How Big Will My Embroidered Logo Be?

That is a question we often get asked when someone is interested in buying custom logo embroidered apparel from us at Thread Logic.  And it is a very good question. 

If you want your logo embroidered on the left chest of a shirt, size matters, right?  Too big and it will out of proportion and goofy on the shirt.  Too small and it may not be easily seen or read by the people you want to see it.

The answer of course is more complicated than it first appears but in this post I will try and explain two quick ways you can see what sized your logo might end up being.

First of all, there is no real standard size for every embroidered logo.  And that is simply because every logo is different and must be treated differently.  However there are some guidelines that can help you understand how big a logo will be on a shirt.

Because nearly all of the logos we embroider on the left chest of apparel, we will concentrate on that application.  Obviously if the application is a full front or full back, the discussion is very different.

The Logo Shape

The final size of an embroidered logo can depends a great deal on shape of the logo.  For example, we approach logos that are a circle shape differently than ones that are more horizontal or vertical.  By the nature of their shape, circle logos look bigger because the cover more area. 

Therefore, we usually recommend circle logos be sized to 2.5 inches in diameter.   At that size, the elements are generally big enough to embroider well and the circle image still doesn’t look out of proportion on the left chest of a shirt.

The America’s Best Companies is a good example of a circle shaped logo.

 

The Moss Landing logo is more of a square shape.  A square shape can appear very large because of the area it covers.  Therefore, we need to be careful not to make it too big.  In the case of logos that have more a square shape, we like to keep them at about 3 inches wide or less.  Anymore and they don’t look good.

Business Card Size

Most everyone is familiar with the size of a business card.  If you are looking for a quick and dirty definition of logo size, this is the one.  Most logos, either horizontal or vertical in orientation end up about the size of a business card.  The standard business card is 3.5 inches by 2 inches.

When asked this question, I have even recommended that people take a business card and put it to their left chest so they can get an idea of how large a logo will be.

The Chocolate Pink logo is a good example of a logo that is about the size of a business card.

 

 

Too Big

We have found that any logo that is over 4 inches long or 4 inches tall is too big for the left chest of a shirt.  Not only does it look out of proportion, but larger than 4 inches wide and it starts to dive into the arm pit-which never looks good.

As you can see, answering the question about logo size may not be as easy as it first appears.  Hopefully we have helped you answer this question and therefore make a more educated decision about your embroidered logo apparel purchase.

Introducing a new logo for Thread Logic

Thread Logic is ten years old this year.  That is a major milestone for any company.  In fact, I read recently that only 3% of new companies make it to 10 years.

As part of the celebration of this event, we have decided to upgrade the Thread Logic logo.  The original logo is one I created ten years ago and it is one I have never really liked.  There isn’t anything major wrong with it, just a lot of little things that bugged me.  And now, ten years later, it feels a little tired and outdated.  It was just time to hit the reset button.

I have written a number of posts in this blog about logo design.  I also get an opportunity to talk to customers about their logos when it comes to embroidering them onto shirts.  So this exercise gave me an opportunity to implement some of that advice and guidance I have been talking about for years.

I’m really excited about the new design.  It’s neat, clean and easy to read which is a requirement of mine when it comes to logos.  The most important job of any logo is to communicate the name of the company. 

I believe this logo does that really well.  In addition, the unique treatment of the typeface also offers it some personality. But I will talk more about that in future posts.

We are in the process of introducing it to our customers and into the market.  We released it on the Thread Logic Facebook page a few days ago.  I am hoping to get our website updated this week with it.  It will fit very nicely into our current website so we don’t have to go through a complete redesign of the site.

In the next few blog entries, I will chronicle my experience and process of creating a new logo.  I will also share with you some of the rejected designs and why they were rejected.

Free Logo Evaluation for Embroidery

If we have said it once around the offices at Thread Logic, we have said it a thousand times.  Not every logo transfers well to embroidery.  So why is that?  It is simple, really. 

A vast majority of logos are created in one medium-on a computer with a white background.  Makes sense, right?

The challenge we have for embroidery is that putting thread on material is a different medium that putting ink on paper or looking at pixels on a screen.  You see, thread has three dimensions.  It has height, width and depth.  Ink on paper or pixels on a screen only have height and width.  Doesn’t sound like too big of a deal, right?

It is a big deal when you are trying to put embroider a logo on a shirt.

But the fact that logos get embroidered on all kinds of items and that thread has dimension is something that isn’t always considered in the logo creation process.  Therefore, many logos get created that have elements that cannot be recreated in embroidery.  Some of those elements include small text, drop shadows, color gradients and small details in graphics.

The reason logos get created this way is simple.  Very few graphic designers and business owners understand the technical limitations of putting thread on material.  During the logo creation process, they are focused on creating a logo that best represents the company.  They don’t always take into consideration the embroidery process.  And frankly, we wouldn’t expect them to do that either.

That’s why we created the free logo evaluation process as a service to our customers.  Because we have embroidered thousands of logos over the years, we have a pretty good idea of what will embroider well and what won’t embroider well.

When a logo is sent to us for embroidery evaluation, we can look at it and fairly quickly spot any elements that may cause a challenge in embroidery.  That gives us the opportunity to address those issues with the customer up front before they ever place an order.

This creates a conversation, a discussion that takes place between Thread Logic and the customer where we work together to get the best possible outcome. We both want the same thing-for the logo to look great when it is embroidered onto a shirt or cap.

At the bottom of our free logo evaluation page you can see a few examples of how we adjusted logos so they would embroider well but still retain their integrity.

This service is offered free of charge.  Of course our hope is that the customer decides to place an order with us based on this interaction.  But if they choose not to for any reason, that’s OK.  It’s part of the process.

So if you are unsure about how well your logo will transfer to embroidery, give your free logo evaluation process a try.  It will give you information to make a better decision for purchasing embroidered logo apparel.

Pricing for Custom Logo Embroidery: It doesn’t have to be so complicated.

Pricing custom logo embroidery services can be a very daunting and confusing adventure.

So you are ready to purchase some embroidered logo apparel. You go a Google search and find a number of companies from which can meet your needs.  You find a shirt that will work for you company so now you want to know the price.  But as you try and figure out how much it will cost to have your logo embroidered onto a polo shirt, you discover the pricing for custom logo embroidery can be a process in itself.

There are basically two different methods to price custom logo embroidery.

Stitch Count

In this method, the price is determined by the number of stitches it takes to create an image in embroidery.  The theory is the more stitches it takes, the longer it is on the embroidery machine and therefore it would cost more.

You would see this pricing method referred to usually as “$1 per thousand stitches” for example.  In this formula, a logo with 10,000 stitches would cost $10 to embroider on a shirt.

Part of the buying decision for customers is figuring out the price of an item.  Some companies make this very complicated.  For example, this is the embroidery pricing found on a competitor’s website.

Custom embroidered apparel or cap prices include up to 6 colors per logo, up to 10,000 stitches for the 1st logo, and up to 5,000 stitches for additional embroidery locations.

$0.35 for every 1,000 stitches exceeding 10,000 stitches, per piece* (regardless of quantity purchased)

What happens if my design has 7 colors in it?  Then what is the price?

I am in the business and I am not sure I understand how that pricing would work.  I can’t imagine if I were a customer just wanting a few polo shirts for my company this would make any since.

Pricing by stitch count has its advantages.  For the embroidery shop, it is a very accurate way to cover the costs of production.

But there are two very distinct disadvantages with a stitch count pricing method.  The only way to actually know the stitch count, and therefore the price, is to have the logo set-up or digitized.  That can be a time consuming process-it may even take a day or two.  How does that pricing method make is easy for a customer to make a buying decision?

Secondly, the customer really has no idea of how many stitches it takes to create their logo.  Only the embroidery shop knows the true number so this method is less than transparent.  Information is power and in this case the customer has no information or power in this transaction.

Flat Pricing Method

The other pricing method is one that we at Thread Logic have employed since the start of our company. It is a flat pricing method.

Under this method, the cost for the custom embroidery of a logo is a flat fee and it not determine by stitch count.  This makes it much easier for the customer to understand when making a decision about logo embroidered apparel.

In fact, we take it one step further; we include the cost of logo embroidery right in with the cost of the item that is to be embroidered.  That way it is very easy and transparent way for customers to make a quick and educated buying decision.

Every item on our website includes the embroidery of the logo.  It’s that simple.  No need for a quote.  No need to figure out stitch counts.

Flat pricing for custom logo apparel takes away all the disadvantages of pricing by stitch count.

So why don’t more embroidery shops use this method?  That is a good question.  The answer lies in the old traditions and practices of the industry.  Pricing by stitch count has been around for decades and is a commonly accepted practice within the industry.  It is driven by a cost account philosophy of pricing and not a customer friendly philosophy.

The flat pricing model is something we have used at Thread Logic from the time we started the company.  The feedback we get from customers on it has been very positive for the reasons stated above.  I would dare say it is one of the best marketing decisions we have ever made.

Embroidery vs. Screen Printing

There are a number of methods to decorate apparel but by far the two most common are embroidery and screen printing (aka silk screen or serigraphic).  However, they are very different in terms of their application, benefits and situations in which you would use one over the other.

Embroidery is basically defined as decorating fabric using a needle and thread.  Screen printing is a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of silk or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance, and ink is forced through the mesh onto the printing surface, usually a t-shirt.

An logo embroidered directly on a polo shirt material.

At Thread Logic, we do a form of direct embroidery on all logo apparel.  Direct embroidery is where the design or logo is woven or sewn directly into the material of the garment.  The embroidered design essentially becomes part of the material.  You might contrast direct embroidery with something like a patch where the logo is embroidered on a piece of material first and then the patch is placed on top of and merely attached to a garment.

There are three major ways to compare and contrast embroidery and screen printing-how they look, how much each costs, and the applications for best using each method.

How They Look

In general, embroidery is considered a nicer and classier way to present a design.  An embroidered logo looks very nice and classy on the left ch

A design screen printed on a t-shirt.

est of a shirt.  It is the preferred way to decorate a shirt with a logo by many companies.  Because thread has dimension, an embroidered logo ends up being three dimensional.  In addition, embroidery thread is coated and therefore has a sheen that helps the colors pop to attention.

Screen printed designs look like they were painted or printed with an ink-jet printer on a shirt.  It is possible with screen printing to create designs or certain looks that could not be recreated in thread and embroidery.  The designs can be very colorful, but are one dimensional.  In general, screen printed items are considered by many to be less valuable and not as nice as embroidery.

The Best Applications

Logo embroidery is used most often for apparel that will be used for uniforms or promotions.  Millions of companies across the United States wear logo embroidered shirts to identify and promote their company logos and image.  Most embroidered logos are done on the left chest and look really good on polo shirts, button-down shirts, caps and hats, sweatshirts, jackets and bags.

Screen printed designs are usually best done on t-shirts and sweatshirts.  One reason for that is the finish on a t-shirt or sweatshirt is smooth and therefore provides a nice surface on which the ink can be applied.

If you need to do a large full-front or full-back design on a t-shirt for example, screen printing is the best choice.  Putting a large embroidered design on a t-shirt would spell disaster for both the shirt and the embroidered design.  The t-shirt material is too thin to properly hold all the embroidery stitches it would take to create a large design.  It would not look good or last very long.

Embroidery and screen printing are equally durable.  Often times, these decoration methods will outlast the garment they are printed on.

How Much They Cost

Pricing for each decoration method involves a number of variables that one should consider ahead of time.  Embroidery is most often priced by stitch count.  That is the number of stitches it takes to create a design in embroidery.  More stitches equal more cost. 

However, at Thread Logic, we created a flat pricing structure that includes the embroidery in the cost of the garment to simplify the pricing process for our customers.

The pricing for screen printing is completely different.  It is driven by three variables including the number of shirts, the number of colors in the design and the number of different locations (i.e. front and back) printed on a shirt.

The more shirts you have to print, the lower the printing cost per shirt.  However, more colors in a design drives up the printing cost.  Similarly, if you want a design on the front of a shirt and one on the back, that also adds cost to the item.

Hopefully we have been able to provide some basic information about the difference between embroidery and screen printing.  Both decoration methods have their advantages and disadvantages.  If you have any additional questions, please contact us for more information.

Three important considerations when choosing your business name

It’s one of the first decisions business owners make.  It’s one of the most important marketing decisions we make.  Yet, it does not always get the proper consideration when we make it.

That decision is the name of your business.  So what’s the name of your business?  More importantly, what does your business name say about your business?

The name of your business sends a very clear message to your customers and potential customers.  The question is, “Does it send the right message?”

There are a number of important considerations when choosing the name of your business that can help make your marketing more effective

A business name often reflects the competitive advantage of that business.  For example, “Main Street Embroidery” emphasizes the business location.  Or “Affordable Logo Apparel” emphasizes price as a competitive advantage.  “Mary’s Embroidery” puts the emphasis on the business owner, Mary as the thing that makes it most unique.

So your first question for consideration is “What makes our business unique or gives it a competitive advantage?”  Is it our location, service, pricing, quality, etc., etc.

Another consideration is the use of a descriptive word or phrase.  In my industry, embroidery is a common descriptive word that many business owners use.  The advantage is obvious-using a word like that makes it very clear what you do.

However, there can be a disadvantage to using a descriptive word like embroidery.  First of all, it is very hard to spell which may make it more challenging for people to find and do business with you.  Also, embroidery is not a word that rolls off the tongue easily when you are talking to people or answering the phone.

If that is the case with your descriptive word, you may choose to consider another word.

A final consideration is the URL or web address.  Is your potential company name available as a .com?  If not, you may have to consider an alternative or an alternative url.  For example, Threadlogic.com was not available.  It has already been purchased by someone.  Therefore, we went to www.Thread-Logic.com.  By adding the dash (-) in the middle made it unique enough that is was available for purchase.

Other options include adding the word “online” to the url or maybe a location like “ABCminnesota.com.

Those were just three of many things I took into consideration when trying to come up with the name of my business.

One quick thought on business names and I don’t mean to offend anyone, but there are some words that have been overused and therefore are really no longer effective in a business name.  A couple that come to mind are “global”, “solutions” and “creative”.  I have often made the argument that any business that uses the word “creative” in their name isn’t very creative.

I’m sure many of you reading this probably already have a business name.  So what if things have changed in your company and/or your industry and your business name does not reflect what you do or your competitive advantage?  Can you change it?  Absolutely!

Some will make the argument that changing an established business name is a marketing no-no.  I will argue not making a change is a bigger no-no.  If what you do and what makes you different from your competition is not accurately reflected in your name, you have to change it.  It is short-term cost, but long-term gain.

The Secret to Business Success

I am in a conversation recently with a fellow business owner and he said, “Can I ask you a question?”  I said, “Sure.”  So he leaned in and lowered his voice to a hushed tone as if he didn’t want anyone else hear, “What is the secret to your success?”

First of all, I was flattered that he thought of me as “successful” and thought that I had “a secret” to share that would make him successful too.

I paused for a minute as if trying to decide if I was really going to tell him “my secrets”.  I looked left and then right to see if anyone might be eavesdropping on our conversation.  I leaned in and responded in a whisper, “The secret to my business success is…” pregnant pause, “…there is no secret.”

It truly amazes me that some people think there is one little piece of information that if only they had, they too could be “successful” (whatever that means, but that is a different topic). 

I conducted a workshop at an industry convention last year on the topic of Internet marketing.  It was a conference of competitors, embroidery shops just like mine.  One of the attendees approached me before my session to ask if I was going to share “all my secrets” during the session.  I answered, “Yes!”  The look on her face was priceless; a delicate mixture of surprise and confusion.

I’m sure it is a question that gets ask of anyone who enjoys some level of success whether it is in business, athletics, the fine arts, education, relationships, etc.   There is even a bestselling book called “The Secret” which implies that once you know the secret, your life can and will change for the better (I have my doubts.)

Truth is, when it comes to successful small business ownership, as well as success in other endeavors, there are no secrets.  Everything you need to know is available for the taking.  Everything you need to start, grow, operate and run a business has already been published.  And now with the Internet, it is even more readily available.

People are so hungry to know how to do something or find that one nugget of information that will put them over the top that they pay big bucks in the form of books, conferences and seminars to find out.  There is big business to be had in telling all “the little secrets to success.” 

There are books on customer service, marketing, finance, human resource management, networking, selling, etc. etc.  You name the business topic and I guarantee there is a number of books that have been written about how to do it and apply it to your business.

Because that information is so readily available, there are no secrets.  There is nothing I know that you can’t find out on your own.

And yet, the idea persists that there is some “secret” only a few people know that make them successful business owners.  Simply not true.

So you ask, if there are no secrets, why are some businesses successful and others are not?  That is a great question and I have some experience and theories about the answer.  Look for that conversation to continue in future posts.  I am fascinated by it.

Making Impressions with Logo Apparel

In the world of marketing and advertising, impressions are everything. I am talking about the number of impressions made with your company logo or advertising message. Impressions are the number of people watch a TV show, pass a billboard, read a newspaper ad, see your sign, etc.

The concept is simple. The more impressions made the better chance your brand image will be seen and remembered by enough people who may do business with you and/or your company.

It’s a numbers game-the more impressions, the better.

So how many impressions can an embroidered shirt make for your company?

Let’s do some simple math. Say you wear your logo apparel every day to work. In the course of your daily activities you encounter 50 people. That is 250 impressions a week or 12,500 impressions a year (250 times 50 weeks). Not bad.

An industry trade magazine recently conducted a study that asked people to keep an informal count of their contacts during a normal day. The goal was to see how many people (impressions) can be made by wearing logo apparel.  The following is a typical example of their findings.

An owner of a financial services firm in Minneapolis reported a count of 346 impressions per day. Sound like a lot, here’s the breakdown: 37 contacts while walking the dog in a local park, 19 in the coffee shop, 26 while in a conference meeting, 43 while running errands, 57 while making a presentation and 164 at a kids basketball game.

So here is the math: 346 impressions a day, 1730 impressions a week and 86,500 impressions a year.

Now, here is the best part. Those impressions are very economical. An average price for an embroidered shirt is about $25. So you purchase 5 for the hotter month and 5 for the colder months you have an investment of $250. At 86,500 impressions a year, each impression costs you just $.0028.

Even if your impressions are half of the example (43,250), the investment per impression is still just $.0057 each. Talk to anyone in advertising and they will tell you that is a real bargain.

Now, what if you outfit all of your employees and each employee encounters a similar number of people each day. That is a lot of impressions and a great marketing value.

Don’t underestimate the value of logo apparel to promote your brand. This sample proves the point that logo apparel delivers a very good return on investment.

People don’t buy from websites

As most of you already know, Thread Logic operates a fairly successful Internet business model in the logo embroidered apparel industry.  One of the things that I think helps us is a concept I learned from a marketing research firm and implemented a few years ago about Internet marketing.

It was this idea that people don’t buy from websites, people buy from people. 

So what does that mean?  It means people are genuinely interested in other people.  People are interested in the people they buy from. People are interested in the stories behind companies. 

People don’t buy just from any old website they happen to land on; they want to know the people behind the website or company.

The Internet is a big, anonymous place to do business.  There are lots of bad people trying to take one thing or another from us.  One of the goals of your website is to build credibility in the eyes of a very skeptical Internet audience and/or website visitor.  

As small businesses, we have little or no credibility established with our potential customers.  We are not Target or Best Buy who have well established brand promises. 

One way to do that is to personalize your website and tell your story to your customers.

So how has Thread Logic done that?  We have implemented this idea on the About Us page of our website www.Thread-Logic.com.  On that page you will see a picture of me and the story behind Thread Logic.

Another way we implement this idea is by listed our physical address on the Contact page.  It gives the visitor some credibility when people know we have a physical location and are not some shell company operated by someone overseas.

If I click on an About Us page and see an 800 number and an email address, that creates doubt about who is running this company and where they are located.  Without providing this information is seems as though you have something to hide-something you don’t want me to know.

I find myself clicking on a lot of About Us pages of websites. I am interested in the stories behind different companies.  But I have to admit it is very frustrating what people put on this page.  All too often it is some innocuous company mission statement or a description of the products or services they provide.  When I read about your company being a “solutions provider” all I hear is “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah”.

 I am interested in knowing something about the people behind the company.

Most of us who are business owners have an interesting story to tell in terms of what brought us to business ownership.  Take that opportunity on the About Us page to tell that story.  Add a picture of the company leadership and/or some employees.

Sure, some people don’t care about this information.  And they will never click on the About Us page of your website.  But many people do care and will click.  For those who do, give them something that helps them make a decision about doing business with you.

The more you can humanize the experience of your website visitors, the more successful you will be.  So next time you are thinking about a redesign of your website, remember, people don’t buy from websites, people buy from people.

Polo Shirt Material Primer

The polo shirt is by far the most popular style of clothing used for embroidered logo apparel.  With so many kinds of material used today to make polo shirts, I felt it was important to define the advantages and disadvantages of the material so you can make the best possible choice for your embroidered logo apparel.

Cotton:

By far the most popular material for polo shirts today, much of the material used to make cotton polo shirts is prewashed in some way thereby preshrinking the material before the shirt is constructed. Years ago, it was commonplace to buy shirts a size or two bigger to account for shrinkage.  Today, that is no longer necessary.

Advantages of cotton:

• Softness
• Breathability
• Natural fiber
• Comfort

Disadvantages of cotton:

• Cost-at least right now, cotton prices have jumped up significantly in recent months
• Moisture absorbent
• Dark colors like black and navy will fade after repeated washings (usually after  a couple of years)

Polyester:

Sometimes it is hard to change a perception or bad reputation.  Twenty to thirty years ago, polyester was distained by many people for being “scratchy” and uncomfortable.  While that is certainly true, the polyester fibers of today are made very differently and are much more comfortable to wear.

In fact, moisture management or rapid dry shirts worn for athletics are made from 100% polyester.  Compression t-shirts have popularized this material for those situations.

Advantages of polyester:

• Cost-poly is less expensive than cotton to produce
• Color retention-dark colors will not fade over after a number of washings
• Durability
• Low moisture absorbency allows the fabric to dry quickly
• Wrinkle resistant

Disadvantages of polyester:

• Poly still suffers from a perception of a “scratchy” feel
• 100% polyester material will snag at times
• It does not have a natural look or feel

Cotton/Poly Blends:

The solution to finding a happy medium between natural fabrics and polyester fabrics has often been to blend the two together. By making a fabric from both natural fibers such as cotton and polyester fibers, a blended fabric is created that melds the best characteristics of both to create a material that will serve many customers of logo embroidered apparel well.

So next time you are in the market for some logo embroidered polo shirts, you have some important information to help you make an informed decision.