Promotional products are useful tangible items with an advertiser’s name, logo or message designed to increase brand awareness among consumers. We’ve been providing our customers with promotional products for many years, working with the top manufacturers in the industry to offer a very wide variety of products and collateral. They’re a great way to keep your brand in front of your intended audience for longer periods of time, adding greater value for your investment.
As you can see in the definition above, “promotional products” is a broad term. There are so many different materials used and printing processes involved. When trying to find a promotional product company to work with, you’ll hear a lot of different terminology thrown around regarding the type of process being used to get your logo or message on the product. Here are a few of the more popular imprint methods and application options.
Promotional Products Imprint Methods
Screen Printing
This technology provides bright and intense colors that more accurately match specific color needs. It’s also a preferred printing method when printing on larger impression areas. It’s a versatile option that can still print on smaller objects, such as pens, and on a variety of textiles and materials.
Digital UV Printing
This technology allows for quick printing and drying, as the use of ultraviolet lights dries the ink as it is being printed. It can process high quality images within seconds.
Pad Printing
Ideal for 3D or oddly shaped objects, pad printing is most commonly used for objects such as water bottles, keychains, mugs, and stress balls. The pad process allows for effective transfers of 2D images to 3D objects that would typically be difficult to customize.
Laser Engraving
Rather than adding an image to a promotional product, laser engraving is technically removing something! The laser light removes material from the product, leaving behind a sleek, permanent mark. Different laser engraving methods exist for transparent and non-transparent materials, such as glass.
Decal
Whereas the first few printing processes occur directly on the promotional products, decals are printed separately and then applied and hardened for a nice clean quality.
Embroidery
This method is used to get your design onto garments such as shirts and uniforms. The image (typically a logo) is digitized and then stitched onto the garment one by one.
Digital Printing
This printing method is most commonly used for t-shirts and tote bags. Your graphic is printed directly onto the garment and then cured using heat and applied pressure.
Heat Transfer
Commonly used on textiles, this printing method allows for the graphic to be printed in reverse on a special release paper. It’s pressed onto the material, extreme heat is applied, and then when it cools, the release paper is removed and the image looks great!
Sublimination
Using ink that never enters a liquid state, your design is printed on special dye-sub paper and then directly applied to the product. A heat press and pressure finish off the application for a long-lasting and flawless appearance. This is great for scenic photos that use vibrant colors.
Debossing
This method is used when imprinting an image into leather and other synthetic materials. Zinc plates create a recessed image in the material and are applied with extreme heat and pressure.
We hope you found this guide to be helpful. What process did we leave off our list? Let us know, and we’ll make the updates!