Your Embroidered Logo : Correct Logo Size?

Your manager wants you to order embroidered business shirts. Your company recently had a new logo designed by a graphic designer. You pick an embroidery company and email them your logo specifications packet. They respond by saying that the requested size for the logo is too small for embroidery. What do you do? Look for another embroiderer?

You can check out other embroiderers but if you’ve already decided on a particular embroidery company then you may want to ask them why the sizing is too small and what size they suggest.  If they say the smaller size won’t embroider well and your design must be larger to be readable than what if they are right? What should you do? You want to follow the directions specified by the graphic designer but what if your logo isn’t readable when embroidered at that size?

Ask your embroiderer to send you two embroidered samples, one that adheres to the graphic designer's specifications and a larger version that meets your embroiderer's standards. You can request either embroidered swatches or shirts. Have your manager compare both sizes so they can make a decision. Then you can order your shirts knowing that your embroidered logo will be sized correctly.

Your Embroidered Logo: Stock Embroidery Designs?

 Wondering about stock embroidery designs? Read on!

1. What are stock embroidery designs?  Stock designs are images that have been set-up in stitch format. They can be used alone or with text.

2. When are stock design used? Stock designs can be used to personalize an item or create a business logo.

3. Where can you find stock designs? There are many web sites that sell stock designs. Some of the most popular sites are Great Notions, Dakota Collectibles, Embroidery Library and Urban Threads.

4. Will any design size work for any project? No, you must pick a design that is sized correctly for the placement you want.

5. How do you know what design size to choose? Your embroiderer can suggest what size will work depending on the placement and if text will be added to the design.

6. Can the size of a design be changed? Most designs can be resized 5% - 20% depending on the amount of detail in the design.

7. Can the colors be changed? The thread colors can be changed but you can’t add additional areas of color. For example, you can change an area from green to blue but you can’t make it green and blue.

8. Will all designs sew well on all fabric types? No, stock designs are usually set-up to sew on stretchy fabrics like polo shirts. A design may need to be edited to work on a particular fabric type.

9. Can stock designs be embroidered on hats? Possibly not. Hat designs are set-up differently so they will embroider well on a curved surface.  Unless the design says it was set-up for hats it probably won’t sew well.

10. Which design format should I pick? Most likely your embroiderer will download the design but if they ask you to purchase it then they will specify what file format to choose.

Your Embroidered Logo: Using a Stock Embroidery Design?

Choosing a stock embroidery design for your business logo? Pick a design that’s small enough to allow for plenty of room for your business name.  Even though you may love the look of a detailed embroidered design, your business name should receive primary focus so your design shouldn’t be too large. Look for a design that’s approximately 1.5" - 2” wide or high. Having a smaller design will allow you to make your business name clearly readable and help create a more professional looking logo.

Your Embroidered Logo: Match Colors?

Having different pieces of clothing embroidered? Trying to select different styles in the same color?

Let’s say you want T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats in the same shade of royal blue. Just because all the items are available in “royal blue” doesn’t mean it will be a same shade of royal blue.  Royal, like other colors, can vary greatly. There are royals with more white, more black, more red and so on. Even when the items are made by the same manufacturer there can be different “royals”.

How can you get matching items? Ask you embroiderer.  They may be able to suggest styles with the same PMS (Pantone Matching System) color which means the shade is the same. Even then, differences can occur due to washing frequency, wearing conditions and fabric variations. You might find that initially everything matches but after a couple of months the T’s look lighter because they’ve been washed a lot and the hats have faded from being worn in the sun while the sweatshirts look about the same because they haven’t been worn or washed much.

Your Embroidered Logo: Work For Hats?

Wondering if your vertically orientated logo will work on hats?

Hat designs work best if they are 4" wide x 2” high. If your design doesn’t fit that space you have some options:

1. Rearrange it so it fits within the area. Many times one element of the design, possibly the image, can be placed next to the text to create a horizontally-orientated design.

2. Resize or eliminate design elements. Enlarge your business name and downsize or eliminate secondary elements. If you eliminate an element such as a web address, consider having it embroidered on the back of the hat.

3. Have one element such as your business name or image embroidered on the left front panel.

4. Use just your business name and you’ll have plenty of space to make it big.

Your Embroidered Logo: Logo Colors

Picking logo colors? The colors in your logo say a lot about your business and should appeal to your potential customers.

Are your logo colors bright or subdued? Traditional or unconventional? Is the mix of colors typical or unusual? Do the colors already represent something else?

How do the colors look against different background colors - your website, print media, shirts? Is the color of your business name the most predominant color? Should this color be repeated in your design to help emphasize your business name? If your design contains small text does the color of that text contrast well with the background colors you’ll use?

Can your design be simplified into a single-color design? Does your logo show up well against both light and dark-colored backgrounds? If not, can your colors be “reversed” so they do show up well? Will simplifying the number of colors make it easier to use different colored backgrounds?

Do your colors contain both warm and cool-toned shades? You don’t have to use both warm and cool tones but some people believe doing that gives a design more depth.

Having trouble figuring all this out? Try simplifying your logo to its most basic elements. Does it still work as a good logo? Is it simple, memorable, unique, eye-catching and speak to your customers?

Your Embroidered Logo: Embroidery On the Pocket?

Like the look of a logo embroidered on a pocket?  Want to use that placement for your next order of embroidered shirts?

Unless your logo is very small it probably won’t fit on the pocket. Pocket logos on clothes that have been mass produced are embroidered before the pocket was sewn to the shirt.  This allows the size of the logo to be larger because the embroidery machine isn’t confined by the pocket.  Once a pocket is sewn on a shirt there isn’t as much room to embroider a logo. But, if you really want your logo on the pocket consider using part of your logo such as the image and having a small version of that embroidered on the pocket.

Your Embroidered Logo: Comparing Hat Designs

You want to purchase embroidered hats. You’re wondering about how to size your front and back designs when you think, why not make your designs the same size as the designs on your favorite hat?

That may work but not all designs are equal in how they are perceived visually. Even if the designs are basically the same shape a design with a single large element may be sized differently than a design with smaller details. Also custom hat designs are limited to 2.25” in height. While your favorite hat might have a 3” design because it was embroidered prior to assembly, your custom design must be smaller. Afraid your design won’t be readable if it's only 2.25” high? Then you need to simplify it or rearrange the different elements within the design so it fits better within the 4” wide x 2.25” cap front area.

Your Embroidered Logo: Correct Size?

You’re ordering new embroidered shirts. You had a new logo designed and you’ve just received your digital proof. You open the file and your logo looks huge! You know it won’t be that big when embroidered on your shirts but will it be okay? You check the finished measurements but it’s still hard to judge if the size is correct. How do you decide?

If you can print the file at the correct size then that will work. If you have extra time then you can request an embroidered sample. That’s a great option especially if you also want to check the thread colors. But, what if you can’t print your logo at the right size and your time is limited?

Cut out a piece of paper that’s the correct size and general shape of your logo. Then, try to picture the different elements in your design at the correct size. Make sure your business name is readable and any small text isn’t too small to read.