If You Provide Your Business Card As Artwork...

You can provide a business card, web page logo or other form of your logo but keep in mind that your artwork will probably need to be adjusted for embroidery. This may involve resizing text and images. Often design elements must be simplified for embroidery. The detailed serif font that looked great on your business cards won't translate well into embroidery and will need to be modified. The drop shadow effect highlighting your business name on your web page may need to be eliminated. Your embroider will know what changes to make so your embroidered logo looks good but its a great idea to check an artwork proof of your embroidery set-up before your shirts are embroidered.

What Type of Artwork Do I Need for Embroidery?

Generally speaking, you don’t need to have vector art (resizable line art) for embroidery but if you provide poor quality artwork that may have a negative effect on the look of your embroidery. Bitmap computer files are usually fine but a poor quality (low resolution) bitmap may not accurately represent a detailed design. If you are not sure about the quality of a file and your logo exists in different file formats then email all your file types to your embroiderer so they can choose the best file.

Can I Add Colors To An Embroidered Logo?

Sometimes additional thread colors can be easily added to a design depending on where the colors are located in the design. With items such as text, it’s easy to change a word from one color thread to another color but with more complex items such as realistic wildlife, adding a section in a different color may effect how a section is set-up and require additional editing. For example, if you have an embroidered design of a horse in shades a brown and you want to change this to a brown horse with white stocking feet this change would require editing the design.

Can My Logo Resized For A Jacket Back Design?

If your embroidered logo is a small design (4 x 4” or less) it can’t be resized for a jacket back design. Digitized embroidery designs can only be resized 10 -20% if at all. Different stitch types are used to embroider larger designs. If you want a jacket back design, you’ll need to have your logo digitized for that size. This can be costly but you’ll have great jacket!

Cotton vs. Blend!

What’s the difference between a cotton versus a blend fabric? Cotton is cooler; a blend will be less likely to wrinkle. Cotton will shrink more than a blend. If you need a dark colored shirt, a blend is less likely to fade. Cottons are available in different types such as Egyptian, supima, ringspun and pima cotton. Blends come in many varieties including cotton/polyester and cotton/polyester/spandex.

Can Text Be Added To My Embroidered Logo?

Sometimes people ask me if they can add a phone number or web address to their left chest embroidered logo. The answer? It depends on the available space in your logo. The traditional left chest logo is approximately 3.5 x 3.5” depending on the general shape of the design. If your business name is short you might be able to add a brief tag line but often there isn’t enough room for additional text without diminishing the size of your business name. Your logo is valuable real estate! Why risk lessening the impact of your logo by decreasing the size of your business name? If you must include a phone number or a web address save these for the back of a hat or a woven shirt. Potential customers are more likely to jot down a phone number if they can do it inconspicuously. Keep the focus on your business name!

Can My Logo Be Embroidered On a Knit Cap?

Yes, your logo can be embroidered on a knit cap. But, depending on the size of the elements in the design and the amount of detail, it may be better to embroider a "foundation" fill for your logo to lie on so your design won't sink into the knit of the cap.

More "Questions Answered" next week!