Black on Silver Engraving Acrylic – 1/16" & 1/8"

Matte black microsurfaced acrylic with a silver core – laser engrave or CNC route the black surface to reveal crisp, high-contrast silver designs.

Create professional signs, labels, displays, awards, and identification products with Black on Silver Engraving Acrylic. This two-ply, impact-modified acrylic features a matte black microsurface over a contrasting silver acrylic substrate. Engrave through the approximately 0.003" black surface layer to expose the silver underneath, creating clean, permanent graphics without paint filling or additional color application.

This material is lightweight and easy to fabricate while remaining durable enough for both indoor and outdoor applications. Its matte black finish minimizes glare while the contrasting silver engraving creates a clean, modern appearance.

Part of the Duets Laser XT line, this material is UV stable and engineered specifically for laser and rotary engraving, cutting, and fabrication. The microsurfaced construction requires only a shallow engraving depth to expose the contrasting silver layer, making detailed text, logos, graphics, and patterns easy to produce.

Why Buy from MakerStock?

• Modern Black & Silver Contrast: Engrave through the matte black surface to reveal a permanent silver image underneath.

• Ultra-Thin Microsurface: The approximately 0.003" black face requires only shallow engraving to expose the contrasting silver substrate.

• Laser & CNC Ready: Designed for laser engraving, laser cutting, rotary engraving, CNC routing, and other fabrication methods.

• Indoor & Outdoor Use: UV-stable, impact-modified acrylic is designed for signage and projects used both indoors and outdoors.

• Two Thickness Options: Choose 1/16" for lightweight signs, labels, and plaques or 1/8" when your project benefits from a thicker, more rigid panel.

• Matte Finish: The non-glare black surface paired with silver engraving provides a clean, professional appearance for signs, plaques, labels, and displays.

• Affordable and Fast Shipping: $12 flat-rate shipping per 50lb box across the continental US from our two warehouses in PA and UT.

• No Minimum Order Requirements: Order one sheet for a project or stock up for your business, school, makerspace, or fabrication shop.

Perfect For

• Indoor & Outdoor Signs: Create durable business signs, informational signs, identification plates, and exterior signage with distinctive black-and-silver contrast.

• Awards & Trophies: Engrave award plates, plaques, trophy components, recognition pieces, donor plaques, and commemorative displays.

• Nameplates & Office Signage: Produce professional desk plates, door signs, directories, office identification, and branded signage.

• Equipment & Industrial Labels: Make machine labels, control-panel tags, serial plates, equipment identification plates, asset labels, and organizational markers.

• Directional & Wayfinding Signs: Create room numbers, directional markers, facility signs, directories, and identification panels.

• Retail & Display Signage: Create modern product signs, displays, promotional signage, shelf markers, and branded fixtures.

• Custom Gifts & Décor: Create personalized signs, ornaments, tags, decorative panels, and keepsakes with a contemporary black-and-silver appearance.

Project Inspiration

• Sign Makers: Laser engrave detailed lettering, logos, icons, and graphics into the matte black surface to expose the contrasting silver underneath.

• Businesses: Create professional nameplates, office signs, branded plaques, directories, equipment labels, and wayfinding systems.

• Fabrication Shops: Produce machine identification plates, control-panel labels, equipment tags, asset markers, and organizational signage.

• Awards & Recognition: Create achievement awards, trophy plates, commemorative pieces, donor plaques, and recognition displays.

• Schools & Makerspaces: Produce classroom signs, equipment labels, student projects, nameplates, machine tags, and custom laser-cut projects.

• Makers: Turn custom artwork, typography, patterns, and illustrations into permanent black-and-silver engraved designs without paint filling.

Explore Related Products

• Other Two-Color Engraving Acrylics: Explore additional color combinations for signs, labels, awards, displays, and custom engraving projects.

• Colored Cast Acrylic: Choose solid-color acrylic for projects where you want the same color throughout the material.

• Clear Cast Acrylic: Ideal for transparent signage, displays, laser-cut components, engraving, and general fabrication.

Specifications

• Material: Microsurfaced impact-modified acrylic.

• Construction: Two-ply / two-color acrylic.

• Surface Color: Matte Black.

• Core / Engraved Color: Silver.

• Total Thickness: 1/16" (1.6mm) or 1/8" (3.2mm).

• Black Microsurface: Approximately 0.003" thick.

• Recommended Engraving Depth: Approximately 0.003" to expose the silver substrate.

• Finish: Matte black surface.

• Engravable Side: Front engravable.

• Masking: Film masked on the front (engraving) side only. The reverse side is unmasked.

• Thermoformable: Yes; material can be heat bent using appropriate fabrication techniques.

• Tolerances: All MakerStock panel dimensions are cut to tolerances of +0"/-0.188".

Suggested Laser Settings

Laser settings should always be treated as a starting point. Results can vary based on machine condition, optics, focus, exhaust, material batch, and other factors. Test on a scrap piece before beginning your finished project.

35 Watt Systems – Laser Indoor / Laser XT

• Raster Power: 40

• Raster Speed: 100

• Vector Power: 45

• Vector Speed: 20

50 Watt Systems – Laser Indoor / Laser XT

• Raster Power: 30

• Raster Speed: 100

• Vector Power: 35

• Vector Speed: 20

Pro Tip

You only need to remove the thin black microsurface when engraving. The black layer is approximately 0.003" thick, so avoid engraving unnecessarily deep into the silver substrate. A shallow, properly focused engraving pass will generally produce sharper details, cleaner lettering, and stronger black-to-silver contrast.

For detailed graphics or small text, run a test engraving first and adjust power and speed until the black surface is cleanly removed without excessive penetration into the silver layer.

The sheet is film masked on the front engraving side only to help protect the finished surface during handling and fabrication. The reverse side is not masked. Leave the front masking in place during cutting when appropriate for your process, then remove it after fabrication.

FAQs

• What does "Black on Silver" mean? The sheet has a thin matte black microsurface over a silver acrylic substrate. Laser engraving or routing through the black surface reveals the silver underneath, producing permanent two-color graphics.

• Can Black on Silver acrylic be laser cut? Yes. Duets Laser XT is designed for laser engraving and vector cutting. Always test your settings first, particularly when working with a new machine or material.

• Can I CNC route or rotary engrave it? Yes. The material can be CNC routed and rotary engraved in addition to laser processing. Use appropriate tooling and settings to remove the black surface cleanly without cutting unnecessarily deep into the silver substrate.

• Can it be used outdoors? Yes. Laser XT is UV stable and designed for both indoor and outdoor applications, making it suitable for exterior signage, identification plates, directional signs, and similar projects.

• Do I need to paint-fill the engraving? No. Removing the black microsurface exposes the silver acrylic underneath, creating a permanent contrasting graphic without adding paint.

• What is the difference between this and regular black acrylic? Standard black acrylic is generally black throughout the sheet. Black on Silver engraving acrylic is intentionally constructed with two contrasting colors, allowing text, logos, patterns, and graphics to appear silver when the thin black surface is engraved away.