The Allure of Star Trophies. Honoring Excellence with Gold Star Trophies
Which medal to choose? Advantages and disadvantages of our medals
Winmed
Selection of a right medal can be mind-boggling, especially if you have no experience in this matter. We would like our clients to know as much as possible about our medals, including their advantages and disadvantages. This article will guide you through differences between particular types of medals.
Custom-made medals in our assortment
Our company manufactures custom-made medals for clients from all over Europe and the world. We advise, design, produce and then dispatch finished medals. Our clients can choose from the following four types of medals:
Cast medals
Cast medals are undoubtedly our products of choice for clients. We use cutting-edge technology to produce them ensuring their high quality. These medals are made of a zinc-aluminium alloy guaranteeing durability and strength. Cast medals also offer a wide range of personalisation possibilities. We can produce them in any shape, fill their elements with coloured enamel, add special elements, stamping patterns or openwork elements.
Standard or personalised ribbons are stitched to ready-made medals.
The lead time for such medals is 4 weeks from the design approval date.
Advantages:
- any possible shape
- robust and durable
- perfect workmanship
- unique design
- diverse personalisation options
- openwork elements, convex elements, coloured enamel, 2D or 3D relief
- stitched ribbons
Disadvantages:
- lead time up to 4 weeks
- most expensive medals in our assortment
Printed cast medals
This solution combines the advantages of a cast medal with colour printing. A part of a medal with a smooth, blank surface allows us to apply any UV colour prints. Therefore, we can apply several different prints on one medal shape, making it suitable for different events. It may come with standard or personalised ribbons.
The lead time for such medals is 2 weeks from the design approval date.
These medals enable you to create a consistent series with the same shape and different prints. This will certainly motivate participants to participate in the whole series of events and collect all medals.
Advantages:
- any possible shape
- robust and durable
- lead time up to 2 weeks
- personalised with coloured UV prints
- reusing the same medal shape eliminates the dice fabrication costs
Disadvantages:
- nor possibility to apply any special elements
Steel medals
This type of medal is made of metal sheets on which personalised UV prints, with or without the 3D effect, are applied.
The steel medal range is additionally divided into shape options, i.e. standard or any designed shape.
Steel medals standard shape
Standard steel medals are crafted on the basis of 5 ready-made metal sheets available in five colour versions (gold, silver, bronze, black and white).
Steel medals in the standard shape version can be personalised using UV colour printing on one or both sides. These medals can be combined with elements made from other materials.


STANDARD
print convexity up to 0.2 mm, option to apply varnish on selected surfaces

STANDARD +
print convexity up to 0.75 mm, option to apply varnish on selected surfaces, possibility to apply various structures and textures

PREMIUM
print convexity up to 0.2 mm, option to apply varnish on selected surfaces and combine various materials, personalisation options employing engraving or colour printing techniques
The major advantage of standard shape medals is their lead time amounting to 1 week from the design approval date.
Advantages:
- 3 personalisation levels
- lead time starting from 1 week
- affordable price
- high quality
- coloured prints with 3D effects
- possibility to combine materials
Disadvantages:
- 5 shape and colour versions
Steel medals in any designed shape
This is the second type of steel medals provided by our company. They are laser-cut from metal sheets in any designed shape. Their thickness vary from 2 to 10 mm, and they come in a wide range of colours. Various RAL colours (antique gold, silver, bronze – not shown) can be applied on powder-coated medals.
















STANDARD
print convexity up to 0.2 mm, option to apply varnish on selected surfaces

STANDARD +
print convexity up to 0.75 mm, option to apply varnish on selected surfaces, possibility to apply various structures and textures
Medals can be provided with eye-catching openwork elements or they may create a medal-puzzle. Personalised or standard ribbons are the ultimate finishing elements. Their lead time starts from 2 weeks from the design approval date.
Advantages:
- any designed shape
- precise workmanship
- lead time starting from 2 weeks
- personalised with UV prints
- 15 colours to choose from
- openwork elements
- possibility to create medal-puzzles
Disadvantages:
- none
Eco medals
Eco-friendly solutions appear in virtually every field. It is no different in our industry. Eco-medals are environmentally-friendly solutions, mainly due to the use of plywood or birch wood discs for their production.
Medals made of plywood are personalised using laser engraving and colour printing technologies, and we can also combine them with other materials (plexiglass, laminates). Such medals are finished with a personalised or standard ribbon.
Medals made from birch wood discs are personalised using laser engraving or colour printing techniques. They are available in two sizes, i.e. 60 – 70 mm and 90 – 100 mm. A finished birch wood medal is attached to a jute cord.
Apart from their eco-style, advantaged of these medals include high speed of production and affordable price. They constitute the cheapest, economy solution exuding a certain charm and additionally giving off beautiful scent.
Advantages:
- cheapest medals in our assortment
- personalised with engraving or UV printing techniques
- combination of materials (plywood medals)
- any possible shape (plywood medals)
- short lead time
- eco-friendly
Disadvantages:
- very lightweight
Summary
Cast medals | Steel medals | Eco medals | ||||
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Medal type | ![]() 3D |
![]() 2D |
![]() medals |
![]() (standard shape) |
![]() (any shape) |
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Material | Zamak | Zamak | Zamak | Steel | Steel | Wood, plywood |
Cross-section of the medal | ![]() |
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Double-sided embossing | UV printing | UV printing | UV printing | UV printing / engraving | ||
Colour filling | (up to 8 colors) |
(up to 8 colors) |
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Size | up to 105 x 220 mm | up to 105 x 220 mm | up to 105 x 220 mm | ![]() |
any | any |
Any shape | ||||||
Openwork | ||||||
Thickness | from 3 to 12 mm | ~ 3,5 mm | 2 mm | from 2 to 10 mm | from 3 to 10 mm | |
Production time (from the approval of the design) |
4 weeks | 4 weeks | 2 weeks | 1 week | 2 weeks | 1 week |