Whether you're printing apparel for an event or for merchandise, it's important that you get everything right. But if printing isn't something that you frequently do, you can easily fall prey to a few common mistakes. Here are a few things to look out for.
1. Don't Rush It—Get a Sample
If you order far enough in advance, you can get a complete sample sent to you before you move forward with production. If you're doing the project last minute, you may need to move directly into production. Samples often illuminate issues that wouldn't otherwise be caught; consequently, they're extremely important to have in hand.
2. Don't Forget to Get the Right Sizes
When it comes to corporate apparel, you should always poll people in advance to determine the right sizes; you don't want to run out of apparel during an event. You also don't want to be left with a lot of excess merchandise.
3. Don't Go With the Cheapest Bid
While it can be alluring, the cheapest bid is sometimes paired with a similar quality or a long production time. While you should get multiple bids, you may want to question any bids that are far cheaper than the competition—make sure that you know the quality you're getting and how soon the order can be filled, so you can get what is best for your company.
4. Don't Print On the Wrong Color
Sometimes an image that looks perfectly good on black is virtually invisible on white, and the opposite is also true. You need to look at your image on the color that you're going to print it on if you want to avoid any unexpected results.
5. Don't Forget to Check Your Resolution
Often, companies send low-resolution images or blurry images, and when they're printed on apparel, they look even worse. Make sure that your logo or image still looks very good when blown up significantly. Items in your hand need to be printed at a much higher resolution than your computer screen.
6. Don't Send the Wrong Color Palette
For digital media, most images use something called the RGB color palette (red, green, and blue). For printing, most images use the CMYK color palette (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key or Black). Make sure your file is using the right color palette or the colors will look incorrect.
Remember: always get a sample. As long as you order with enough lead time to get a complete sample, you should get a custom product that you're satisfied with.
For more information, contact a company like AD-MARK Promotional Products.
