Judge an on-site medal engraving vendor on five things: throughput per station, how they pull official finish times from your timing provider, how self-sufficient they are on race day, insurance, and whether you get real post-event numbers. A vendor who answers all five without hesitating is the one to hire.
What should you ask an engraving vendor?
Evaluating an on-site medal engraving vendor comes down to one question: can they engrave a steady stream of medals, accurately, while the line stays short — without adding work for your team? Here's what to ask.
Throughput & wait time
- How many medals per hour per station, and how do stations scale for your field size?
- What's the typical wait at peak finish, and how is it managed?
- Is there a runner-facing confirmation step so what's engraved is what was approved?
Data & timing integration
- How do they get the runner's name and official finish time — by bib, from your timing provider?
- Can runners pre-purchase during registration, pay on-site, or both?
- How is spelling and accuracy handled at speed?
Branding & the sponsor moment
- Can the registration page, station screens, and zone carry a sponsor's identity?
- For a branded activation, can engraving be free to the runner and billed to the brand?
Operations & logistics
- Are they self-contained — power, staffing, signage, setup, teardown?
- How much support do they need from your team on race day? (The answer should be “very little.”)
- What's the weather plan?
Trust & accountability
- Are they insured, and experienced at events of your scale?
- Can they share references from race directors or brand teams?
- Do you get a post-event report — medals engraved, throughput, engagement?
A good partner answers all of these without hesitation and makes race day easier, not harder. If you are earlier in the process, start with the planning timeline or how pricing works. If you'd like our answers, tell us about your event and we'll come back with a station plan and a footprint that fits your finish festival.