When we redesigned our medals and ribbon rack builder, our focus was creating a user-friendly platform that assists you in building your ribbons and awards as quickly and accurately as possible.
The mounting and quality assurance aspects of our ribbon racks are still the same. We always build your ribbons to military specifications. Our veteran Military Award Specialists quality-check each ribbon rack before it leaves our doors to confirm your ribbon rack is absolutely perfect.
Whether you are active duty and updating your ribbons for inspection, or a veteran purchasing new mini-ribbons for your favorite polo, our ribbon rack builder will get the job done every time.
Read below for more information on the ribbon builder and differences between each type of ribbon.
Select the Size and Type of your Ribbons
When selecting the size of the rack you are going to build, keep in mind that all ribbon racks are not the same. Each type of ribbon rack serves a different purpose, and they are not interchangeable. Think about the purpose of this certain rack. Is it for an event like a parade? Or for your uniform for inspection? Maybe it’s a rack to wear on your polos and blazers? Whichever ribbon rack you need, our racks will be perfect for you.
The Mil-thin and Slide-on ribbons are mounted to military specs and are worn on uniforms. Mini ribbons are ideal to wear on polos and hats and outside of formal events. All of our ribbon racks are mounted to the specifications of your selected branch. Read on to learn more about multi-service ribbon racks.
Slide-On Ribbons
Slide-on ribbons are the traditional way of mounting ribbons for uniforms. Slide-on ribbons are mounted on holding bars in-house and rather than using pronged attachments (the ones you can purchase individually), our mounters glue on the attachments, so they are secure for years to come.
Mil-thin Ribbons
Our Mil-thin ribbons are a style of ribbon developed specifically for uniforms and mess dress. This type of ribbon is thinner than traditional slide-on ribbons and are mounted together in a solid rack. Mil-thin ribbons cannot be sold as individual ribbons, unlike our slide-on ribbons.
Mini Ribbons
Miniature ribbons are mounted to a smaller scale and not authorized to wear on uniforms, but they are still mounted by order of precedence. We designed our mini-ribbons to be worn on lapels of blazers, polos, and hats. They are a popular choice because they can be worn outside of uniforms and formal events.
Select Your Branch
After selecting the size and type of ribbon rack you want to build, you will be prompted to select your branch of service. Our rack builders offer selections from all five branches of the military. Once you start selecting ribbons for your rack, you will be able to select ribbons to be multi-service by assigning a ribbon to a branch.
If you are multi-service, you will choose your current branch of service when building your ribbons. When selecting specific ribbons, you will assign your previous branch of service which that ribbon represents or to which it is associated. Your current branch dictates your order of precedence and may exclude certain ribbons from your previous branch of service.
Select Your Ribbons and Attachments
As mentioned above, all branches selected are inherently multi-service, so don’t be alarmed when you pick Marines as your branch of service and every ribbon from the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard show up. Your ribbons will be in order of precedence by your selected branch.
The ribbon selection also features state ribbons in order of precedence, rather than having their own section like our previous ribbon builder. Unit citations are also blended in to the rest of the ribbons by precedence. In the ‘Preview’ section, unit citations will be separated if your selected branch is Army.
When selecting each individual ribbon, the available attachments are listed to the right of the image of the ribbon, and the options to change that ribbon’s assigned branch of service are above the attachments. Next to the list of attachments are drop-down boxes where you can select the number of attachments.
As you are adding ribbons to your rack, there is a small banner at the top of the screen that keeps track of the ribbons you’ve already added so you don’t have to. This bar will also have the ‘Preview’ button you need to press in order to to finish your ribbon rack and move to the next step.
Preview
The final step in building your ribbon racks is previewing your creation. You are able to view the ribbon rack before you checkout after the ribbons and attachments have been selected.
At this point, you can select staggered mounting or mirror mounting if your branch allows that. We offer 1/8th inch spacing between rows and magnetic backing instead of traditional pin backing on all sizes and types of ribbon racks.
Magnetic backing is a great option if you are often taking your ribbon rack on and off and aren’t a fan of tiny holes across your suits, polos, and uniform.
This is the time to triple-check that your attachments and ribbon selection are accurate. Once the order is placed, it is sent to our ribbon mounting department, and the order cannot be changed. To the right of the displayed ribbon rack is a list, in order by precedence, of every ribbon you have selected to be mounted with the price of each ribbon.
All of our mil-thin ribbons are $2.89 per ribbon, slide-on ribbons are $1.29 per ribbon, and our miniature ribbons are $3.95 per ribbon. Slide-on ribbons also have a $1 mounting fee per row. Prices may vary for unit citations and magnetic backing.
When the time comes and you need your ribbon rack updated for any situation, let us know and we can offer a discount to make the process a little easier on you and your wallet. Just drop a comment on your order, or give a Military Award Specialists a call to start updating your awards today.
If you have any questions about ribbons and award eligibility, our Military Award Specialists are available 9am to 5pm EST Monday through Friday to assist you.
