| Buying personalized gifts or promotional products is a | | | | calling card or a letterhead is adequate artwork |
| minefield because the catalogue price and the price | | | | without realizing what is involved. The days of "cut and |
| you pay are not always the same. It is all down to | | | | paste" are long gone and virtually all artwork is |
| some hefty added costs to personalize promotional | | | | computer generated. However, somebody has to |
| items or personalize gifts. | | | | prepare the artwork and, whoever does it, the cost is |
| The extras to watch out for are (1) personalization, (2) | | | | considerable. On colored designs the manufacturer |
| origination, (3) extra colors and (4) artwork as well as | | | | needs artwork color separated into CMYK (cyan, |
| (5) carriage and packing. It is always advisable to read | | | | magenta, yellow and black), or on occasions, RGB (red, |
| the terms and conditions thoroughly before finalizing | | | | green, blue). |
| the deal. Make no mistake about it, additional costs are | | | | Branding technology changes almost on a weekly |
| considerable but, here is the good news, they are all | | | | basis and some marking processes now take the |
| negotiable. | | | | artwork straight from a computer without the need for |
| It is easy to get confused with all the terminology used | | | | any intermediate step. However, some inscribing |
| in buying promotional products particularly when sales | | | | processes will need the artwork prepared on a block, |
| people use words like artwork, origination and | | | | plate or screen. |
| personalization. It is arguable whether some sales | | | | Promotional product catalogues show prices for |
| people fully understand these terms. Let us clarify the | | | | personalized gifts printed one color. However, if the |
| meaning within the trade of these important terms. | | | | logo has more than one color the costs will increase |
| Promotional product personalization usually refers to | | | | significantly. For instance if you choose a golf umbrella, |
| branding promotional gifts with a logo, contact details | | | | priced in a catalogue as a one color one position print, |
| and/or a sales message although, in some cases, it will | | | | and your logo has three colors, the cost will increase |
| include a person's name. However, to the public, a | | | | significantly for the two extra colors. Further, if you |
| personalized gift means just that; a personalized gift | | | | want the logo on four umbrella panels the extra cost |
| for a special occasion. | | | | will be considerable. In addition, you are not done yet |
| Origination is part of the personalization process and is | | | | because a screen-printed three-color design needs |
| sometimes misunderstood. It refers to the method | | | | three screens; one for each color. |
| used to brand the item such as a block, screen or | | | | Most promotional products use a different |
| transfer. The easiest way to imagine origination is to | | | | personalization method but there are some |
| think in terms of potato printing. Here the potato is cut | | | | promotional items personalized by more than one |
| out with a design and then dunked in some paint and | | | | process. For example, promotional pens can be |
| applied to a wall or paper. Using this method the potato | | | | screen-printed, etched, embossed, pad printed or |
| is the origination in a similar way to using a rubber | | | | engraved. |
| stamp. Following this parallel, think in terms of other | | | | You will save yourself a lot of money if you |
| forms of printing such as offset litho where a plate is | | | | understand how much the personalization aspect of |
| prepared before printing. Alternatively, in screen-printing | | | | personalized gifts really costs. When you know and |
| a screen is required for each color to be printed. In | | | | understand all the five extra charges, you are on your |
| both cases, the plate and screen are origination. | | | | way to cheaper personalized gifts and promotional |
| Artwork is a further additional cost and causes some | | | | products. |
| confusion in the buyer's mind. Some customers think a | | | | |