To help our customers better understand all the ins and outs of artwork requirements to produce apparel and promotional products, we have provided answers to many common questions we receive.
If you can't find an answer to your question here, don't hesitate to contact us.
Not a problem! Our in-house Graphic Designer can work with you to create a logo. It's one of the most cost-effective and hassle-free ways of having a logo created, because the design files will work for any promotional material you want to have made in the future.
Awesome! You already have a logo and now you’re ready to take the next step toward seeing it on products. We will have your .jpeg image “vectorized” (for use in any type of printing services) and/or “digitized” (for use in embroidery services). Service charges will apply. Vectorizing and Digitizing are separate processes, each process starting at $25 for a small logo. The more complex or large the design is, the more it will cost for vectorizing or digitizing. You will be provided individual quotes for any vectorizing or digitizing required.
Super-awesome! If we don’t already have your files, you can send them via e-mail or a file sharing service, supply them on a USB or ask that they be forwarded to us from your graphic designer. Acceptable file formats include: EPS, AI, CDR or PDF.
For printing, we need .ai or .eps (Adobe Illustrator), . cdr (CorelDRAW), or any other vectorized art. PDF's, as along as they are vector format, may also be acceptable. For embroidery, we need the .dst or .emb file format.
.jpegs, no matter their size, are still considered to be low resolution images, as are .gif, .pict, and .tif files. None of these will print effectively and suppliers will not accept these files. One way to test the resolution of your file is to enlarge it. Does it start to pixelate (look blurry)? If so, we would need to convert it to a vectorized image. In order to vectorize a .jpeg file, the .jpeg should be a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
To be able to have any imprints done on promotional products, the image must be vectorized. It then can be significantly enlarged or shrunk without any distortion or loss of registration. To change a low resolution image to a vectorized artwork, a graphic designer will reproduce your logo. Also, there are usually multiple components to a logo. Vectorization makes each component a separate entity within the whole logo, so that each can be assigned a specific colour in the printing process.
To be able to embroider on promotional products your vectorized art or suitable resolution jpeg must now be turned into a digital stitch file. One file can be shrunk or expanded by about 20%, depending upon the size of lettering and clarity of the resulting image. A hat logo would be digitized for that size (approx. 5.5 cm high) and a full back jacket logo would require a separate file. Digitization takes those same components as a vectorized logo, and assigns each a specific needle number, and thereby thread colour, in an embroidery file.
When a file is digitized, it calculates the number of stitches required to cover a certain amount of space. Stitching looks like solid fill because of the density of the stitching. If you take the same number of stitches and spread them apart by 200% or more, you can imagine that there will now be an increased gap between the individual stitches, which likely will make your logo look messy. What needs to be done when it comes to large coverage logos, is to digitize it for the intended logo size, ensuring that there are adequate stitches added to fill in properly and produce a high quality results. Costs to digitize have come down drastically over the years, so really, you can look at it as a low cost investment in the quality of your logo and finished product.
A set-up fee is charged by most of our suppliers when they are imprinting a logo on a product. Before printing your logo on the desired product, they have to set up their machines with the artwork and the precise colours requested, and they charge a “set-up” fee to do this, which is passed along to the customer. Usually, the fees are per colour or tone in the logo. Embroidery also incurs an initial set-up fee to digitize the logo, choose thread colours, machine set-up and do a sew-out sample if required. The good news is though, that with some suppliers, exact repeats incur a reduced set-up fee or no fee at all!
A minimum order for hats generally starts at a dozen, while jackets, coats, t-shirts, you can get one only if you like. Of course, the more you buy the better your price! Mugs and other “hard good” products have stricter minimums ranging from 12 to 72, depending upon the actual product. Some suppliers offer a “less than minimum” charge, under which you can pay an additional fee in order to get a reduced quantity of a product. As you can see, minimum orders vary, but whatever your needs, let us know and we will find you a solution!
You bet! The more you purchase, the better we can make your price. Economies of scale are in your favour, as we place a larger order, shipping costs less per unit, the logo or embroidery file is set up once, and away we go. We like to believe we are offering fair prices along with excellent service, but you can certainly let us know if you have any questions or concerns in that regard.
Vectorized & digitized files will be released if our records show that you have purchased them. Digitized files will be released in the original format. Any edits done to a digitized file are an added service provided by the embroidery house to ensure a quality result.