Your promotional pen is not simply a cheap giveaway – they represent your brand to prospective clients, peers in your field or co-workers. When thinking about any promotional product, you’ll want to impress in order to get the best return. When picking a promotional pen, you should think about your target market. How do you want your company image to be portrayed? Think about your company ethos and what branding goals you want to achieve. There are several aspects of a pen which should go into your decision-making process. Each aspect which we have discussed below will directly alter your company image and affect your branding goals.
1. Plastic versus metal
When deciding which promotional pen to use the first factor to account for is material. Plastic pens will be a lot lighter, so they’re perfect for promotional gifts at trade shows or industry events. Although not true for all, plastic pens often come with a rubber grip which can make it much more comfortable for the user. On the other hand, metal pens will be sure to impress, with the feeling of weight usually comes a feeling of quality as well. Metal pens are perfect for high-level employees and prospective clients. You really will be able to feel the quality.
2. Functionality of your promotional pen
For anyone who thinks a promotional product or pen is just a cheap give away – think again. There are many features which can be added to the pen such as stylus’ and LED lights. By adding an added feature to your pen, you’ll heighten the value of the pen as well. By spending a little bit more you’ll ensure that your promotional pen won’t be back of mind. If you create something that a client will want to use every single day, you’ll also ensure that your brand will stay front of mind. A big part of a pen’s functionality which is often forgotten is ergonomics. Is this pen going to be user-friendly? Factors like thickness, surface material (rubber, metal, plastic) as well as mechanisms such as twist action versus push point will all affect how comfortable the pen will be for the user. Think about what the pen will be used for in order to determine what functions it will need to perform. For example, if you have an event or conference which requires everyone to use a touch pad – why not include a pen with a stylus?
3. Origin of promotional pens
Origin of a pen plays a big part in its quality. The two main categories to consider are Chinese and European – there are benefits for both. Chinese pens are a great promotional product as they are low cost. Perfect for hotels or business who want to print contact details onto a pen. These pens can still be extremely stylish, by choosing a slim line pen in a dark colour and adding a bright contrasting logo on the barrel. However, the quality of these pens will suffer. It is not a pen which will last for years, or a pen you would bother refilling – the refill will most likely cost more than then pen. European pens are built to be carried with you for years. You’ll not only feel the quality of the pen in its structure but also within the ink and its flow as well.
4. Decoration techniques
There are a few different ways which a pen can be decorated. The most common are a screen and pad print. These techniques will allow you to have two or three colours at most. The decoration area on a pen is small. It’s best to go with a one or two colour logo at most. Too many colours can ruin the clarity of your image. When doing paint based decoration techniques on any promotional product=, it’s also best to include a base coat as well to ensure your logo stands out. This is especially important when printing dark colours onto dark pens – such as red onto black. If you have a highly coloured logo, or a logo with coloured gradients – a digital print is best. This method uses regular digital printing methods (similar to your home printer) to print a logo onto your pen! The problem with this method is that it is not highly available in Australia, the alternative to this is a digital transfer. This is where an image is digitally printed and pressed onto the pen using heat (in short summary).
5. Our favourites
Take a look below at some of our favourite pens here at Red Tomato below.
Thinking about including a pen as part of your next promotional product campaign? Click here to get your free packet of samples!
We previously covered the basics of screen printing onto fabrics, but there’s a whole range of new and exciting techniques left to explore! Screen printing is one of the most common decoration techniques when it comes to promotional marketing and there’s certainly a reason for it . With the right materials and specifications, it’s easy and super cost-effective. Several new screen printing techniques have emerged recently which will make screen printing more accessible and the results even more vibrant.
Rotary Screen Printing
When it comes to curved objects, such as drink bottles or coffee cups, rotary screen printing is not a new technique but it’s still a god send that we want everyone to know about. A standard screen printing machine has a completely flat surface for the product to lie on, so printing onto a bottle would be an extremely messy job as the bottle or mug would roll around constantly. A rotary screen printer has rolling cylinders that glide over round objects as the object also rotates so the entire surface becomes printable. This technique is a must when wanting to maximise branding space on promotional drink bottles and coffee mugs.
Printing on Spandex
There are very few screen printers in Australia willing to deal with the trials and tribulations of screen printing on to sports leggings and active wear. (Where, oh where, does Lulu Lemon get hers done?). This is because, as the fabric stretches the print will begin to crack and peel. However, new technology allows us to print onto spandex with low-density screen mesh and thicker emulsion. The biggest issue here is using a glue strong enough to hold the material whilst being screen printed. You don’t want your image to stretch and become distorted.
Special Effects Ink
Wilflex now has a special effect ink on the market, and it has some seriously cool results. The ink makes your logo or image appear to be rusted, spray painted, cracked, or even flecked with gold sparkle! Check out the images below to trigger some inspiration!
Gradient Effects
Gradient screen printing is truly an art form. Traditionally, screen printers could only print one colour at a time. However, if you imply a gradient screen printing technique, you can incorporate breathtaking gradients into your design to truly make your brand stand out. Gradient screen printing works especially well for bright colours, such as blue and green printed onto black shirts. If you’re printing dark colours onto dark material (like red onto black) opt for a white base coat to ensure your colours really pop.
Four-Colour Process
Four-colour process screen printing uses PhotoShop to separate your artwork’s colours. The colour mode is then converted into CMYK (the same colour function your home printer will use). Make sure to use high quality, self-produced artwork and not something pulled from the internet for best results here. These four-colour process prints produce a beautiful, meticulously coloured garment. Think about getting the colour quality of a digital print but with the vibrancy of using ink. These designs are sure to make a statement about your brand’s high standards. Keep in mind that this requires printing onto premium, ring-spun cotton.
The screen printing techniques that we’ve introduced here are the freshest innovations on the market. Here at Red Tomato, we cannot wait until they’re all available in Australia! We’ll be putting gold sparkle on everything.
Which technique are you most excited about using? Are there any other screen printing practices you’d like us to discuss? Tell us in the comments below!
Screen printing is one of the most common decoration techniques in the world of promotional merchandise. It provides a great quality print at a cost effective price. It can be hard to execute a great screen-printed product without the help of a professional – so we’ve compiled a list of pro’s and con’s to help you out. To fully understand the positives and negatives of screen printing, you first need to know how it’s done:
First, films are created from acetate with your design or logo
Firstly, vectorised logos are separated out into colours and then printed out onto an acetate film by a special printer that creates a stencil for the design to be transferred onto the screens.
Next, the screen in screen printing!
The screen printing frames are lathered with an emulsion substance in preparation for the transfer of the design from the films. Guides are marked onto the frames to ensure the accuracy of registration of the design, this is super important especially for multi-coloured jobs (note: individual films and screens are required for each colour in a design). The screens are then secured into position with the acetate films and exposed to light. By exposing the acetate film to light, it will burn a series of small dots in the shape of your logo. this allows the ink to sink through the mesh-like fabric of frames onto the merchandise.
Now, the promotional item – let’s say a t-shirt is positioned flatly onto a stand, with the personalised screen on top
Using a wooden squeegee, ink is smeared over the screen allowing your logo to seep through onto the t-shirt.
The printed fabric is then heat-cured, allowing the ink to stabilise
Voila! Now that we know how screen printing is done, we can consider the various factors that come into play when using screen printing as your decoration method of choice.
Let’s start with the positive aspects of screen printing:
For large batches of merchandise, this method is definitely the best option for you. It’s much easier to repeat the same design in large quantities for a screen printer. As you’ve learnt above, setting up the screens is a time consuming process. So the more items they can print on, the more time effective it is for the decorator – hence a cheaper cost.
Screen printing is a great high quality print. The ink used will really stand out on your merchandise. Keep in mind that some designs will need a base colour as well, so liaise with your promotional products agency on this. It’s also easy to create fantastic stand out designs to print onto your merchandise. Check out our infographic below for our tips on designing a screen printed t-shirt.
As much as we love screen printing at Red Tomato, we have to come clean about some negative aspects as well:
If your logo has multiple colours or gradients, then screen printing probably isn’t the best option for you. As mentioned above, each new colour requires a new screen to be set up, adding additional set-up fees to the job. It’s best to stick to one or two colours when screen printing to ensure the most cost effective price. If your logo has upwards of three colours we would recommend a digital print.
When screen printing onto merchandise, consider colour contrasts. For example, a black pen with a navy logo isn’t going to stand out much. Consult your promotional products agency for more advice about how to make your designs pop.
What have your experiences with screen printing been? contact us today! – we’d love to know!
A promotional products agency can help you strategise and execute campaigns to generate qualified leads and turn them into sales.
Generating sales is all about making a personal connection. Marketing efforts need to be extremely personal, communicating your message with the specific individual to whom you want to sell. This is why it’s important in your marketing campaigns to focus on quality over quantity. Decreasing your cost per lead to the lowest possible requires careful planning and research.
Using promotional products to generate sales
How is a branded pen or mug going to help you hit your revenue goals? Well, 85% of people have done business after receiving a promotional product. However, not all promotional product campaigns are created equal, nor is every promotional products agency. Before you go and spend your entire marketing budget on a branded product campaign, it’s important to do your research.
Who is your target customer? What are you trying to sell to them? What’s your messaging, what pain point are you solving for them? At what point are they making decisions about purchasing?
After conducting thorough research and answering these questions, you can begin planning your campaign.
The most common reason people keep a promotional product is because they find it useful. Your target customer will keep your product on their desk, in their home, and use it every day all while having your brand in mind. Therefore, it’s important to have a promotional product that is useful to your customer while also making your brand’s messaging stick.
The usefulness of a product and its timing go hand-in-hand. Make sure your promotional product lands in the hands of your target customer at the perfect moment and your chances of recollection will increase.
How a promotional products agency can help you reach your sales goals
Creating and executing perfectly-timed, strategic promotional products campaign is an art form. Choosing the product and its design are just the first step. Timing, distribution, follow-up channels, messaging, and integrating your sales funnel all need to be included in your campaign. This is where a promotional products agency comes in.
As you know, marketing efforts need to be mixed in order to be effective. In a world of digital-overload for customers, a knock-out social media campaign is great, but its results are doubled when strategically paired with a branded product campaign. A promotional products agency will work with your existing marketing efforts to catalyze a sense of connection and loyalty to your brand.
An example of this is how O’Brien Real Estate enlisted our promotional products agency to attract more auctions for their AFL Finals Promotions. By combining a strategic product (branded footballs), strong timing (around the AFL Finals), and social media, they were able to generate more auctions and a larger audience for their seasonal promotions.
A promotional product agency will help you implement a strategic campaign; generating brand loyalty and catalyse your sales funnel to hit your revenue goals.
Only those who manage big companies understand the struggles that come with it. If you have had to deal with tight deadlines, demanding budgets, and shipping of your products. You know that not everything goes as planned. As the company grows, you will acquire more responsibilities. This also means you should leave fewer things to chance. One of the most important assets your company can have is its branding. Whether it’s for presentations or external sales, you know that it has to be controlled, standardised and centralised in order to grant consistency in your merchandise. If you’re starting to struggle with these aspects of your business, maybe it’s a sign you should consider opening up a company store and partner up with a Promotional Products Agency. Whichever you decide to go for, online or physical, we’d like to share some of its advantages with you:
Your branding remains top quality
The solutions you have at hand should be growing at the same pace as your company; before things get out of hand you might like to consider outsourcing to a promotional products agency. This way, your logo and everything that revolves around your brand will be produced with the best quality. Your brand deserves the respect and treatment that your company has. Let only professionals handle it. We have dedicated our life to merchandising, and it will definitely pay for itself in the future.
It saves money
Having an online company store makes managing the inventory much easier and cost-friendly. You can regulate the number of items produced to match customised demands or the amount of customers that can have access to your stock. This will not only decrease production costs. It’ll also lower expenses and allow single items purchase without generating extra costs.
It saves time
Time is money. Waiting long periods of time to have your merchandise delivered can affect the performance of your company overall. The average time for customised production of merchandise can take up to 10 business days depending on where you are. While products that are stocked within your company’s store can take up to 24 hours to ship.
Always prepared
As opportunities come and go, you and your company have to be ready for any occasion. Being able to order, develop and ship material in short periods of time at a comfortable price might save the day regularly. It could help you out down the line to open up a company store. At the same time, partnering up with a Promotional Products Agency will take care of everything related to branded products.
A company store will not only ensure that your products have the professional look they deserve, but also the quality it needs. It guarantees that all products have a standardised look. This will avoid giving an unprofessional impression and minimises the risk of damaging your public image.
At Red Tomato, we are the leader of Australian promotional products and customer branding. Our experienced management team and dedicated staff work closely with promotional product distributors and suppliers to identify new opportunities for each of our existing and potential clients. Why not give us a call today at 1300 776 733?
1300 776 733
hi@redtomato.com.au 
