About ecTYPE

ecTYPE is a small workshop in Adelaide making custom signage, keepsakes and decor. Laser cut, layered and finished by hand, one job at a time.

We have been at this for over four years. It started on Etsy, selling pieces we designed ourselves, and it grew into what it is now: wedding and event signage, custom laser work, 3D printing and commissions that run to two metres across.

What we actually do

Most of what leaves here is wedding signage. Welcome signs, seating charts, table numbers and the smaller pieces that hold a room together. Alongside that we cut custom lettering, logos and one-off parts for anyone who needs something made properly, and we run filament and resin 3D printers for prototypes, replacement parts and detail work.

The common thread is that everything is made to order. We do not hold stock of finished signs and we do not work from templates. Every piece is drawn for the job it is going to.

Why our signs look different

The lettering on our signage is cut as separate acrylic pieces and bonded onto the panel, so it stands physically off the surface. It is slower than printing and slower than vinyl, and it is the reason our work photographs the way it does. Raised letters throw a soft shadow under venue lighting. Flat printing does not.

That one decision accounts for most of what people are responding to when they say a sign looks expensive without being able to explain why.

How we work

You tell us about the day or the job. We design it and send you a mockup, with a couple of rounds of revisions. Nothing goes near the laser until you have approved what you are getting. Then we cut, layer and finish it by hand, and either ship it, deliver it or install it at your venue.

We will also tell you when something is a bad idea. If your guest list will not fit at a readable size, if the material you have chosen is wrong for your venue lighting, or if a font will not survive being cut, we say so at the mockup stage rather than after you have paid for it.

What we make it with

A CO₂ laser for cutting and engraving acrylic, timber and MDF. Filament and resin 3D printers. A router and other tooling for anything larger than the laser bed, which is how curved and oversized panels get made. Beyond that it is bonding, weeding, aligning and finishing, all of which is hand work and always will be.

We hold over 20 acrylic colours in gloss and matte, plus gold and silver mirror, frosted, clear, timber and melamine-laminated MDF. If you want something we do not stock, we source it.

Based in Adelaide

Everything is made here. We ship standard signage Australia-wide, deliver locally, and install at venues across Adelaide. Oversized commissions stay local by default, simply because of how they travel.

Being the ones who make it means you are talking to the person who will cut your sign, not a sales desk passing your job to a factory.

Centrepiece

We also build Centrepiece, a free wedding planning tool for runsheets, seating charts, RSVPs and floor plans. It came out of watching couples wrestle with spreadsheets while trying to tell us what to put on a seating chart. It is free to use whether or not you ever order anything from us.

Get in touch

Tell us what you need made. Even a rough description is enough to start from.

Contact us, or message us using the chat icon at the bottom right of your screen. You can also find us on Instagram at @ectypeaustralia.

See wedding signage, event signage, custom commissions or the signage guide.