Planning an event? Want to reward customer loyalty? Simply want to give your company a more professional look?
Branded, custom-printed apparel can do all this and more! Read on to learn more about:
- The benefits of branded apparel
- How to work with design teams and printers to produce slick and classy gear
- How Ink On Cotton will change the way your buyers view your products.
Let’s talk – start your order now.
Can I Put My Own Logo on a Shirt?
Yes! Custom clothing has evolved over the past few decades. Thanks to computer design programs, better automation, and better clothing, it looks more polished and professional than ever before.
Creating great branded apparel takes planning and time, though. You have to decide why you want branded clothing, develop a logo and design, and choose how you want the finished product to look. A good print shop can help you through the process.
What’s Branded Clothing Good For?
Custom apparel can be used in all kinds of ways – the sky’s the limit! Here are some of the most common ways to wear logo clothing.
Staff Uniforms Are Cheaper Than You Think
If you have a public-facing business, you want to present a professional image to your customers. That’s true whether you have 1 or 100 employees. Employees, too, appreciate it when their work can supply a stylish uniform.
School Spirit Ahoy!
Planning for a spirit week? You’ll want to make sure students and teachers have the option of purchasing fun school logo clothing!
It’s easy to make a bold, high-impact shirt that the kids will love. Go with a print shop that offers shirts in a wide selection of colored and tie-dyed styles.
Teams, Volunteers, and More
On a rec league sports team? Why not promote team spirit with custom clothing and uniforms?
Want to show your organization’s volunteers you care? How better than stylish customized branded clothing and gifts!
What Is Promotional Wear?
Promotional apparel means any clothing with your company’s name and brand. It’s commonly used to promote your business with current and potential customers or as a gift or incentive to employees.
Promotional branding sometimes gets a bad image thanks to poorly designed, low-quality products. The secret to creating promotional clothing your customers and employees will love is to focus on quality and utility.
Does a lot of business in your industry happen on the golf course? Embroidered polo shirts might make sense. If you own a gym, maybe your employees would prefer tank tops to t shirts.
Think outside the shirt, too! What about embroidered backpacks, jackets, or towels? You can even put your company name on footwear with embroidered socks.
Promotional Apparel Really Works!
Yes, promotional apparel really works with your customers, too. Studies have shown that 90% of customers can remember the name of a company they’ve received swag from and 80% can remember other brand elements – those are amazing benefits!
Promotional products are great to bring to trade shows, demos, and any event where you and your company meet potential clients face-to-face. Over half of the respondents to one survey about trade shows and events said they were more likely to enter an exhibit with giveaways of promotional gear.
How Much Does It Cost to Put Your Logo on a Shirt?
Costs for promotional clothing can vary a lot depending on the style of clothes or accessories, the kind of logo, and the number of items you want to print. It pays to not only shop around, but also take a deep dive into the options available at a printer.
Screen Printing
Screen printing is a stylish and cost-effective way to produce custom-branded apparel. It’s great for t-shirts, sweatshirts, or tote bags.
The ink many companies use for this kind of printing is called plastisol. It’s made from PVC, making it durable, and can show vibrant colors on event apparel. There are specialty inks, too.
Puff Ink
Get noticed with puff ink on your event shirts – it’s a fantastic way to show off a 3D image.
Metallic Ink
Do you use metallics in your branding? Metallic ink adds a touch of elegance to custom-branded apparel.
Glow-in-the-Dark Ink
Glow-in-the-Dark ink is fun, but it can also be practical. For instance, it’d be quite useful for volunteers at after-dark fundraising events to wear highly visible tees.
Discharge Inks
Discharge inks displace the dye already present in a garment’s materials. They’re great for lending a natural, pre-worn look to dark tees and hoodies.
High-Density Inks
Make your design really stand out to a customer! If you’re showing off a 3D logo, go with this option.
Embroidery
Embroidery is more expensive and time-consuming than screen printing. It also looks more professional and high-end. Polo shirts with embroidered name tags feel a lot different than ones with the design screen printed on them.
What Can I Get Embroidered?
Embroidery can also go places screen printing can’t, like hats, socks, and button-down shirts. It also makes more sense for things like aprons that need to be a bit more durable.
Developing a Design
Every great piece of promotional apparel starts with a design. Even if your company already has an amazing logo and visual brand, you will have to make it work within the parameters of printing or stitching.
Simplicity
Less is more when it comes to custom-branded apparel. Details that are identifiable on a digital logo can become quite muddled on clothing.
Stitch Count
Each detail in your logo becomes a stitch on embroidered promotional apparel. Stitch count, or the number of stitches in a design, is a key determinant of price.
Colors
A wide range of colors is available in both ink and thread for your custom-branded clothing, but the range isn’t infinite. Also, your computer screen can make the colors in a design appear different than they will on a piece of promotional apparel.
Vector Graphics
Vector graphics can be sized up or down without any loss in quality, making them ideal for customized screen-printed designs on t-shirts.
Fonts
Overly intricate fonts don’t take well to a screen print, while block letters are harder to get in stitching. Make sure the fonts of your promotional apparel and accessories make sense with everything else.
Picking out Gear
Cotton or poly materials? Hoodies or jackets? Men’s, women’s, or unisex? Picking the right apparel items is important, too.
Quantity
Most print businesses have a minimum purchase of about 50 items. However, larger orders may be cheaper per item or have a discount attached. You’ll also want to know how your printer will ship the items.
Working with a Design Team
Why not work with a business that has in-house design services? No matter where you are with branding for your business, they can help you out.
Designing Gear
Have a logo or artwork but feel lost about how to make it look great on custom-branded clothing or accessories? A designer can help you transform your art into reality!
Designing a Logo
Maybe you don’t even have a logo yet. Not to fear: design services can help create a logo that represents your brand and vision.
Designing Brand Imaging
Maybe you don’t even know where to start when it comes to visual identity for your brand. A design service can help you choose colors, fonts, artwork, and more!
What to Look for
Look for a designer that has a large portfolio of styles on offer and that has worked with brands or businesses like yours.
Custom Logo Apparel in Orange County
If you need company logo apparel in Orange County, CA, look no further than Ink on Cotton in Santa Ana. From design to finishing, we do it all and will get it shipped anywhere around the world.
Build brand recognition in style!