Embroidery Information

Embroidery is an effective way to promote your logo and your brand. But there are limitations. Here is some information on how to take advantage of this tool.

What can be embroidered?

A wide variety of items can be embroidered - from polo shirts, hats, tote bags, towels, etc. Consider how the item will be used before deciding on an item. Polo shirts are great for employees (and owners) to wear their logo out. Wearables like polo shirts are seen wherever you are. They help with brand recognition, invite questions as well as being a moving advertisement. If you have raving clients that would wear a hat with your logo on it, that is a great way to spread the word of mouth as well.

How do I start?

Your logo is where you need to start. Do you have a simplified logo? A good logo design takes into effect that your logo will be appearing in many places and in many mediums. In print, embroidery, signage, etc. A logo embroidered on your shirt will be around 4" wide. If there are thin lines, you may want to make them slightly bolder. Small wording may need to be enlarged. If you have gradations in your logo, that will not work. A simplified logo is a logo that will embroider well. It is your logo in thread. Usually you can use up to four colors without any additional charge. Send me your logo and I can address any problems before moving forward.

Digitizing your logo

Once you have a logo that is simplified and using flat colors, the next step is to digitize it. I can take care of that for you. This process breaks down your logo into computer instructions that tell the needle and thread where to go. The file format is DST. Once this is done, the DST file is your property and you should always ask for it. It can be used at any embroidery vendor. We will send you a sew-out which is a sample of how your logo will look on the finished product. Once you approve the sew-out we can embroider your job. Most logos are under 10,000 stitches. If over that, the cost to embroider will be slightly higher.

Shirts

You can order the shirts yourself of let me take care of that for you. If you are providing the shirts, I will need them still in the packaging (and unlaundered). I mentioned polo shirts, but oxford button down shirts are also a nice touch to have your company logo embroidered into. Most shirts are embroidered on the left chest area. Sometimes there is already a logo there (Under Armor, Nike, etc). If that is the case, we will ask you if right chest placement works for you. You can also embroider on the back (yoke) of the shirt as well as on the sleeves. Depending on the shirt, the sleeves may not always be an option. Every location you embroider will add to the cost of the shirt. The minimum order is 6 shirts. You can find a vendor (in the mall) that will do less than the minimum, but will charge quite a bit more.

Planning

When planning your embroidery job, know that the minimum of 6 shirts mentioned above means that it will be 6 shirts with the logo in the same thread colors, in the same location. If you have black shirts and white shirts in your order, the black part of your logo will not show up on the black shirt but show up great on the white shirt. It is always a good idea to choose the colors and have your graphic designer do a mockup of your logo on all the colors ahead of time. If you need to have a version that looks good on black shirts as well, you may need to design the logo that way and have a separate digitizing done for dark shirts. I have two versions of my logo so that I can have it look good on dark shirts and light shirts. Also, when you get your shirts and you are wearing them out to advertise, it is always a good idea to turn the shirt inside out when laundering so the logo will look good for a longer time.