Medals

Custom Medals in Dubai — Event, Sports, and Achievement Medals by PrintStack

Medals remain one of the most direct and enduring forms of recognition available to event organisers, schools, sports federations, and corporate wellness programmes across the UAE. A medal placed around a participant's neck at a finish line or a graduation ceremony creates a moment that a certificate or trophy handed across a table simply cannot replicate, which is why marathons, corporate step-challenges, school sports days, martial arts gradings, and community fun runs across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah all rely on custom medals as their primary recognition item. PrintStack, a division of Forton General Trading LLC, designs and manufactures custom medals for event organisers, schools, sports clubs, and corporate clients throughout the UAE.

Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Die-struck metal medals are the traditional and most durable format, produced by stamping a design into a metal blank — typically zinc alloy, brass, or iron — using a custom-cut die. This process produces crisp raised or recessed detail with genuine depth and weight in the hand, and is the standard choice for marathons, endurance events, and any medal intended to feel substantial and long-lasting. Die-cast medals, produced by pouring molten metal into a mould, allow for more intricate three-dimensional detail and are typically used where a design includes fine relief work such as a detailed emblem or lettering combined with sculptural elements.

Soft enamel and hard enamel finishing add colour to a die-struck medal. Soft enamel is applied by hand into the recessed areas of the design, leaving the metal ridges slightly raised and visible to the touch, giving a tactile, traditional medal appearance. Hard enamel is fired and polished flush with the metal surface, producing a smooth, glass-like finish that reads as more premium and is often specified for corporate and sponsor-branded medals where a glossy, uniform finish is wanted. Full-colour offset or digital printing directly onto a metal or acrylic medal blank is available for designs with photographic detail, gradients, or many colours that would be impractical to reproduce in enamel.

Acrylic and wooden medals are a lighter, more affordable alternative used for school events, fun runs, and mass-participation activities where budget per unit is a key factor. These are laser-cut to any custom shape and can be printed, engraved, or a combination of both, and are popular for events wanting a modern, colourful look distinct from the traditional metal medal.

Plating, Ribbons, and Finishing

Standard platings include gold, silver, antique bronze, and antique gold, and nickel-free plating is available where skin sensitivity is a concern, relevant given how much direct skin contact a medal receives when worn around the neck. Ribbons are produced in any colour or combination of colours, printed with an event name, sponsor logo, or repeating pattern, and supplied in standard widths as well as wider premium ribbon for flagship events. Neck ribbon lengths and clip mechanisms are adjusted so medals sit comfortably and consistently regardless of the wearer's build, an important detail for events handing out medals to a wide range of ages and body types.

Sizes and Shapes

Standard medal diameters range from a compact 40mm suitable for children's events and participation medals through to the common 50mm to 70mm range used for most adult sporting and corporate events, up to large 80mm and above medals reserved for winner, first-place, and milestone anniversary designs. Shapes extend well beyond the classic circle: stars, shields, custom silhouette cuts of a company logo, mascot, or landmark, and multi-piece spinning medals where an outer ring rotates around a fixed centre disc are all achievable with custom tooling, and are frequently requested for flagship annual events that want a signature medal design distinct from generic stock shapes.

Use Cases Across the UAE

Medals are a staple of the UAE's active events calendar: city marathons and half marathons, corporate wellness step-challenges and charity walks, school sports days and annual prize-givings, martial arts belt gradings and tournaments, swimming and triathlon clubs, and government-run community fitness campaigns. Corporate clients also commission medals as internal recognition items for milestone achievements, sales targets, and long-service anniversaries where a medal format feels more personal and ceremonial than a standard plaque.

Ordering, MOQ, and Lead Times

Custom die-struck medals typically require a minimum order of 100 pieces to justify the cost of a bespoke die, though this die cost is a one-off and subsequent reorders of the same design carry no repeat tooling charge, making annual events with a consistent medal design increasingly cost-effective year on year. Acrylic and printed medals can be ordered in smaller quantities from as few as 50 pieces where a bespoke die is not required. Standard production lead time for die-struck medals is fifteen to twenty working days from design approval, reflecting the die-making and enamelling stages involved; acrylic and printed medals are typically ready within seven to ten working days. For time-critical events we recommend confirming medal artwork at least four weeks ahead of the event date to allow for design approval, die production, and finishing without rush charges.

Artwork Guidance

We ask for your event logo or emblem as a vector file, along with your preferred medal shape, size, plating colour, and ribbon colour. Our design team will produce a digital mockup showing the medal front, back, and ribbon combined before any die is cut, so you can review proportions and colour placement and request adjustments at no cost prior to production. For events with sponsor logos on the medal or ribbon, please confirm exact sponsor colour requirements and any logo usage guidelines in advance.

Request a Quotation

Whether you are organising a first-year community fun run needing 200 medals or a long-running city marathon ordering several thousand pieces annually, PrintStack's Dubai team can guide you through medal type, finish, and ribbon specification to fit your event budget and timeline. Send us your event details, expected participant numbers, and target date and we will prepare a quotation along with a design mockup for your review. Many organisers also ask us to advise on medal packaging, and we can supply individual poly sleeves, branded medal boxes, or bulk cartons depending on whether medals are handed out at a finish line or presented individually at a formal ceremony, ensuring the presentation experience matches the effort participants have put into earning the medal.