusual spellings are often deliberate. Check the preview carefully before you add your item to the basket. Our how to order guide explains the rest.