---
title: "Crystal & Awards Printing in Dubai | Full Colour on Crystal"
description: "Full colour UV printing on crystal awards, trophies and plaques in Dubai. Photographs, logos and Arabic printed onto the crystal, not engraved into it."
url: https://www.sunstudio.ae/services/crystal-awards-printing-dubai/
type: service
site: Sun Studio, Dubai
---
# Crystal & Awards Printing in Dubai

Sun Studio prints **full colour directly onto crystal and glass awards** from our studio in Al Quoz. Photographs, gradients, brand colours and Arabic calligraphy go onto the piece and are cured there, rather than being cut into it.

It is specified for award ceremonies and gala nights, employee recognition and long service, sports and academic prizes, partner and sponsor plaques, and commemorative pieces in Dubai and across the UAE. We print on awards you supply, or source the crystal on request. This is colour printing, not engraving.

![An octagonal crystal award printed in full colour with a photograph and gold lettering, presented in a black gift box](https://www.sunstudio.ae/shots/svc-crystal-awards.jpg)

## What we can print

Anything flat enough to sit on the bed, and most award shapes are:

- **Crystal awards and trophies**: octagonal, rectangular, star, diamond and iceberg blanks.
- **Glass and crystal plaques**: partner, sponsor and commemorative boards.
- **Photo blocks and paperweights**: a full photograph inside the piece.
- **Acrylic awards**: where weight, budget or shipping rules out crystal.
- **Bases and plinths**: printed to match the award rather than left plain.
- **Medals, shields and desk pieces**: the rest of the ceremony.
- **Presentation boxes**: so the box carries the branding too.

## Printing capabilities

Awards ask for two things at once: a finish that looks expensive, and a different name on every piece.

- **Full colour photographic printing**: a portrait, a logo lockup or a gradient, at photographic quality.
- **White ink**: the layer that makes colour read on clear crystal instead of disappearing into it.
- **Personalisation**: a different name on every award at no extra setup, because there is no screen and no plate.
- **Arabic and bilingual lockups**: set and printed at the resolution the calligraphy deserves.
- **Second surface printing**: the image printed on the back face so it is read through the crystal, with the crystal itself between the print and anyone handling the front.
- **Raised and textured ink**: a logo you can feel, built up in layers.

![A printed partner plaque for the Museum of the Future with bilingual text and partner logos in full colour](https://www.sunstudio.ae/gallery/glass-07.jpg)

*A partner plaque printed in full colour, bilingual, with a dozen logos holding their own brand colours.*

## Printed or engraved

Almost every crystal award in the UAE is decorated one of two ways, and the difference is not quality. It is colour.

### Laser engraving

A laser fractures the crystal, on the surface or inside it, to leave a frosted mark. It is permanent, it cannot wear off, and on a plain logo it looks classic.

The limit is physical: the mark is frost. It has no colour of its own, so a brand colour, a gradient, a photograph or a two-colour logo cannot be reproduced. Everything arrives as the same white.

### Direct UV printing

Ink is laid onto the crystal in full colour and cured as it goes down, with a white layer underneath wherever the colour needs to hold against clear glass.

That puts photographs, gradients, exact brand colours and bilingual lockups on the award, and lets every piece in a run carry a different name for no extra setup.

### Which to ask for

If the artwork is a single-colour logo and the brief is a traditional trophy, engraving is a good answer and plenty of Dubai suppliers do it well.

If the artwork has a photograph, more than one colour, a gradient, or a name that changes on every piece, printing is the only one of the two that can do it. Our guide to [custom trophies, awards and plaques in Dubai](https://www.sunstudio.ae/insights/custom-trophies-awards-plaques-dubai/) compares the options material by material.

## Who this is for

Awards work reaches us from:

- **Corporate HR and internal communications**: employee of the year, long service, sales awards.
- **Event and awards organisers**: gala nights and industry ceremonies, usually to a fixed date.
- **Trophy shops and gifting companies**: who supply the crystal and use us for the colour.
- **Government entities and authorities**: recognition and commemorative pieces, usually bilingual.
- **Schools, universities and sports clubs**: graduation, tournaments and prize days.
- **Banks, developers and hotels**: partner, sponsor and milestone plaques.

## What to send before we can quote

An awards order is a deadline with a names list attached, so lead with both:

- **The ceremony date**: the date the awards must be in hand, not the date they leave us.
- **The award**: a photo or the model, its size, and whether you are supplying it or want it sourced.
- **Quantity**, and whether every piece is identical or personalised.
- **Artwork**: logo as vector, and any photograph at full resolution rather than pulled from social media.
- **The names list** in the exact spelling and order required, in Arabic as well if the piece is bilingual.
- **Whether boxes are needed**, and whether they are branded too.

## How it works

**Step 1**

Send

The date, the award, the quantity, the names list and the artwork.

**Step 2**

Review

We confirm what the piece needs, whether white ink is required, and whether the date is realistic.

**Step 3**

Sample

One award is printed and approved before the run, names included.

**Step 4**

Produce

The order is printed, checked against the names list, boxed and ready for the date.

## Awards and plaques we have printed

Full colour on crystal, glass and acrylic:

![Close detail of a crystal award printed in full colour with a photograph and gold script lettering](https://www.sunstudio.ae/cases/crystal-award-print-detail.jpg)

*A photograph and gold script printed on the crystal. Engraving reaches none of this.*

## Technical considerations

Crystal is the hardest kind of substrate to design for, because it is not a background. It is clear, it is thick, and it bends what is behind it.

What that means in practice:

### Clear needs white behind it

Printed straight onto crystal with no white layer, colour goes transparent and weak. White ink is what makes it read.

### Thickness refracts

A heavy bevelled award bends the image at the edges, so artwork is placed for how it looks through the crystal, not how it looks flat.

### Photographs need resolution

An award is held at arm’s length and studied. A social media export does not survive that.

### Names are the real risk

A printed name cannot be corrected afterwards, so the spelling list is checked before the run, not after.

### Bevels and curves

The printer needs a flat face to work on, so a heavily curved or faceted area is a design constraint, not a surprise at the end.

## Common questions

### Can you print a photograph in full colour on a crystal award?

Yes. UV printing puts a full colour photograph directly onto the crystal, with a white ink layer behind it so the image holds instead of going transparent. Laser engraving cannot do this, because an engraved mark is frost and has no colour of its own.

### What is the difference between UV printing and laser engraving on crystal?

Engraving fractures the crystal to leave a frosted, single-colour mark. UV printing lays ink on the surface and cures it, in full colour. Engraving suits a plain one-colour logo. Printing is the one to ask for when the artwork has photographs, gradients, exact brand colours or bilingual artwork. Sun Studio prints; engraving is a separate trade.

### Do you supply the awards or print on ones we provide?

Either. Many clients send their own crystal blanks and use us for the printing. If you would rather we source the awards, tell us the shape, size and quantity.

### Can every award carry a different name?

Yes, and it costs no extra setup. There is no screen or plate to change between pieces, so a run of fifty awards with fifty different names prints the same way as fifty identical ones.

### What is the minimum order for printed crystal awards?

There is no minimum. One award prints as readily as a hundred, which is why single retirement and commemorative pieces are a regular part of this work.

### Can you print Arabic on a crystal award?

Yes, including bilingual Arabic and English lockups. Send the Arabic as outlined vector artwork where possible, so the calligraphy is not re-rendered by a font substitution.

### Will the printed colour scratch off or fade?

The ink is cured onto the crystal as it is printed, and in our experience an award kept on a desk or a shelf holds up well. Like any printed surface it can be marked by abrasives or a sharp edge, so clean it with a soft cloth. Printing on the back face, read through the crystal, keeps the image away from handling at the front.

### How long does an awards order take?

It depends on the quantity and whether we are sourcing the crystal, so there is no fixed figure. Send the ceremony date first and we will tell you honestly whether it works. A sample is always printed and approved before the run.

### Do the awards come in presentation boxes?

Yes, and the box can be branded as well. Say at quoting stage whether boxes are needed, because it changes both the cost and the lead time.

## Related services

- [Glass Printing](https://www.sunstudio.ae/services/glass-printing-dubai/) (Service)
- [Acrylic Printing](https://www.sunstudio.ae/services/acrylic-printing-dubai/) (Service)
- [Corporate Gift Printing](https://www.sunstudio.ae/services/corporate-gift-printing-dubai/) (Service)
- [Metal & Aluminium Printing](https://www.sunstudio.ae/services/metal-aluminium-printing-dubai/) (Service)
- [Cylindrical & 360° Printing](https://www.sunstudio.ae/services/cylindrical-printing-dubai/) (Service)

## Related insights

- [Custom Trophies, Awards and Plaques in Dubai: Printed, Not Just Engraved](https://www.sunstudio.ae/insights/custom-trophies-awards-plaques-dubai/) (Corporate gifts & events)
- [Corporate Gifting in the UAE: Qahwa Cups, Candles and Perfume](https://www.sunstudio.ae/insights/corporate-gifting-uae-qahwa-cups-candles-perfume/) (Corporate gifts & events)
- [Printed Glass for Cafes, Restaurants and Retail in Dubai](https://www.sunstudio.ae/insights/uv-printing-on-glass-in-dubai-where-it-works-best/) (Glass & interiors)
- [How Long Does UV Printing Last? The Five Things That Actually Decide It](https://www.sunstudio.ae/insights/how-long-does-uv-printing-last/) (Buyer's guides)

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**Sun Studio**: direct-to-surface UV printing. Al Quoz First, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  
Phone and WhatsApp +971 4 346 7422 · info@sunstudio.ae · [https://www.sunstudio.ae/contact/](https://www.sunstudio.ae/contact/)

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