Here we are in 2012; a New Year and a new Distinct Images blog!  We’re excited to get this rolling and see where it takes us and we’d love to hear from you as we move through the year.  Getting this blog started was a New Year’s resolution of ours and what better way to get going than hit on our services, some of the objections we’ve heard before and how it’s time to take another look at branded products for 2012.

SCREEN-PRINTING:  I looked up the actual definition of this process and it’s listed as “a print made by the silkscreen process”.  Personally I feel like this is just defining a word with itself so let’s define it by application.  Screen-printing is a cost effective method to decorate a variety of products from apparel and bags to promotional products and signage.  A design that is screen-printed will have a separate screen for each color of the design and the ink is applied directly to the product.

Distinct Images specializes in screen-printing for apparel and bags.  This process is perfect for company t-shirts and sweatshirts and anything else that would fall into the casual apparel category.  Go for a traditional look with a small left chest print and full back print or just a full front print of the company logo.  For a more modern look, modify your company logo to be included in a custom design based off a retail piece.

EMBROIDERY:  Let’s face it, while the t-shirts and jeans route is extremely comfortable, we don’t all work at Google and Facebook.  While most professions have moved away from a suit being the norm, dress pants and a polo or sweater are definitely in.  Embroidery is the perfect decoration option on business casual pieces to show your logo in full color on the left chest, sleeve or back tag placement.  Having everyone at your office in branded apparel not only ensures that a certain level of dress is maintained but it automatically gives the impression of professionalism.

Now, I have had people tell me before that they don’t want to waste money on embroidered apparel because they bought some before and no-one wore it.  Usually when we dig a little deeper though we find out that the shirts they picked out were hard to maintain, or the cut of the shirt was too boxy, or the piece was just down right uncomfortable; IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE EMBROIDERY!!!!  Let’s bring your embroidered logo back into the office by spending some time to find apparel your employees want to wear and love to wear.

Want a design option that looks good on a polo or fleece like embroidery but can cover a larger area without breaking the bank?  Let’s take a look at laser etching.

PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS:  The most common question I get when I tell people that we handle promotional products is, “What type of promotional products do you offer?”  The answer to this questions is EVERYTHING.  If you’re at the mall and you see a product that you think would be great to have your companies logo on it, chances are we can find that product, or something very similar, and produce it for you.  I used to say that we could logo everything except people; now we can do that too, see temporary tattoos.

Now, there are some that say promotional products don’t work or call them trash.  Many times we get a similar objection to promo products as we get on embroidery, “I used them once and didn’t get a response so I don’t want to spend money on them.”  Often times this is more a matter of finding a good promo product versus them all being bad.  ASI (Advertising Speciality Institute) did a survey that showed 84% of people remember the advertiser on a product they receive.  Again, set aside some time to find the right promotional product for your business and your audience.  If someone finds your product useful they are likely to keep it and use it increasing the number of times they see your logo.  Key point, PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS WORK.

The goal of branded items regardless or whether it’s screen-printed or embroidered apparel or promotional products is the same.  It’s to get your company’s name and logo out in front of clients and potential customer’s.  The more someone sees your logo the more likely they are to call you when they need your services or goods.  It’s that easy.

Keep branding,

Jody C.