Design Services FAQs

Vector art is artwork built from mathematical paths rather than a grid of pixels, so it can be scaled to any size without losing sharpness. A vector logo works equally well on a half inch coin and a ten foot backdrop from the same file. Raster artwork such as a JPG or PNG has a fixed pixel count, so enlarging it softens edges and introduces visible steps. Production processes also need clean paths to work from, whether that is a laser cut path, an engraving toolpath or a color separation.

No. We are happy to create your design from scratch. A detailed description of what you are looking for is enough to start, and for some products that is the normal starting point rather than the exception. If you do have artwork, send whatever you have, including rough sketches, photographs of an existing piece, or a logo pulled from a website. Our designers adapt what exists and build what does not, then prepare a proof so you can see the result before anything is produced.

Almost any. PSD, AI, PDF, JPG, PNG, SVG, TIFF, WEBP and more, and our designers can adapt them. Layered and vector formats such as AI, PSD, SVG and PDF give us the most to work with, since elements can be separated, recolored and rebuilt cleanly. Flat formats such as JPG and PNG are usable and arrive constantly, and small or low resolution versions can be redrawn. Send the largest and cleanest version you have rather than one pulled from a web page or a slide deck.

A proof is a representation of exactly what will be produced, provided so you can confirm it before anything is committed to tooling, press or machine. It shows layout, sizing, color, spelling and placement on the actual product, usually as an art proof paired with a product mockup. Approval matters because it is the last point at which a change is free. Once a die is cut, a screen is burned or a run goes to press, corrections mean starting over. Read every word, especially names and dates.

A mockup shows the design on the product so you can judge the look. An art proof is the technical document, showing the artwork at production scale with imprint dimensions, color callouts, placement measurements and the decoration method specified. Mockups answer the question of whether it looks right. Art proofs answer the question of whether it will actually produce correctly. Both usually accompany a custom order, and the art proof is the one to read carefully, because it governs what the machine does.

Because a screen and a physical product are not the same medium. Fine lines that render perfectly on a monitor can close up in a mould, fill with enamel, burn out under a laser or vanish at embroidery scale. Colors that separate cleanly on a backlit display can flatten against metal or shift on fabric. Imprint areas are also physically limited, so a wide horizontal logo may need restacking to fit a round face. Every change is made so the finished piece reads correctly in the hand.

Screens emit light and printed surfaces reflect it, so the two build color in fundamentally different ways. Monitors mix red, green and blue light, while print and most decoration methods work from cyan, magenta, yellow and black or from specific mixed inks. Some bright screen colors have no ink equivalent at all. Substrate changes it again, since the same color reads differently on coated paper, matte fabric, anodized metal and enamel. Supply your Pantone references at the start and we will advise what is achievable in your chosen process.

You are. When you supply a logo, insignia, photograph, illustration or typeface, we proceed on the understanding that you hold the rights or permission to use it on the product being ordered. That is straightforward when the mark belongs to your own organization. It is more complicated with partner logos, licensed characters, stock imagery, sports marks and protected emblems, which carry their own usage rules. Confirm permission with whoever controls the mark before the design stage, not after tooling has been produced.

We prepare concept proofs until you are satisfied. Revisions are part of the design process rather than a separate transaction, and the goal is a proof you are genuinely happy to sign off on. The most useful thing you can do to keep the process short is consolidate feedback, so all stakeholder comments arrive in one round rather than one at a time over several days. Being specific also helps. Tell us what is wrong and why, and the next proof will get closer.

Yes, and that advice is a core part of the service. Our designers flag constraints early, including imprint size, color limits and material suitability, so problems surface during design rather than after production. That might mean recommending fewer colors on a coin, a simpler mark for a small engraved area, a restacked layout for a round face, or a different decoration method entirely. A design that is beautiful on screen and impossible in production helps nobody, so we tell you before you commit.

Send it, because that is a workable starting point. Our designers regularly rebuild artwork from a photograph of an existing product, an old catalog page, a patch, a plaque or a coin from another supplier. The work involves redrawing the design as clean vector art, correcting distortion from the camera angle, and identifying finishes and colors so the new piece matches. A clear, straight on photograph in even light gives the best result, shot flat against a plain background rather than at an angle.