When it comes to branding, don’t ever settle--select. That’s why it’s so important for Promotional Products Buyers to know about all available decorating techniques. There are many more than you think…or probably ever heard of. OK, so let’s begin on this sometimes confusing journey to define and talk about the many different
Choosing the right decoration technique is where we--your Promotional Products Distributor--are experts. Think about this for a moment: You have a really cool graphic that you want to print on a t-shirt and as part of your marketing program, but you also want to put it on a leather bag? Good luck with that; it’s not going to happen. Many times designs, sizes and techniques don’t translate between materials. We know these things…because we live, eat and breathe them every day for our customers. To begin, here’s a list of the most commonly used decorating techniques.
decorating techniques. This will be the longest article that’s appeared in IdentityEdge and will serve to be a great resource for you in the future. You can print it out by downloading IdentityEdge or just save the file for later viewing on your computer. You can do that by clicking here and just the article will download—not the entire issue of IdentityEdge. Save it for reference.
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• Screen Printing & Embroidery • Heat Transfer • Etching • Engraving • Pad Printing These are the less well known techniques (but really good ones with the right application!).
• • • • • •
Bling Digital Printing Dye Sublimation Dye-diffusion Trapunto Debossing
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Embossing Laser Applique Cut Vinyl Decorating Direct to Garment Printing Reverse Applique Tackle Twill Decal Transfer Die-Casting Die-striking Embedments Hot Stamping Offset Lithography Laser etching on Garments and Fleece Woven Threads Puff Printing Puff Embroidery Combination Embroidery & Screen Printing PVC Flexible Labels
Or MAKE UP YOUR OWN DECORATING TECHNIQUE by combining some of the above styles. For example combine screen printing and embroidery to make your logo have some depth.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD IdentityEdge’s Decorating Guide
Screen Printing & Embroidery (4) Heat Transfer (6) Etching (7) Engraving (8) Pad Printing (9) Bling (10) Digital Printing (11) Dye Sublimation (12) Dye-diffusion (13) Trapunto (14) Debossing (15)
Embossing (16) Laser Applique (17)
Offset Lithography (29)
Cut Vinyl Decorating (18)
Laser etching on Garments and Fleece (30)
Direct to Garment Printing (20)
Woven Fabric (31)
Reverse Applique (22) Tackel Twill (23) Decal Transfer (24) Die-Casting (25) Die-striking (26)
Puff Printing (32) Combination Embroidery & Screen Printing (33) PVC Flexible Labels (34)
Embedments (27) Hot Stamping (28) IDENTITYEDGE.PROMO 3
Screen Printing and Embroidery Screen printing and embroidery are the most commonly used decoration types that you can use. Silk screening is truly considerate of your pocket book and works great on large volume orders. But while embroidery might be a little more expensive, it delivers a more upscale look. Cost wise it doesn’t make any difference how large the logo is with silk screening but with embroidery the price goes up based on the number of stitches. Some people feel that an embroidered shirt has just a
little more class to it, so use embroidery where you want to feature that “upscale look.” Everybody in America has a screen printed t-shirt, even your great grandmother. But there are many facets of screen printing. One of our industry experts, Mitchel Lombard from Atlas Embroidery & Screenprinting, has a lot of advice when it comes to screen printing. “Know what fabrics work with each
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screen printing process” Mitchel stated. He continued to say “…printing on polyester is different than printing on cotton, so knowing the chemistry that exists between your inks and fabrics is critically important.” Mitchel told us that not all screen
printers are created equally and we agree. Having the right equipment makes a big difference. For example, almost every logo has a PMS match. Atlas has a paint mixing machine that can hit your
exact PMS color. Mitchel also told us that combining printing techniques will give you “an amazing look” that makes your Brand stand out a great deal. For example screen printing on the body of the shirt but adding a message using embroidery on the sleeve or even combing the two techniques to make one logo. As your Distributor we know about every type of fabric and what process to use for imprinting. Silk screening is the most widely used for branding almost everything we sell to you. It’s certainly inexpensive and the branding results are terrific…so we’d say this decorating technique is a “10”. It produces a wonderful print—from one to four color process.
Photo stitch is an embroidery technique where the decorator scans a photo, inputs it into digitizing software and then “prints” it to an embroidery machine. The stitches with this technique are usually quite dense, so it’s important to Embroidery though now modernized with high-speed, multihead computerized embroidery machines, this decoration style has its roots as far back as ancient Egypt, when it was all done by hand. Essentially, embroidery is decorative stitching (though typically without letters) used to create a raised, ornamental design on a garment with different types and colors of thread. As early as the Middle Ages, professional embroiderers associations and guilds were taking members in Europe. Even before that, people were drilling holes through shells and animal hides to stitch with elaborate embroidery that told of wealth and status in local communities.
choose a fabric that can handle the tension. Photo stitch can be used to create almost any design, allowing for multiple colors as well. The finished piece looks less like traditional embroidery and more like a painting or drawing.
Pad printing is also a silk screening technique and is a major part of our industry. We’ll cover pad printing later in this article, which is the process used to print plastic hard goods. From calculators to pens, USB drives…pad printing is how we print your logo for your branding. Moving on, let’s talk about the other many decoration techniques. Pretty much each decorating concept has limitations. Certain finishes on plastic covered promotional products won’t take a
pad print but they can be debossed or laser etched. Why? Because some plastic surfaces are too slick and won’t hold a pad print…the ink will slide off after your client touches the product a number of times. You really don’t want that!
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Heat Transfer This is where a computer generated image is printed on transfer paper and it is placed on a garment, heated and the image is transferred from the transfer paper to the garment. You’ve seen this at a lot of smaller touristy t-shirt shops. Like dye sublimation, heat-transfer decorating is achieved with high temperatures pressing onto a garment – though with this process, the printing is done on a transfer material that has heat-activated adhesive on one side. Once the design is printed, it goes into a heat press with the garment, and the high temperature activates the adhesive.
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Etching
A plate is made with your logo or image. The image can be detailed but only has one color unless color filled. Etching is the act or process of making design or pictures on a metal plate, glass or other materials by using a corrosive action of acid instead of by burning it with a laser or silk screening it. Hundreds if not thousands of
items can be engraved. From glass/ crystal plaques, to signs that adorn your office, to glasses of all types. Etching has been around from the beginning…in fact people used to do etching by hand with a dremel like tool. Not anymore…everything that’s etched these days is done by computer. And the results are spectacular.
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Engraving We’re going to spend a little more time discussing engraving; it’s probably the oldest of decorating techniques. This is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing images on paper as prints or illustrations; these images are also called engravings. Wood engraving is a form of relief printing and is not covered in this article although there are many promotional products that use wood engraving, such as baseball bats, wooden serving dishes, cutting boards more.
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Engraving was a historically important method of producing images on paper in artistic
printmaking, in mapmaking, and also for commercial reproductions and illustrations for books and magazines. It has long been replaced by various photographic processes in its
commercial applications and, partly because of the difficulty of learning the technique, is much less common in printmaking, where it has been largely replaced by etching and other techniques. Traditional engraving, by burin or with the use of machines, continues to be practiced by goldsmiths, glass engravers, gunsmiths and others, while modern industrial techniques such as photoengraving and laser engraving have many important applications. Engraved gems were an important art in the ancient world, revived at the Renaissance, although the term traditionally covers relief as well as intaglio carvings, and is essentially a branch of sculpture rather than engraving, as drills were used as tools. Even today, drills do a lot of the engraving.
Pad Printing Pad Printing also called tampography, is a printing process that transfers a 2-D image onto a 3-D object. This is accomplished using an indirect offset gravure printing
and toys. It can also be used to deposit functional materials precisely where needed like conductive inks, adhesives, dyes and lubricants. Pad printing all starts with
process that involves an image being transferred from the screen on to a silicone pad then onto a substrate surface (your promotional product). Pad printing is used for printing on otherwise difficult to print on products in many industries including medical, automotive, promotional, apparel, and electronic objects, as well as appliances, sports equipment
a negative image/logo being transferred/etched on to a rubber looking foam filled pad. Then when that pad is inked it touches the area to be printed and that reversed image is positively printed with a UV quick dry ink. This allows it to leave the image (logo or brand) on hundreds of thousands of products. Remember earlier on in this article we discussed
that not all surfaces—especially some plastic ones—can retain an imprint for long periods of time? Things like your skins oil constantly touching the surface of the product will wear it off prematurely. Ordinarily pad prints will stay on almost forever. The unique properties of the silicone pad enable it to pick the image up from a flat plane and transfer it to a variety of surfaces, such as flat, cylindrical, spherical, compound angles, textures, concave, or convex surfaces.
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Bling Bling—Bling…did you know this? Bling is the Jamaican slang that has been adopted by some African American rappers and inserted into popular culture all over the world. The term “Bling Bling” refers to the imaginary “sound” that is produced from light reflected by a diamond. The Silvertones “Bling Bling Christmas” was the earliest known usage of the slang. Enough of our brief history lesson.
OK, we all
think of Bling as something different…but in the promotional products industry, it’s got dozens and dozens of different methods to make your brand stand out. From hats to shirts, bags and even hard plastic
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goods like phone cases, Bling can do a fabulous job making your brand BLING! Bling started to gain a lot of popularity about 5-6 years ago. It gained the attention of Promotional Products Buyers because the price got cheaper and the logo capabilities increased dramatically because most of what is “Blinged” these days is done so by computer. With the computer logos and designs can be applied to your promotional product with ease. While Bling decorates many products—from plastic items to logoed eyelashes--wearables are a top recipient. Uniforms, hats, shirts, jackets, even sweat or “athleisure” are putting Bling on them, which for many makes their brand a huge promotional success. You’ll really be surprised to see how many creative ways you can use it to make your brand look dynamite. Here’s some additional ideas on how to really “kick it up a notch” and make your products look awesome.
Remember we talked about Heat Transfers? Well adding rhinestones (Bling) to the heat transfer process makes for a very cool combined image. Add to that there’s glitter heat transfers, foil heat transfers, lace heat transfers, mesh foil transfers and chenille heat transfers. Wow, Bling went from hand applied tedious work to a computer generated mania capable of doing thousands of garments quickly and easily. What’s the bottom line on Bling? It’s a great way to show your logo’s with style…there’s nothing quite like it to make your logo shine!
Digital Printing Digital Printing-- refers to methods of printing from a digital-based
image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using largeformat and/or high-volume laser or inkjet printers. Digital printing has a higher cost per page than more traditional offset printing methods, but this price is usually offset by avoiding the cost of all the technical steps required to make printing plates. It also allows for on-
demand printing, short turnaround time, and even a modification of the image (variable data) used for each impression. The savings in labor and the ever-increasing capability of digital presses means that digital printing is reaching the point where it can match or supersede offset printing technology’s ability to produce larger print runs of several thousand sheets at a low price. Digital printing as a decoration technique has been expanded vastly in the promotional products industry. It’s really become a close competitor to silk screening and may well one day replace silk screening, who knows. Silk screening is evolving just like digital printing. In our industry we call digital printing “DTG” which stands for direct to garment. The main advantage to DTG is that it
allows for a true high resolution image to be captured on fabric. So from tote bags to t-shirts, jackets… almost any type of wearable, DTG works. There are some fabrics that cannot take a DTG imprint and we’ll advise you on that. We believe that DTG is on the edge of a major breakthrough based on what we’ve seen at the printer’s trade shows. For a long time mass production of DTG items was a great idea but no one had been able to make the technology affordable. That is now not so much the case. We feel that DTG is one of the best quality imprints because its four color process with high photographic like detail. Stay tuned for more info on this outstanding decorating technique.
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Dye-Sublimation or Dye-Diffusion A dye-sublimation printer is a computer printer which uses heat to transfer dye onto materials such as a plastic, card, paper, or fabric. The sublimation name was first applied because the dye was considered to make the transition between the solid and gas states without going through a liquid stage. This understanding of the process was later shown to be incorrect. There is some liquefying of the dye. Since then, the process is sometimes known as dye-diffusion, though this has not eliminated the original name. Many consumer and professional dye-sublimation printers are designed and used for producing photographic prints, ID cards, clothing, and more. These are not to be confused with dye sublimation heat transfer imprinting printers, which use special
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inks to create transfers designed to be imprinted on textiles, and in which the dyes do indeed sublimate. These are done at lower temperatures but higher pressures, particularly in all-over print processes. Some dyesublimation printers use CMYO (Cyan Magenta Yellow Over-coating) colors, which differs from the more recognized CMYK colors in that the black is eliminated in favor of a clear overcoating. This over-coating (which has numerous names depending on the manufacturer) is also stored on the ribbon and is effectively a thin
layer which protects the print from discoloration from UV light and the air, while also rendering the print water-resistant. For ID card printing, text and bar codes are necessary, and they are printed by means of an additional black panel on the (YMCKO) ribbon. This extra panel works by thermal transfer printing instead of dye diffusion: a whole layer, instead of just some of the dye in the layer, transfers from the ribbon to the substrate at the pixels defined by the thermal head. This overall process is then sometimes called D2T2 (Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer). OK, with all of that technical talk, what exactly is Dye-sublimation/ diffusion? The dye-sublimation printing process is used to print on polyester
or other synthetic fabrics. It is used for applications such as T-shirts, banners, table covers, id cards, sportswear and flags. The original printers were an electrostatic technology using toners but now are generally large format inkjet printers using specially formulated inks. The dye sublimation inks are a disperse dye suspended in a liquid solvent, like water. The images are initially printed on coated heat-resistant transfer paper as a reverse
image of the final design, which is then transferred onto polyester fabric in a heat press operating at a temperature around 180 to 210 C (375 F). Under high temperature and pressure, the dye turns into a gas and permeates the fabric and then solidifies into its fibers. The fabric is permanently dyed so it can be washed without damaging the quality of the image.
Advantages of dyesublimation over other methods of textile printing: • Images are permanent and do not peel or fade. • Dye does not build up on the fabric. • Colors can be extraordinarily brilliant due to the bonding of the dye to the transparent fibers of the synthetic fabric. • Truly continuous tones can be achieved that are equivalent to photographs, without the use special techniques such as half-screen printing. • The image can be printed all over the entire item, with no difficulty in printing all the way to the edges. Disadvantages: • The printer speed is low. • Any creases in the apparel during printing leaves blank spots behind.
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Trapunto Trapunto from the Italian for “to quilt,” is a method of quilting that is also called “stuffed technique.” A puffy, decorative feature, trapunto utilizes at least two layers, the underside of which is slit and padded, producing a raised surface on the quilt.
The process involves creating a pocket between the fabric and backing of the embroidery design and stuffing it with some kind of filling to create a raised fabric effect. The original trapunto designs were greenery – vines, leaves and different types of fruit – and the process was widely used on blankets, quilts, wall hangings and clothing. More modern applications can be found on all manner of apparel; the process even made it to Hollywood and was used on the Star Fleet uniform collars in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. How can this technique be used for your promotional products campaigns? First of all, it’s pretty expensive but it can be used on blankets, wearables and more. It’s a little used technique…but when you REALLY want to show out, consider trapunto on your wearables if you have the budget.
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Debossing & Embossing Debossing & Embossing—When we think of the word branding, the first thing that comes to mind in the past was marking a cow’s hide. Well, it turns out that kind of branding actually has something to do with the printing technique known as debossing.
case your promotional item, is the property of your business. First Step: Your decorator makes a metal plate that features your design. This most often involves using a die-cutting process for a precise look. After the plates are created, the manufacturer determines how deeply the design will be stamped into the product. Once the plate has been engraved, it’s fit into a machine that will stamp the items with your
custom look. Loading it into the “stamper” increase the efficiency and accuracy of printing and produce customized products at lightning speed. Debossing machines are also able
So what exactly is debossing, anyway? How is it used to decorate your promotional products? Here’s the answers. It’s a fascinating printing process…but we’re also going to discuss the differences between embossing and debossing a promotional product. Debossing and the old-fashioned cattle branding have a lot in common (no animals were branded in the writing of this article). Both involve the use of a customized metal plate to essentially make a stamp the features your logo. And this stamp indicates that Bessie, or in this
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to create the extreme conditions that result in a logo becoming a permanent part of your promotional products. It goes way beyond a teacher tapping a rubber stamp that says “Good job!” on the top of a homework assignment. Debossing requires a lot of pressure, which presses the design down far enough into the material to allow it to permanently retain the artwork. Debossing also uses high temperatures to manipulate the material into the indented shape of your logo. Specifically, it operates at temperatures around 100 degrees Celsius (or 212 degrees Fahrenheit). The result is a custom imprint that looks elegant and subtle and won’t fade or flake over time. And just in case you were wondering, debossing and embossing are two different but closely related processes. The big difference? Debossing produces an image that’s pressed into the material and indented, while embossing
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produces an image that’s raised and slightly higher than the surface of the material. The debossing process
presses your logo down into an item’s surface, creating an indented mark that’s sure to last. It uses heat and metal to produce quality designs on your promotional products. What materials can be used in these processes? Leather, some plastics, some fabrics. Leather is especially nice looking with a debossed logo.
Laser Applique Laser Applique is the fastest way to cut appliques, reverse appliques and to etch garments. With its large “printing” bed there are many options to logo products. This technique is not brand new but it is a new development when compared to silk screening. It’s most commonly used in imprinting garments (poly based). It produces a really beautifully detailed imprint.
With speed, flexibility and precision, laser cutting is able to create designspecific appliqués in a short period of time. All you’ll need is a digital design file, which will communicate to the
laser cutter like it’s a printer. Then, a laser will do a controlled burn of the fabric, searing the edges where the material should be cut. As a bonus, if you’re cutting multiple appliqués at once, they can be organized to waste as little fabric as possible. Fabric choice can be important here – twill is among the best because it
won’t burn or discolor, but anything with cotton batting in it might catch fire from the heat. Otherwise, both natural and synthetic materials can be used, including leather.
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Cut Vinyl Decorating For a printing-free option, try cutvinyl decorating. The process takes a vector image and runs it through a vinyl cutter, which cuts the outline onto various options of vinyl material. Excess vinyl is removed, and the image is pressed onto the garment.
A vinyl cutter is a type of computer-controlled machine that can produce any type of 2-D image or logo. Small vinyl cutters look like computer printers. The computer controls the movement of a
sharp blade like a knife. This blade is used to cut out shapes and letters from sheets of thin self-adhesive plastic vinyl. We don’t normally note this but Poli-Tape is a German based company (with USA operations) that really makes an exceptional
Ask us for samples, this is an exciting look. Artwork is an important consideration with cut-vinyl decorating. If the image is too detailed or the lines in the art are too thin, it won’t be a good candidate for this type of decoration. Luckily, the material itself can make up for any flair lost – this process works well with glitter, glow-in-the-dark or other spunky vinyl options.
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with significant length like banners or billboards can be easily cut as well. The one major limitation with vinyl cutters is that they can only cut shapes from solid colors of vinyl. A design with multiple colors must have each color cut separately and then layered on top of each other as it is applied to the substrate. Also, since the shapes are cut out of solid colors, photographs and gradients cannot be reproduced with a stand alone cutter. In addition to the capabilities of the cutter itself, the adhesive vinyl comes in a wide variety of colors and base product—the vinyl. They have so many new designs! Ask your Distributor to get you samples. With vinyl decorating, a symbol, label or logo can be produced using a Vinyl Cutter such as a ‘Sticker Machine’ or a ‘Craftrobo’. These machines are controlled by a computer and operate similar to a printer. Essentially they cut out shapes in adhesive vinyl. The vinyl can then be stuck onto almost any surface. A vinyl cutter (or vinyl plotter) is a computer-controlled plotting device with a blade instead of a pen. A vector based design is created in a software program (usually Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw) and then sent to the cutter where it cuts along the vector paths laid out in the design. The cutter is capable of moving the blade on an X and Y axis over the material, cutting it into any shape imaginable. Since the vinyl material comes in long rolls, projects
materials including gold and silver foil, vinyl that simulates frosted glass, holographic vinyl, reflective vinyl, thermal transfer material, and even clear vinyl imbedded with gold leaf. Often used in the lettering on fire trucks and rescue vehicles.
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Direct to Gament (DTG) Direct to garment printing (DTG) is a process of printing on textiles using specialized ink jet technology. DTG printers hold the garment in a fixed position, and uses specialty inks that are applied to the textile directly by the print head and are absorbed by the garment’s fibers; these features prevent the distortion seen with some other textile printing techniques. Direct to garment printing in the United States began in 1996 with the introduction of the first commercially available DTG printer. In the beginning when DTG was first introduced the machines were very expensive and the ink a concern because of its high cost. As more
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companies came into the market with new DTG printers, prices have—naturally—fallen quite a bit. DTG is approaching the cost of silk screening…and may well soon
be less expensive. All depends on technology and we know that technology gets better every year. DTG is great for short runs where a four color process print is required and a fast turnaround. There are no screens, instead the image is generated from the computer and “directed” to the print heads to make your design. We love DTG for many reasons…and it can be employed on just about any fabric that can lay flat on a print head. That includes
tote bags, wearables, flags, you name it. DTG opens up so many more creative ways to decorate a shirt other than just breaking down the images into one, two or three colors. You can have true four color process with vibrant colors. For the right circumstance, this type of design and print work really make a lot of sense. We like the fact that you can print an unlimited number of colors without any halftones.This opens up so many more creative ways to decorate a shirt than just breaking down images into two or three colors only. For the right circumstance, this type of design and print work can really make a lot of sense.�
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Reverse Applique Reverse Applique-- Unlike traditional appliqué, where a fabric shape is sewn on top of a base fabric, reverse appliqué involves cutting away a layer of fabric to reveal a shape appliquéd underneath.
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Tackle Twill Tackle Twill, or applique, involves sewing down a number or letter made by cutting pieces of one material and applying them to the surface of another material usually with a nylon twill. Basically, tackle twill begins with a “patch” of sorts that is applied to the jersey, shirt, hat or other garment that is then sewn to the material for a more rugged finish. Tackle Twill is the most popular
for both professional sports teams and school athletic organizations. Look closely at your favorite football, baseball, or
hockey player’s jersey. Also look at many of the jerseys fans wear when watching the game. These jerseys have most likely been decorated with tackle twill names and numbers. Advantages of Tackle Twill: This type of applique offers a bold look to your uniform or jersey, but the stitching count is lower than embroidery, thus is more affordable while creating a threedimensional work of art.
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Decal Transfer Decal Transfer--A decal transfer is a plastic, cloth, paper or ceramic substrate that has printed on it a pattern or image that can be moved to another surface upon contact. Most are peel n stick style glossy thick paper. There are a million ways to use decals. Most common are bumper stickers, counter top ads, and kids use them to decorate their phones, laptops and rooms.
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Die Casting Die casting is a metal casting process that is characterized by forcing molten metal under high pressure into a mold cavity. The mold cavity is created using two hardened tool steel dies which have been machined into shape and work similarly to an injection mold during the process. Most die castings are made from non-ferrous metals, specifically zinc, copper, magnesium, lead, pewter, aluminum and tinbased alloys. Depending on the type of metal being cast, a hot- or coldchamber machine is used.
casting is relatively simple, involving only four main steps, which keeps the incremental cost per item low. It is especially suited for a large quantity of small- to medium-sized castings, which is why die casting produces more castings than any other casting process. Die castings The casting equipment and the metal dies represent large capital costs and this tends to limit the process to high-volume production. Manufacture of parts using die
are characterized by a very good surface finish (by casting standards) and dimensional consistency. Two variants are pore-free die casting, which is used to eliminate gas porosity defects; and direct injection die casting, which is used with zinc castings to reduce scrap and increase yield. The most common types of promotional products that are die cast are belt buckles, luggage tags, desk awards, wall plaques, coasters and hundreds more styles.
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Die Striking A die is a hollowed out metal form into which gold or silver or other metals are hammered into shape by a negative die to produce a positive shape. The new “die-struck” piece of metal is light, shiny, and strong and can be soldered together with similar pieces. The result is jewelry that looks “big” but without the heaviness of thicker, cast pieces. Die striking is often used in the manufacture of earrings, lapel pins and other promotional products (there are really hundreds of die struck items.
and promotional products of all shapes and sizes. This is one of the most popular decorating techniques Die-Striking and Fine Jewelry Die-striking is rare in the making of fine jewelry. Making fine jewelry using these diestriking processes is a multi-step, time consuming and expensive process,
Some Die Struck Facts Die-striking metal under extreme pressure creates a product 33% stronger and more dense than a casting. It is also an effective way of mass producing jewelry, making die striking ideal for costume jewelry
but the results are very strong and precisely detailed jewelry pieces. Most emblematic jewelry is made from die striking, but like the first process described in the beginning of this section. Lapel pins are the number one die struck promotional
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product in this manufacturing category. Also includes rings in the category of awards like the Super Bowl, College and others. With the Super Bowl rings they make many layers and solider the together.
Embedments Embedments--Embedment is defined as the act of setting something permanently within something else. When you press a penny into wet concrete and it becomes firmly stuck inside the wet concrete, this is an example of embedment. Promotional
entrapments and embedments are a modern take on the classic plaque award. You can embed personalized logos, photographs and messages to create a stunning marketing image that will impress clients and employees alike. These unique awards are guaranteed to stand
out and cause people to pause and take notice, increasing your brand awareness. This is an example of embedment.
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Hot Stamping In the 19th century hot stamping became a popular method of applying gold tooling or embossing in book printing. The first patent for hot stamping was recorded in
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Germany by Ernst Oeser in 1892. Originally used on leather and paper, the method became a popular means of marking plastic from the 1950s on. It is also one of the most commonly used methods of security printing. Hot stamping is a dry printing method of lithography in which predried ink or foils are transferred to a surface at high temperatures. The non-polluting method has diversified since its rise
to prominence in the 19th century to include a variety of colors and processes. Widely used on plastic and paper (where it is a common technique in security printing), it is applicable to other sources as well.
Offset Lithography Offset Lithography is the process of printing from a flat surface treated so as to repel the ink except where it is required for printing. Offset printing, also called offset lithography, is a method of mass-production printing in which the images on metal plates are transferred (offset) to rubber blankets or rollers and then to the print media. The print media, usually paper, does not come into direct contact with the metal plates. This prolongs the life of the plates. In addition, the flexible rubber conforms readily to the print media surface, allowing the process to be used effectively on rough-surfaced media such as canvas, cloth or wood. The main advantage of offset printing is its high and consistent image quality. The process can be used for small, medium or highvolume jobs. There are two types of offset printing machines in common use for publication today. In sheetfed offset printing, individual pages of paper are fed into the machine. The pages can be pre-cut to the final
publication size or trimmed after printing. In web offset printing , larger, higher-speed machines are used. These are fed with large rolls of paper and the individual pages are
separated and trimmed afterwards. Sheet-fed offset printing is popular for small and medium-sized fixed jobs such as limited-edition books. Web offset printing is more cost-effective for high-volume publications whose
content changes often, such as metropolitan newspapers. Where is offset lithography used most commonly in promotional products? There are many areas… from packaging a promotional product, presentation, gift or events where your corporate graphics are displayed, offset litho (as we call it) is used in a ton of places. Would you ever attend a trade show without proper printed signage? Never. That’s where offset litho fits in…your signage. Would you ever distribute a brochure about your company in a plain white folder? Probably never, but that’s where a beautifully printed four color process printed brochure will brand your company like it should.
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Laser Etching on Garments Laser Etching on Garments, Fleece and other Products—This is a relatively new process that is gaining a lot of traction in promotional products and branding. While it only produces a range of one color imprints it really looks sharp when converted to your brand logo. It’s
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used primarily for fleece products. As an imprinting technique, Laser Etching works great on entrance mats to your business, carpets, wearables, and almost any product with a nylon base. Works best on fleece jackets and sweatshirts for sure.
Woven Fabric Woven fabric is any textile formed by weaving. Woven fabrics are often created on a loom, and made of many threads woven on a warp and a weft. Technically, a woven fabric is any fabric made by interlacing two or more threads at right angles to one another. Where is woven fabric used promotionally? Mostly in lanyards, keyrings and tote bags. In the case
of lanyards and keyrings the logo is woven in. In the case of the tote bag, its woven but the imprint is usually done silkscreening.
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Puff Printing
Puff printing is a common print in Fashion Industry. Some time we can call it foam print. It is almost similar to the rubber print we can make this print in any color. Puff printing is used a lot on knitted T-shirts. What’s the chemistry? Puff printing is a high density print with a slight glossy finish. On the other side of the puff print rubber and a puffchemical is combined. The puff ink expands when exposed to high temperature heat as the garment’s print is cured. When the puff inks raises and firms it’s in the shape of your logo on your garment, creating a 3D fee. There’s also Puff Embroidery. While Puff Embroidery produces a similar look its not the same process. This type of logoing is strictly made with threads and there’s no chemistry involved.
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Combination Embroidery & Screen Printing Combination Embroidery & Screen Printing—we’ve seen this start to develop as a new and upcoming way to brand your company. Think of it this way…put a small embroidered logo on the sleeve or left chest…then add a screen printed logo to the collar. It’s really a brilliant way to get your wearables advertising both coming and going. Wearables are the number one billboard in America. Why not have it work in both directions?
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PVC Flexible Labels Last, and high up in our opinion about branding techniques are PVC Flexibles. But, we’d like to take a sidebar here before we being defining PVC Flexibles. While this is the last decoration type featured in this Guide, it’s not the going to be the last decorating method we will write about. We think we’ve covered just about every mass production type of branding your products. But new
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ones keep popping up. Hey, who knows, maybe we can use atoms to form logos. Whoa, hasn’t that already been done? Yes, IBM did that in a very controlled environment. PVD Flexables are really cool in our opinion. They can be sewn to any fabric product, glued on to hard goods and are used commonly in the USA for labeling general products. Then some bright guy said, let’s
cheapen the mold making process and sell them promotionally. That was many decades ago…and now PVC Flexibles are used to brand zipper pulls, luggage, tote bags, duffle bags, even shirts. There are only a handful of companies that can sew them on…and we know the good ones. We are your Promotional Products Distributor bringing you this reference ready decoration guide.