Methods, quantities, artwork
Promotional merchandise — products branded with a logo and given away to promote a company or event — is produced by a handful of print methods, each with its own cost curve and its own set of products it suits. The right method depends on run size, colour count, substrate and what the item has to survive. This page compares the methods, walks an order from artwork file to delivery, and lists the file specifications that decide whether the mark survives use and washing.
| Method | Typical run size | Colour handling | Suitable products |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen printing | About 50 pieces and up | One screen per colour; setup cost per colour | Flat garments, tote bags, posters |
| Direct-to-garment (DTG) | Small runs, full colour | No screen setup; process or RGB artwork | Garments, full-colour artwork |
| Embroidery | Any run; priced by stitches | Priced by stitch count, not colour count | Left-chest logos, caps, workwear |
| Pad printing | Small to medium runs | One plate per colour | Pens, stress balls, 3D giveaways |
| Laser engraving | Any run; permanent mark | Single-tone mark, no ink | Metal, glass and wood items |
| Artwork file | — | Vector: any size; raster: about 300 dpi | All methods |
Screen printing wins at 50 pieces and up with few colours; DTG, embroidery, pad printing and laser each cover a different product class.
Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh stencil and becomes cost-effective at runs of about 50 pieces and up. Each colour in screen printing needs its own screen, so per-colour setup drives the cost of small orders — a one-colour job on 30 pieces carries the same setup burden as a one-colour job on 300 pieces, but spread over fewer units.
Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing works like an inkjet printer for fabric and suits full-colour small runs. There is no screen to burn, so a four-colour photograph on 12 pieces costs roughly what a one-colour job on the same pieces costs; the trade-off is that DTG is limited to garments.
Embroidery is priced by stitch count; a typical left-chest logo runs about 5,000 to 10,000 stitches. Pad printing transfers a two-dimensional image onto three-dimensional objects such as pens and stress balls. Laser engraving removes the top layer of metal, glass or wood, so the mark is permanent and cannot wash off.
Five steps: artwork check, proof, production, curing and packing — each with its own typical failure mode.
The order path is the same shape regardless of method. Artwork arrives, is checked against the method's specifications, is approved as a proof, goes into production, is cured or finished, and is packed for delivery. The steps below list typical turnaround and the failure that most often sends a job back to step one.
A rejected artwork file is the single most common cause of delay: a raster logo sent at 72 dpi, or a colour-mode mismatch, will be caught at the artwork check and returned before any screen is burned or any hoop is loaded.
Vector files at any size, raster files at about 300 dpi, correct colour mode and correct placement.
Vector artwork (AI, EPS, SVG or print PDF) reproduces cleanly at any size; raster files need about 300 dpi at final print size. A vector logo can go on a 6 mm pen and on a 400 mm banner from the same file; a raster logo has to be supplied at the resolution of the final print size or it will soften.
Colour mode matters as much as resolution. Artwork prepared for a four-colour process will not separate cleanly into the one or two spot colours a screen job needs, and spot-colour artwork will not reproduce the gradient a DTG print expects. Placement dimensions — print width in millimetres, distance from collar or seam — are part of the specification, not a note added later.
Laser engraving removes the top layer of metal, glass or wood, so the mark is permanent and cannot wash off — but only if the artwork arrives as clean vector outlines with no hairlines thinner than the engraver's minimum stroke.
The order path is a fixed sequence of stages rather than a dated chronology.
Each method reaches a different class of surface: flat, fabric, stitched, curved or hard.
This page is an independent reference; it does not reproduce or link to any single supplier's documentation.