About H Cooper Glass Engravers

Welcome to my website.  I am Helen Cooper and I run H Cooper Glass Engravers.  I am assisted by my Mum and Brother-in-Law, who help me in various ways. 

It's a family business and that makes it special, because we care passionately about our customers and what we produce.

From an early age, I used to help my Mum and Dad in their Trophy Shop.  The creativity of the industry and the finished results always held a fascination for me.

I passed my exams in Childcare and followed that career for four years, but came back to the Trophy and Award world and ended up starting my own business in 2003.

I am happy to say that my business has grown from strength to strength, year on year, since it's inception.

Helen Cooper.

JS Trophies & H Cooper Glass Engravers 

My Dad still runs 'JS Trophies' in Northwich, Cheshire and we share the help given by my Mum and Brother in Law.  Dad specialises in engraving metal and resin Trophies and I specialise in glass engraving.  Both shops show similar ranges, so we are very versatile and, between us, offer a full range of services and products.

H Cooper Glass Engravers has a large range of samples and I also keep stocks in the workshop.  I run over 1000 products supplied by The Glass Scribe, a trade only importer of glass and crystal and manufacturers of Rock Tablets and Ice Blocks.  I also offer all the glass products from two Trophy Suppliers, so my range is very wide and comprehensive.

The Shop, showing our extensive range of glass & crystal.

Specialist Glass Engraver 

Specialising in Glass Engraving makes the difference between dabbling in everything and being really good at one thing.  I am able to engrave into glass & crystal so deeply, that you can dig a fingernail into the engraving. 

Conversely, I offer the service of engraving photographs into glass, which requires a delicate touch and an eye for detail.  Photographs of people, pets, houses and graphic images - like a corporate logo or club crest.

I engrave glass and crystal using the sandblasting method.  It gives a nice matt white finish, with excellent detail and depth.  My machine is driven by compressed air, which mixes with Aluminium Oxide (not sand!) and blasts against a pre-made stencil.  We require a separate stencil for each piece of glass - so an order for 300 pieces requires 300 stencils.

 Deeply Engraved Glass Vase.

The stencils are made from a light-sensitive film.  Artwork, printed onto a special vellum, is placed over the film and exposed to light.  Where the light shines through the vellum, it 'cooks' the film - and where the artwork stops the light shining through, the film below remains 'raw'.  The film is then washed out with a water jet and the 'raw' parts was away, leaving the 'cooked' parts behind.  As you can see, making stencils and glass engraving is quite labour-intensive and that's why we do not provide 'free' engraving!

The alternative methods for glass engraving are by machine or laser - and both give quite shallow, scratchy results.  That's why I only offer the better quality sandblasted finish.

Helen, working at her sandblast glass engraving machine.

Glass Printing

We offer up to 4 colour printing on glass and crystal.  This is a marvellous way for clubs to buy inexpensive volumes of glass and crystal for gifts and small presentations.  All items must be the same design and words and the minimum recommended purchase is 24 pieces, otherwise the set up charge makes the method too expensive

Another good idea is to use printed shot glasses or tea light holders as 'Favours' for Wedding guests.  These inexpensive products make super gifts at a Wedding party and Printing on Glass is a real alternative to glass engraving.

The favourite colour is our 'frost' print, which is the same colour as glass engraving and quite often confuses the experts.  Printing on glass is definitely worth your while to investigate if your needs are for multiples of the same product with the same design.

Printing is almost indistinguishable from engraving.

Trophies

I offer two full ranges of Trophies, from two major UK importers, for every sport imaginable, including Golf Prizes, Football Trophies and Rugby Trophies. There are over 150 different sports played in the UK and we have trophies suitable for the majority of them.

Made from metal and resin, there are many dozens of shapes, each in a variety of sizes.  We also offer Medals, Ribbons and Boxes, in many different designs and prices.

We are extremely competitive on Trophy prices and offer a fast turn-around time for your orders.  Many Trophies are offered with Free engraving too. 

As previously mentioned, it's my Dad who specialises in Trophy engraving and he has state-of-the-art equipment, to provide a first class service.

Two ranges of Trophies are available.