BMI's FAQ's

Engraved bricks have proven to raise substantial revenue for organizations. Engraved bricks make a permanent connection between the donors and the fund raising organization.

Everyone! We provide our products to:
· Organizations looking for a profitable fund raising idea
· Organizations looking to create a lasting memorial
· Organizations looking for promotional gifts
· Organizations looking for employee or donor recognition
· Architects and developers looking for continuous designs (arrays) for creating borders to driveways, entrance designs, centerpiece design. etc.
· Individuals for various reasons: new home, wedding, gift, memorial, pet grave marker, etc.

It's easy! Just call 1-800-634-8948, email us at info@brickmarkers.com or visit our website at www.brickmarkers.com and submit an inquiry on our "Contact" page. You will then be contacted by a customer service/sales representative and they will send you our brochure within 48 hours. We will help you determine:

- Donation levels that will allow you to maximize your revenue potential
- How many bricks or tiles can be placed within your designated area
- Which brick or tile is best for your project
- What level of service is appropriate for your program

This is a very difficult question to answer. A project for a local high school would drastically vary from a professional football stadium project. We cannot determine your cost however we can provide you with ideas that will assist in keeping your expenses down. For example: you will need to create a flyer or brochure for your brick campaign. A local printer may be willing to discount his services provided you offer a free brick acknowledging his contribution. This offers you a discount on printing services and offers the local printer a great source of advertisement.

For sixteen years we have been providing the ultimate fund raising products. We offer profitable fund raising and marketing strategies tailored to fit your unique needs. We are focused on your needs and will work closely with you to define and meet your fundraising goals. Our patented processes are the ultimate "Green" technology and we guarantee our engraving will not fade, chip, oxidize, peel or separate from the brick paver or tile for the life of the surface of the engraved brick, paver or tile. Since the inception of our company in 1995, none of our engraved products have ever been replaced for any of the above reasons. In the end you want your brick campaign to be successful and maintenance free, so you can feel confident that your donors have the assurance of knowing that their bricks will last a lifetime. It is important that 100% of the revenue raised is allocated for the initial fundraising cause and not into replacing any bricks that do not meet the standards of your committee/board and your donors. Additionally, the overall longevity and appearance of your brick/tile area will have a direct reflection of how successful your campaign will be.

The answer is - indefinitely. How many brick surfaces have you seen that are worn down? Not many! Although bricks that have been installed in the ground for hundreds of years do show signs of wear. For example, in the city of Philadelphia, brick streets, buildings, walls, etc. have been constructed and have lasted for hundreds of years. Horses and buggies traveled across these bricks time and time again, causing wear. Our ancestors produced bricks with the skills of their time. With today's technology, computer-controlled high temperature kilns produce a far superior brick.

It is simply not necessary with our patented Vitralase® and Vitrix® laser engraving processes. In fact, depth is a disadvantage. To explain: Depth has been defined as durability, not so. The very element that creates breakdown is depth. Deep engraving contributes towards weakening and voids the brick of its strength. Over a period of time or simply at the time of installation, the small projected pieces of the characters are subject to chipping or breaking away. This causes the letters to be illegible. Environmental debris (sand, food, etc.) falls within the deep engraving, in turn, causing a maintenance problem.

Clay based products that meet all of the ASTM standards in the industry. Please see our manufacturers section of our website.

Hardened glass! Our patented Vitralase® and Vitrix® processes are created with the technology of lasers. By directing a continuous flow of intense laser energy, the image is vitrified into the brick or tile. The vitrification process actually converts the engraved portion of the clay product into a hardened glass. The indelible engraving is actually harder than the brick itself. Clay brick and glass are two substances that stand the test of time!

The hardened glass-fill method eliminates fading, oxidizing, maintenance cost, etc. Glass is inorganic, an inert substance and is not subject to chemicals, acid rain or infrared and ultraviolet rays i.e., sunlight. The hardened glass is impossible to fade, oxidize, peel and is virtually maintenance free. For example, have you ever walked along the seashore and come across a piece of "sea glass"? It was once a part of a glass bottle, the glass is still brown or green. However, it has a frosted appearance from the abrasion caused by sand when the seashore tides move in and out. It is constantly in the ultraviolet rays, but it is still brown or green. Other fill methods, such as, paint, epoxies and grouts are organic substances and are subject to infrared and ultraviolet rays. Over a period of time, these substances will fade and break down; due to sunlight, acid rain, chemicals and the environment. Cost and inconvenience becomes a factor in refilling each brick, or if left unattended, a cosmetically unappealing brick. In most cases, breakdown would result in replacement of the brick.

Epoxies (plastics) are susceptible to breakdown, they begin to shrink and fade. Shrinking allows moisture to build in between the epoxy and the brick. This may allow algae to grow, causing a maintenance problem and a cosmetically unappealing brick. Expansion and contraction is also a problem. The rate of expansion and contraction of epoxy vs. the brick itself are at different rates. This may allow the epoxy to separate from the brick. Paints and grouts are just as susceptible to breakdown, similar to epoxy. However, they are more susceptible to chipping, especially if pressure cleaning for maintenance is required. Just as you pressure clean a building to remove the old oxidized paint to prepare for repainting, this same effect would occur with the bricks, causing a maintenance problem and a cosmetically unappealing brick.

Our patented processes are the ultimate "Green" technology and we guarantee our engraving will not fade, chip, oxidize, peel or separate from the brick paver or tile for the life of the surface of the engraved brick, paver or tile. Our patented Vitralase® and Vitrix® processes are created with the technology of lasers. By directing a continuous flow of intense laser energy, the image is vitrified into the brick or tile. The vitrification process actually converts the engraved portion of the clay product into a hardened glass. Glass is inorganic, an inert substance and is not subject to chemicals, acid rain or infrared and ultraviolet rays i.e., sunlight. The hardened glass is impossible to fade, oxidize, or peel and is virtually maintenance free.

Laser etching and laser cutting are often incorrectly referred to as laser engraving. These processes etch or cut into the brick and then are filled will paint or epoxy for contrast. Paint, epoxies and grouts are organic substances and are subject to infrared and ultraviolet rays. Over a period of time, these substances will fade and break down; due to sunlight, acid rain, chemicals and the environment. Paint is susceptible to chipping, especially if pressure cleaning for maintenance is required.

Don't be mislead into believing that companies offering laser etching and laser cutting can provide your organization a high quality product and engraving method. Brick Markers® patented laser engraving offers a level of quality and detail not attainable through traditional techniques such as laser etching and laser cutting. In the end you want your brick campaign to be successful and maintenance free. It is important that 100% of the revenue raised is allocated for the initial fundraising cause and not into replacing any bricks that do not meet the standards of your committee/board and your donors. The overall longevity and appearance of your brick/tile area will have a direct reflection of how successful your campaign will be.

We guarantee a lifetime of durability. Our patented Vitralase® and Vitrix® processes will last as long as the durability of the brick's surface.

We offer a lifetime guarantee on our engraved mark, as long as the brick surface is not compromised. The replacement guarantee depends on the replacement conditions. There may be other conditions that are unforeseen and in this instance we would need to determine the best solution for both us and our client.

Here are a few conditions and our resolutions:

- Client needs a brick replaced because there was a misspelling provided by the client on an order?

- We would replace the brick at the same cost originally charged to the client along with $4.50 for shipping and handling within the 48 contiguous U.S.

- Client needs a brick replaced because the brick was damaged during shipping?

Brick Markers® price structure includes shipping to your location within the 48 contiguous U.S. Statistically, we have found that organizations working on a brick campaign need to know up front what their bottom line cost is. Therefore, shipping is inclusive of our pricing structure so that there is no undetermined cost that can affect our client's profit margins.

Yes, because the goal of any fundraising campaign is to raise money for your cause and by offering multiple products (levels of giving), you can maximize your gross revenue. We also recommend selling custom corporate logos/arrays to generate an even greater profit margin.

Yes; we have many "program enhancers" to further increase your revenue and they can be viewed on our website under "products".

Yes; Replica programs add no additional effort and provide your organization with another great opportunity to increase revenue. This also allows your donors to have a replica to display at their home or office and strengthens the relationship between your organization and its donors. Additionally, when people see the replicas displayed, it will assist in marketing your campaign.

Our standard is 20 characters per line (including spaces and punctuation). However, if you have a special requirement, we would be glad to review your request and determine the additional cost (if any) and the possibilities.

Our standard font is the Optic font however we can engrave any requested true type font.

Yes; we engrave Greek and Spanish accents symbols for no additional charge.

Yes; as long as the true type font is provided.

Just about anything! We offer our free clipart library (provided in our brochure and online). This allows you to charge an additional fee to your donors if you so choose. We do not charge an additional cost for this service. We can also program your own logo, a donor's corporate logo, signature, etc. at a one-time programming fee. BMI does require that logos are provided in the following IBM compatible black and white formats, 300 dpi or higher, with the following extensions - .PLT, .CDR, .EPS, .JPG, .PCX and .BMP.

This cost varies depending on the complexity of your logo. However, our standard charge for a logo is a minimum of $75.00 and our standard charge for a signature or children's art is $30.00.

There is no minimum order. However to take advantage of our discounted pricing structure, ordering minimum of 100 bricks is best! Your minimum 100 brick order can be a combination of 4x8's and 8x8's. You may be offering 4x8's and 8x8's to your donors. For example, your 100 brick order can consist of (86) 4x8's and (14) 8x8's. We do receive and engrave orders less than 100 bricks as well. Please contact your customer service/sales representative to discuss further details and ask about our one time credit policy we offer.

Brick Markers® provides the files that you will use to compile the donor text information. These documents are sent via e-mail as attachments along with instructions to assist you with the text compiling process.

Brick Markers® schedules your order for processing as soon as all criteria are met. Your assigned customer service/sales representative will inform you of your scheduled processing date and estimated shipping and arrival date based on your required time frame.

We strongly recommend that you inform us of your deadline as soon as possible. This information will allow us to determine the time frame in which we need to receive your order and our criteria that will allow us to meet your deadline. Our standard turn around time varies, as our existing clients continuously order. We are proud to say that we have met our clients' deadlines as long as our criteria are met. Please contact your customer service/sales representative to discuss further.

Yes! Most of our clientele continue their brick campaigns year after year. The purpose of any brick campaign is to raise funds and maximize your revenue; don't limit your campaign. Although most of our clientele do want their brick location to look "complete" we offer blank bricks along with your engraved bricks to provide the completed appearance. Simply place additional orders, removing the blank bricks and replacing them with the engraved bricks. Hint: Keep your brick orders to at least a minimum of 100 bricks. This not only saves you money per order, it also saves you money with your brick installer.

Yes, we can. In fact, most clients do not want the hassle of locating a distributor, coordinating delivery and concerning themselves with dye lots that may vary drastically. We can handle the ordering and delivery of blank bricks along with your engraved bricks so that our clients are hassle free.

We do not provide installation, as our shipments are sent throughout the U.S. and abroad. We do recommend that you hire a professional masonry/contractor in your area to install your bricks and tiles.

Bricks:
Most of our clientele install their bricks in a sand base. This allows for your campaign to continue on by removing the blank bricks and installing your engraved bricks. This form of installation is permanent, 95% of our clientele install in a sand base. The bricks cannot be removed with ease, specific equipment is required to lift out the first brick, allowing you to continue removing the blank bricks and replacing them with your engraved bricks. Your brick area always has a "finished" look as you continue with your fundraising campaign. For installation information please reference The Brick Industry Association website at www.bia.org.
Tiles:
Most of our clientele install their tiles by applying thin set to the back of each tile. However, we recommend that you hire a local professional masonry/contractor to install your tiles.