Design Your Logo With Stitching In Mind

Example of Embroidered Logo

One of the major parts of starting a business is designing a logo. This might seem a bit trivial, however your logo is going to represent your business, and it’s going to be on all of your products, your business cards, and even your employees’ clothes and hats.

Where Is Your Logo Going To Be?

If you have employees, you might want to have them wear simple uniforms made up of T-shirts and hats. Depending on the sort of capital you have at your disposal when starting out, you might want to consider embroidering your logo instead of having it screen-printed. It may cost more upfront, but it will last longer, and it will make your employees look more professional.

It may be helpful to keep the following in mind when designing a logo:

●     Colors - If your logo involves colors, make sure they won’t clash with or blend in against various colored t-shirts and hats. If you have white letters with a black outline, they will show up easily on any color background. Alternatively, you can design a colorful logo that will stand out against a black or white shirt.

●     Lettering - There are several documentaries available that discuss how different fonts impact us from a psychological standpoint, and how logos need to utilize certain typefaces. You should also keep in mind what kind of font you are choosing for your embroidery. Logos with lots of spaces are not generally good for stitching, and overly flourished logos can get lost in translation.

Of course, you need to choose a logo that is best for your company, and then you can translate it to print screening or embroidery from there.

Having embroidery merchandise can really be an asset for any company - especially a start-up. It provides a cohesive look to your workforce, helping employees look polished and professional, and can also help put your clients at ease.

If you need help with your logo, or need embroidery services in Colorado Springs, contact us today!

Advanced Impressions

4680 Edison Avenue, Suite J
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
(719) 637-2513

www.youhaveanimage.com

Top Banner Materials

So you’ve decided to use a banner to advertise your business, upcoming event, or special promotion. It’s a great idea! An eye-catching, cleanly designed banner with an easy and clear message will do wonders for your business. 

Banners are a decent investment, and not just because of their expense. They have both positive and negative advertisement potential. The wrong banner can do just as much damage as the right banner can help. 

So where do you start?!

At the beginning, of course! Picking the right banner material for your needs is the crucial first step. You can have the most genius banner design, but if the material curls up on your windy street, fades in the sun, or takes up all your store space it won’t do you any good. Below are the top three most common banner materials. You can use this list to get started on picking the best material for your banner. 

·         Vinyl is the most commonly used banner material, especially for large outdoor banners. It is a high-quality, flexible scrim material that allows for the use of vibrant colors that won’t fade in the sun or rain. Vinyl gives you excellent image-quality and is fire-retardant according to the NFPA701 code. It is also tear and curling resistant. Vinyl is easy to hang because it is lightweight and features metal grommets every two feet and on each corner. 

·         Matte Vinyl is similar to regular vinyl, in that it has a smooth service that gives you crystal clear images and bright colors, is flame retardant to NFPA701 code, and is super lightweight for easy hanging. Unlike regular vinyl, however, the matte finish is more suited to indoor banners such as promotional signs and formal event banners. The matte finish reduces glare caused by fluorescent bulbs and camera flashes so your message will be clear and easy to read. 

·         Flex Banner is a banner material most commonly used for retractable or double-sided banners. It’s ultra-smooth and flexible, made from scrimless and matted PET.  It has lay-flat technology that will prevent it from curling even if it’s been rolled away all night long. Flex banner is made from completely recyclable material for all you green business owners. 

A great banner can do wonders for you business’s advertising, and a great banner starts with great banner materials. Use this list of the top three banner materials to get you started on your way to banner heaven. 

Advanced Impressions

4680 Edison Avenue, Suite J
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
(719) 637-2513

www.youhaveanimage.com

Home-Based vs. Commercial Screen Printing

There are myriads of sites online that tell you how to screen print at home.  And why not?  In this information age, why shouldn’t we all be experts at everything?  After all, if you want to learn how to do something, you needn’t look any further than YouTube for the most comprehensive tutorials on everything from extreme martial arts to transforming a dilapidated school bus into a luxury motor home.  But is screen printing really something that you should be attempting at home, on your own?

The first thing to consider is the cost of printing at home.  Aside from the cost of the shirts that you will be printing on, you will also need to buy a press.  Although there are some inexpensive presses out there, a good quality one can cost you anywhere from four hundred to over a thousand dollars.  If you plan on printing on a regular basis or starting your own screen printing business, then this may not seem like much of an investment.  But if you just want some shirts for a vacation or celebration, then you may want to reconsider printing at home. 

A second consideration is the time required to print at home.  Unlike commercial machines, most home-based machines are set up to print just one shirt at a time.  Once you cut out each design, place it where you want it, then apply the press, you may be looking at a substantial time investment depending on the number of shirts that you are trying to print.  Consider your busy schedule and make sure that you have the time necessary to complete the task.

Thirdly, the artistic value of your shirts should be something that you put a lot of thought into.  It can be tempting to take the easy road and use someone else’s design for you shirts.  But consider this: if you’re taking the time to actually have shirts done, this means that your event must be something that you care about.  Otherwise you wouldn’t be putting in this time, money, and effort.  So if this event is so important to you, don’t you think it at least deserves a unique design that fully encapsulates the magnitude of the event?

I thought so.

Although it can be tempting to print your shirts at home, especially if you’re the mythical do-it-yourselfer, you should definitely consider the merits of having a reputable screen printing company take on the task for you.  A great screen printing company will make sure that your product is the best quality that it can be.  Thanks to bulk buying and pricing, you may even save money over doing it yourself.  You shirts will be done quickly and accurately.  Most importantly, any screen printing company worth their salt will have an artist on staff that will help you create an original logo or design that will help you recall your event with accuracy and fondness for years to come.  When it comes to a skill like screen printing, will you trust a reputable company or a YouTube tutorial?  The choice is yours.

If you would like some pros to handle your screen printing task, give us a call. We've been doing this since 1996.

Advanced Impressions

4680 Edison Avenue, Suite J
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
(719) 637-2513

www.youhaveanimage.com

Choosing the Right Shirt for Screen Printing

Know Your Shirt: Why the type of Shirt you Choose can Affect your Screen Printing

Congratulations.  You’ve made the decision to immortalize your company or event with screen printing.  There are many reasons why people choose to do this, but regardless of the motivation, the desired result is always the same: to create something that is memorable and stands the test of time.  In order to ensure that the outcome is to your satisfaction, you need to be an educated consumer in the area of screen printing and the t-shirts which will hold your masterpiece. 

When deciphering the mystery that is the t-shirt, there are a couple of things to keep in mind: the weight and the material.  First, the weight of the t-shirt should play an important role in which one you choose to carry your screen printing.  The weight of the t-shirt actually refers to the weight of one yard of fabric.  Typically, you will find the weights to range from 5.1, 5.5, and 6.1 ounces. 

The lighter weight (5.1 ounces) is typically used to create designer and more fashionable t-shirts.  While the heavier weight works well in more rugged applications such as construction sites.  Although the 5.5 ounce t-shirt is the most popular, your final decision should depend on to whom the shirts will be distributed.

The second factor you should consider when choosing your screen printing medium is the material that you will use.  100% cotton and 50/50 blended cotton are the two most popular choices.  The results you get from your screen printing can vary drastically depending on the material you choose.  So let’s look at each of these a little more closely.  

Selecting the right shirt is important. Many choices are available.

The two most popular forms of 100% cotton are plain and ring-spun.  Ring-spun cotton is typically of a higher, softer quality.  However, the softness of the fabric tends to lend a fuzzy-like texture that can muddle the look of your design and give it a faded or worn appearance.  Plain cotton, on the other hand, is very durable and will hold the colors and the shape of the design very well.  Like all cotton garments, however, you need to take care when washing the t-shirts as they have a tendency to shrink which could skew the look of your design. 

There are some advantages to using a 50/50 blended t-shirt.  In most cases, the blend consists of polyester and cotton which helps to protect the garment from excessive wrinkling.  These blended shirts are also popular due to their affordability and durability.  Unfortunately, due to the addition of polyester into the mix, the screen printing doesn’t always maintain its integrity due to something called dye migration, or bleeding. 

All in all, 100% cotton is always going to be the best choice when searching for a medium on which to screen print.  Although there are many different choices within the scope of 100% cotton, you can be sure that choosing pure cotton instead of blend will always be the best way to go.  Being an educated consumer is by far the best thing you can do to ensure that the memories you are enshrining onto a t-shirt will look great and stand the test of time.    

If you're in need of some extra help choosing your garment, Advanced Impressions is your trusted source in Colorado Springs and the Front Range. Give us a call today! 

Advanced Impressions

4680 Edison Avenue, Suite J
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
(719) 637-2513

www.youhaveanimage.com

Is Your Logo Embroidery Friendly?

Embroidery is classic and elegant way to promote your company by placing your logo on shirts, hats, and many other mediums.  But it’s important to consider whether or not your logo is conducive to embroidery and then what type of embroidery, whether patches or direct embroidery, is the best fit for you.

First, we must consider whether or not the design of your logo is conducive to embroidery.  There are a couple of things to consider.

Size of Lettering

In order to make sure the words of your logo are legible, you need to make sure they can be printed at a minimum of one quarter inch high.  If that would make your logo too large, you may want to reconsider the design, or your choice to embroider. 

Empty Space

Too much extra space in your logo just adds unnecessary time to the embroidery process.  It’s best if your logo has a simple and elegant design directly around the lettering.

Complexity and Size

The more complex you logo, the more stitches it takes to create it.  The more stitches it takes, the more expensive it will be.  The other thing to consider is the size of the logo.  A logo that is too big will look bulky and more like a stiff patch on your shirts or bags.  This makes it look less classy and cheesier.  

Now that you’ve determined whether or not embroidery is the right path for your logo, you can now consider the means with which you would like your logo embroidered onto your apparel.  There are two main methods that you should consider: patches and direct embroidery.  Both are viable options and both have pros and cons.  

Patches are individual swatches of thick fabric that have been embroidered with your logo.  This is usually the cheaper way to go since the manufacturer can easily make them in bulk.  Also, they don’t need to consider whether or not the fabric will hold and there is no special digitizing for different articles of clothing based on color and density.

Patches are usually easy to attach to an article of clothing as they can be manufactured with a peel-off sticky back or an iron-on substance that is heat activated.  You can also get them with Velcro or have them sewn onto the clothing.  Either way, patches are an inexpensive way to get your logo onto a large quantity of clothing with relative ease.

Direct embroidery is when the logo is stitched directly onto the fabric of the clothing.  This method is extremely popular among service industries like hotels and restaurants.  This method looks a little classier than patches, but the cost is much higher because of digitizing and time.  Digitizing is the process where the design is translated into a language that the embroidery machine can understand.  It’s more complex than just scanning it into a computer.  It needs to be translated into specific directions that the machine will understand.  This process is usually paid for by way of a set-up fee.

The time and labor it takes to create your order will also factor into the price.  However, if you have the money to spend on it, direct embroidery is definitely a nice option for all of your business apparel.  It does have an advantage over the patch in that you can directly embroider onto all kinds of fabric.  Patches, on the other hand, tend to not work as well on finer fabrics.

Whatever method you choose, embroidery is a wonderful and affordable to increase the visibility of your logo and therefore your business.  Design your logo to be conducive to every medium (internet, business cards, flyers, embroidery) and then decide which embroidery method is right for you.     

If you're in need of embroidery, Advanced Impressions is your trusted source in Colorado Springs and the Front Range. Give us a call today!

Advanced Impressions
4680 Edison Avenue, Suite J
Colorado Springs, CO 80915
(719) 637-2513

www.youhaveanimage.com