How Do You Make Custom Personalised Promotional Items ?

Custom personalised promotional items are supplied with an imprint and may be custom designed. The printing process selected to create custom personalised promotional items depends on the print surface, number of colours, print quality and size required.

Screen Printing (Spot Colour Printing)

Screen printing can be used for custom personalised promotional items with vivid imprint colours (one, two or three). Ink is drawn across a screen which lets it pass through at designated areas. The process can be used for text and images that are clearly defined and of a reasonable size. Each colour requires a screen. See: Flashdrives.

Tints are notorously difficult to produce in the small areas used on for example mugs, pens and flashdrives, and have to be done as separate colours. The reason for this is that a tint is made up of dots. The greater the number of dots, the stronger the tint. When ink passes through a screen for a solid colour and tint(s), the ink patterns can merge leading to a patchy imprint. The only way round this is to use a separate screen for tints and therefore the cost is that associated with a separate print colour. The tint process can work for larger print items such as t-shirts where there is a larger print area and more chance of separation of the ink patterns.

Off-Set Litho Printing (Full or Four Colour)

Off-Set Litho produces smoother more defined print. Plates with an ink receptive coating are dampened by water and ink rollers. The ink is attracted to the imprint and the water to the non-imprint areas. As a cylinder rotates the ink is transferred to a rubber blanket and then to the product (hence the name 'off-set'). Each colour requires a plate (aluminium - high quality, paper low quality). See: Calendars.

Dye Sublimation Printing (Full or Four Colour)

An alternative to off-set litho, most commonly found in photo-lab-quality printing. The process applies ink through a transparent cellophane film which contains solid cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) printing dyes. A heated print head vaporises the dyes as it passes over the film. These then permeate the glossy film surface before returning to their solid form in the imprint. See: Textile Mouse Mats.

Hot Foil Printing

Hot Foil Stamping applies a shiny, metallic imprint. Coloured pigments are transferred from a heated thin plastic film as it is pressed against the product. The surface onto which the hot foil is stamped must be smooth enough so as not to break up the imprint. See: Leather Conference Folders.

Custom Designs

More expensive are custom personalised promotional items generated from bespoke designs. This is possible for products that have a hand manufacturing element and/or are produced in both small and large quantity runs. Custom designs are more expensive due to the need for bespoke moulds, jigs and tools.

Promotional chocolates can be produced to bespoke designs. Bespoke moulds are fairly common place and can be used for a completely customised design. For example to recreate a figure from history, company logo or product.

Mouse Mats are produced in runs as low as 100 pieces and as high as 10,000. The machinery producing them runs from set jigs and patterns which can be bespoke manufactured themselves to non-standard sizes such as A2 and A3, and shapes. A mat in the outline shape of a company logo is a classic example.