Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Promotional Products and Promotional Marketing
This A-Z list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding promotional marketing and the purchase of promotional products is an ongoing databank development. If you cannot find an answer to your question or believe that we need to add more information on promotional marketing please advise one of our Promotional Gifts Consultants.
A – items
Advertising giveaways or advertising gifts are alternative phrases used to describe promotional gifts. They are commonly used within the advertising and publicity industries.
Artwork is a general term used to describe the file that will be applied to your promotional items. All delivery dates are quoted from receipt of signed off artwork because it can take some time for some organisations to approve it. The best advice we can give is to get it right first time and supply it in a format that we can use or ask our Design Studio to generate it for you. We publish artwork guidelines to help clients understand more about this complex issue.
Artwork amendments can also be costly. We allow for minor amendments but have to pass on charges for excessive use of this facility as it takes up valuable time in our Design Studio. If we are asked to generate a complete artwork design we require completion of an artwork brief – see Resources – Download Area for the appropriate form.
Artwork proof – the document we send to a client after we have received and opened their artwork file. The proof shows the imprint detail and how it will appear on the product. This provides a last chance for a client to make any amendments.
B – items
Branded items are promotional gifts to which an imprint/logo has been applied using an application (branding process).
Bespoke means custom designed where a product is manufactured to your specification. This can involve extra design and tooling charges.
Blind embossing an application process whereby an imprint is stamped into the surface of a promotional gift. An example would be a leather diary.
Business Gifts is another term used for promotional gifts. This phrase is commonly used for items that would be used within commercial promotional marketing.
C – items
Camera-ready Artwork that is printer-ready. It can be scanned to a high resolution without pixelation and then be applied to a product.
CMYK is a litho-printing process. The acronym stands for Cyan Magenta Yellow Black and describes the formula used to make up a specific colour print in terms of the percentages of each colour used. Litho printing is not generally used for promotional items as it is a four-colour process and therefore more expensive than screen-printing which can be used for 1-4 colour printing. Pantones are another type of colour referencing. Within our Design Studio we hae a CMYK/Pantone Bridge which can be used to convert CMYK colours to a Pantone reference.
Colour matching within the promotional gifts industry is best achieved using the Pantone Matching Service (PMS). Within this specific colours are referenced in libraries and swatches used by Design Studio programs to ensure a colour can be consistently reproduced. Care has to be taken when printing on different materials which will reflect light differently and therefore show differences in the final colour prints even if the same Pantone reference is used. As an example consider a logo printed onto a matt and gloss paper for comparison.
Corporate gifts is another term for promotional gifts. It is commonly associated with medium-value premium gifts.
Currency – all Redbows transactions are based on UK£ sterling. Other currencies accepted include US Dollars and Euros but these are subject to bank charges and sometimes a hedge fund to cover future exchange rate fluctuations for long term supply contracts.
Customisation – certain products can be made to a custom design. The costs for these vary and clients will be asked to pay for any associated tooling or moulding charges. An example of this would be bespoke chocolate moulds.
D – items
Delivery times are quoted from artwork sign off and can range from 3-5 days for express items to 20 working days or longer. The accepted norm is 10 working days within the industry.
Delivery charges vary depending on the weight, transportation method and location of the final site. Please check the actual delivery charge with your Promotional Gifts Consultant. An example would be sweets which may require refridgerated transport and off-loading facilities if palletised.
Die Charge is the cost of a die stamp tool – required to apply an imprint to an item.
Die Cutting is the application of a die stamp tool to sheets of materials to form a cut-out.
Dye-sublimation printing is an alternative four colour printing process to Litho printing. The process uses the application of heat to transfer dyes to a product.
E – items
Embossing is a term used to press your imprint onto goods. The result being a depressed imprint. De-embossing is an alternative method which leaves a raised imprint.
Embroidery – a way of applying an imprint most commonly to clothing gifts. Embroidery is measured by the number of stitches used (3000-5000 being a common standard) and colours off course.
Engraving – some promotional products can be engraved with your imprint. This is most commonly done with metal coated or cased products because the imprint will last longer. If an imprint is screen printed onto a metal flashdrive case for example it can be scratched off over time – think keys in pocket.
Environmentally friendly gifts are referred to as ECO gifts. The range is growing and alternatives can be offered for a number of products. The alternative may be manufactured from recycled materials, organically produced materials or simply be powered by natural energy sources including solar and water.
EPS files are Encapsulated Postscript files that contain image and text for an imprint. These files can be produced in Raster or Vector file formats. All printers required Vector-files as these are mathematically generated files which can be scaled up or down without pixelation.
Etching is a process used to apply an imprint. It relies on the use of an acidic solution to ‘etch’ a design onto a material, the surrounding areas of which are protected.
Executive gifts is another term for promotional gifts. It is commonly associated with high-value premium gifts.
Exhibiton and tradeshow giveways are terms used to describe promotional gifts. Typical items are generally small giveaways such as bugs, pens and mints. Ambient temperature can also play a part in the promotional experience and careful consideration should be given to taking chocolates and drinks to shows and conferences.
Exports – Redbows does supply goods overseas but payment will be required before hand. Credit cards may be accepted but it is more common for goods to be paid for by bank transfer.
F – items
Fonts is the term used to describe the typeface used within an imprint. The font specification defines style of letter from a font family. Common fonts are Arial and Times Roman. The Redbows Design Studio has several thousands fonts within its systems but occasionally we need to purchase a font when generating artwork for a client. A related item is font size – defining the size of the font to be printed. Care has to be taken with font size and when printed too small, the individual letters can merge or parts of them fill in with ink.
Files – in terms of promotional marketing we are talking computer files here and the most commonly accepted type of file used for artwork is a Vector File (.eps or .ai) file produced by for example Adobe Illustrator. Files from applications such as Photoshop are not acceptable as artwork because they produce what are known as ‘Raster’ files with flattened layers. The easiest way to think about a Vector file is as a mathematical equation with each point having an X and Y co-ordinate rather than being an individual pixel on a screen (as in a Raster file). When you view a Vector file on a screen you can see the outline of each font that the printing process will use as a guide to fill in with ink. Files produced in Microsoft Publisher and similar packages are also unsuitable and will require redrawing as Vector files. Tones are another issue for artwork as it is not possible with screen printing to print tones and shading.
Folding – some items like conference folders are supplied ‘flat-packed’. This reduces volumes for shipping (basically air) but the items will require making up prior to use.
Four colour or full-colour printing is a process whereby an imprint is split into four primary colours (Cyan, Magena, Yellow and Black – CMYK) which is then digitally applied to a material as a percentage of each colour.
Fulfillment – is a service whereby several promotional gifts are co-ordinated and consolidated into one shipment and supplied pre-sorted and packaged. A common example are conference folders, made-up and populated with pens and paper pads before being despatched to various locations.
G – items
Generation of artwork – a Redbows Design Studio service.
H – items
Hidden charges – we do not operate a policy of hidden charges. Some gifts websites make up the overall cost of an order by adding hidden artwork charges. It is also becoming common to see an internet charge on website orders or stocking charge. What you see is what you get with Redbows. We always issue a Sales Order Acknowledgement which shows you exactly what you will be charged and any changes are subject to acceptance and our normal sales terms and conditions.
Hot Foil Printing – is a process for applying your logo to a product with either a silver or gold foil. It is commonly used on leather and leatherette (PU/PVC) goods.
I – items
Image resolution – a way of sizing an image on a screen based on he number of dots-per-inch (dpi) in the display. The accepted standard for printing is 300DPI. It is common for website images to be 72DPI. This means that the file sizes are smaller and load faster. If a 72DPI image is used for printing it will become pixelated and will not easily scale up or down on a screen.
Imprint is the term used to describe what will be printed onto your promotional gifts.
J – items
JPEGs is a standard image compression mechanism and file type from which we can generate your artwork. It is a file type that can be made from a Photoshop file and is generally used for website images. Other website image formats include TIF, GIF and PNG.
K – items
Kerbside – all deliveries are priced for a kerbside delivery unless we are asked to provide a full logistics service including off-loading and delivery to a final point of destination. Care has to be taken when ordering bulky and/or items with weight as these may be palletised and require manual handling training to comply with local health and safety guidelines. Our best advise is to obtain a shipping volume and weight from your Promotional Gifts Consultant and to check this with your on site Health and Safety representative or logistics manager.
L – items
Lead times – most products are available within a 10 working day delivery time frame from acceptance of artwork. Express items can be available with 3-5 days. Bespoke items within 20 working days or longer depending on where they are sourced from and the method of shipment. Items from the Far East can take 1-3 days to arrive and clear customs but shipments via sea can take up to several weeks.
Logistics planning – most people have no concept of the volume or weight implications of ordering large gift consignments. Sweets are a case in point where supply them by the thousand in kilos. Large shipments may be shrink wrapped to pallets requiring off-loading facilities and tail lift vans or lorries. If you have special logistics requirements please advise your Promotional Gifts Consultant.
M – items
Meetings – with so many clients we try to get as much done via email, telephone and the internet these days. However we always welcome the chance to visit our clients and appointments can generally be made within a few days.
Minimum order quantities apply to most items and our minimum order level is £50.00 plus VAT, excluding samples.
N – items
No good ever came from buying cheap. We aim to deliver the best possible goods at the most economic prices and pick-up clients who have had a poor experience buying gifts from competitors. Imprints need to last to ensure a promotional gift does not lose its premium value and damage your brand. The same can be said for gifts that are dead on arrival or fail early in their life. Please remember that Promotional gifts are an investment in your brand.
O – items
Off-set Litho Printing (also known as Litho printing) produces a very high quality print and is most commonly used on paper products such as promotional calendars.
Origination is a necessary charge for promotional items supplied with an imprint. Some companies hide this charge but at Redbows we publish them for all to see. The charge applies to the creation of the films and screens used to apply an imprint and is also print-process dependent. For screen printing, there is generally one origination charge per screen colour and sometimes for each position. For repeat orders it is sometimes possible to waive the origination charges if the files still exist on our systems but so thousands of items supplied each year we do not tend to archive these files for long.
Ordering – Redbows can accept orders via various means. We like to get a Purchase Order from a company but can also accept orders using our Customer Order Form and for internet customers via the Promotional Gifts Store which offers secure trading and credit card payments. A Customer Order Form can be downloaded from the resource area of this website but it is more common for the form to be part-completed by your Promotional Gifts Consultant using our quotations system. This is then sent over to you for checking and sign-off. Please note that even with an order we cannot put this into production until payment has been made or credit has been approved.
Outside Office Hours – there is generally someone always available at Redbows and we have outside hours monitoring facilities for calls, emails and faxes.
Overruns/Underuns – is a quantity or percentage variance in quantity ordered. The normal range is +/- 5% but for some products this can run to +/-10 or 15% or higher. The variance occurs because of set up tests runs, weight variances and machine or tool tolerances.
P – items
Pad printing uses a pad containing the raised profile of an imprint. Ink is spread across the pad and remains on the profile area and the pad is then pressed onto the material to which the imprint is to be applied.
Pantones or Pantone Matching System (PMS) colours – are colours with unique references that allow a printer to reproduce the same colour exactly to an ‘ink formula’. We are often asked to verify a Pantone reference and we use Pantone colour swatches for this visually or if we have an artwork file, within a suitable program such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. If you have artwork for your logo from your own marketing or advertising agency then they should have provided you with printing guidelines including pantone references and font specifications. As well as defining colours, Pantones are also available in a number of finishes including matt and gloss to further complicate matters.
Payment – we can accept credit card payment for goods via our estore or the telephone. Credit facilities can be provided subject to completion of our Credit Application Form. However for certain goods we require 100% payment upfront (namely gadgets and food items) and this also applies to overseas shipments. Proforma invoices can be supplied if required.
Personalisation – refers to the application of an imprint to a item. We also supply some items as plain stock.
Pre-production proof – refers to a one-off production sample being generated. This is an expensive option which may require a print run of ‘one’ being set-up.
Q – items
Quality of imprint can seen to vary when an order consists of a number of promotional items. This us due to the fact that different print processes may be used for different materials, whose surfaces will reflect light differently. For example, consider screen printing onto a plastic pen compared to hot foil printing onto a leatherette folder. The same imprint can be used but with different results due to the print process and smoothness of the plastic pen compared to the ‘rougher’ surface of the folder.
R – items
Raster files – the type of image produced within applications like Photoshop. The file type is made up of pixels rather than mathematical co-ordinates.
RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue and provides a formula for generating a colour. It is typically used for displaying items on a screen and cannot be used for printing onto promotional items.
S – items
Samples can be ordered on completion of the Sample Order Form and acceptance of our Samples Policy. Clients and prospective clients can order more than once sample but they will be charged if the samples are not returned within 30 days. Personalised samples and one-off prints can be supplied subject to authorisation.
Screen Printing is the most print method used to apply an imprint to a product. In simple terms, the process involves the squeezing of ink through a fine mesh (or screen) which governs where the ink is applied.
Set-up Charge is the cost associated with the set-up or creation of the required print files including screens, foil blocks, jackards, tapes, die stamps and tools.
Shelf-life – some products have a shelf-life. Common examples include food, drink and electronic gadgets supplied with batteries. If in doubt, please contact your Promotional Gifts Consultant.
Strapline – a phrase that is use to convey to clients what your company or campaign is about. At Redbows we use ‘Promote Yourself’.
T – items
Text – most promotional items are used to keep contact details within easy reach of a client. We therefore recommend that you include your website and contact telephone number(s) in addition to your logo and marketing strapline.
Timescales – we advise clients to build in artwork approval to their promotional campaign. Dependent upon the number of alterations and people involved it can take several days or weeks for organisations to finally sign off approvals. Also our Design Studio can take longer sometimes to respond to artwork changes. Their workload is often dictated by seasonal demand as well as the success of our wonderful Promotional Gifts Consultants.
U – items
UK shipments – Redbows ships both within the UK and overseas.
V – items
Vector files – the type of image produced within applications like Illustrator and which are generally acceptable for use as artwork when supplied as n .EPS or .AI file. Vector files are mathematically generated and can therefore be easily scaled up or down without losing definition. When a Vector File is produced we require it with font outlines. When we generated artwork we save two versions – with an without font outlines because one the outlines are made the text cannot be altered.
Virtual Visuals – is a service we provide for clients to show them how their imprint might look on a gift. It is a representation governed by the quality of the logo supplied and image we use for the proof. For example our image may already have a logo on it that requires removing and it may be shot at an angle that makes the proof look slightly odd. Our Design Studio is however highly skilled and will provide the best possible result for this free service.
W – items
Weekend deliveries can be made but at a premium over a standard normal working hour delivery.
X – items
X factor – not just a TV program but what we aim to provide our clients with every day. To close down every order we send our clients a short Customer Satisfaction Survey. This is your chance to formally tell us what you think about key aspects of our company and service. We take this very seriously and are always looking to improve our processes and customer service.
Y – items
Y do we do this – because we love it and happen to be very good at solving promotional problems.
Z – items
ZZZs – what we catch at Christmas and Easter – about the only time people do not want any more promotional gifts…
