Choosing a logo finish starts with the product, artwork and intended use. Compare embroidery and printing options, see practical buying examples, and use our checklist to review proofs, samples and quotes before ordering.
A small chest logo on a polo, a full-colour event T-shirt and a branded gift have different requirements. For a compact logo on suitable uniforms, embroidery is often a useful starting point. For detailed garment graphics or hard-surface merchandise, compare other methods against the actual product.
This guide helps you shortlist a finish, prepare a useful brief and check the details before approving a corporate order.
For our service options, visual examples and product starting points, explore the embroidery and logo decoration services guide.
Quick links: Logo examples · Artwork sizes and files · UV options
What are you decorating?
Product first, then print goal.
Choose by logo and quantity
Compact logo · raised finish
Embroidery first
Suitable polos, caps and workwear.
Multicolour · fine detail
Compare garment DTF or DTG
Garment DTF is heat transfer, distinct from UV DTF. DTG availability and fabric must be checked.
Larger run · repeated simple colours
Compare screen printing
Full-colour UV: shortlist by shape
Suitable flat surface
Flatbed direct UV
Suitable notebooks and corflute signs.
Compatible cylinder
Rotary direct UV
Compatible cups and drinkware.
Object awkward to print directly
UV DTF film transfer
My Promo Shop hard hats use this; manufacturer approval required before decoration.
Also compare: Laser: engraved look. Pad printing: compact shaped-item logos.
These UV routes are procurement examples, not exhaustive. Shape guides shortlisting, not suitability.
Check material and coating, adhesion, print area, and care/use testing.
Text guide: Textiles → embroidery, garment DTF, DTG or screen printing by logo and quantity. Full-colour hard goods → flatbed direct UV, rotary direct UV or UV DTF by surface and shape. Laser or pad printing may also fit. Check suitability, artwork, and the cup or hard-hat restrictions above; sample when needed.
Before comparing decoration prices, answer six questions:
Compare quotes for the same specification. A lower unit price may cover a smaller logo, fewer positions or different setup arrangements.
Embroidery creates a textured logo with thread stitched through the fabric. It is worth considering for chest logos on polos, caps and suitable workwear when a raised finish suits the brand.
The artwork needs to become a stitch design. This preparation, called digitising, determines how the design is sewn. Fabric, backing, stitch density and tension all affect the result; simply shrinking the original logo is not enough. Madeira’s embroidery guidance explains why testing and adjustment matter.
Look closely at small lettering and narrow gaps. A long slogan may need a larger area, simplified wording or a separate print placement. Ask which changes are recommended, and approve them before production. Fine-thread techniques can help in some cases, but there is no universal minimum text size that works for every fabric and design.
Thread also gives colour and shading a different appearance from a screen image. Confirm the proposed thread colours and discuss a stitched sample if those differences matter to your brand.
Start your product shortlist with the AS Colour Heavyweight Pique Polo or Surf Cap. Confirm the selected style’s available embroidery positions. Our current embroidery minimum is six pieces; check the product and quote for the applicable size, colour and design combination.
Judge the artwork at the size it will appear on the garment. The same logo may work well as a large back print but need a simpler version for a small embroidered chest logo.
Illustrative fictional logo artwork only, not to scale or production samples. Final results depend on artwork size, fabric and production method. DTG is shown for comparison; confirm availability for your selected product.
Large lettering, solid colours and open shapes give this simple mountain logo a useful starting point for embroidery. Confirm the final size and review an actual-size sew-out.
This detailed version uses colour gradients, fine contour lines, small trees and lighter lettering. Garment DTF or DTG may help retain that visual complexity, provided the final size and fabric are suitable. Small detail still needs a print test.
A simplified adaptation of example 02: gradients become solid colours, small trees and fine lines are removed, and the border and lettering become bolder. Ask your digitiser to check stitchability and confirm the result with a sew-out.
Distinct shapes, solid colour areas and well-spaced lettering are useful starting points for a stitched uniform logo. Very fine outlines, tiny taglines and crowded details may need enlarging or simplifying. The result also depends on digitising, thread and fabric, so review a sew-out when detail is critical. Wilcom’s lettering guidance and Madeira’s small-lettering advice.
Embroidery can create shading and fine detail with suitable techniques; gradients are not automatically ruled out. A simplified version is often worth comparing when clarity at a small size is the priority. Wilcom’s shading tools.
For gradients, photographs or many small colour changes, digital printing is worth assessing. Both methods still need good artwork and a readable final size; they cannot make every tiny detail clear.
DTG is included here as a comparison method. Confirm which decoration options are available for the product you select. Garment DTF is a textile heat-transfer process; UV DTF for hard goods is a separate adhesive-transfer process.
Before approving production, check logo size, smallest lettering, colour expectations, placement and fabric compatibility. A digital mockup shows the proposed layout; a physical sample or sew-out is the better check for texture and fine-detail reproduction.
Set the artwork to its final decoration size before measuring. A logo reduced to half size also halves every letter, stroke and gap.
The 3 mm figure is an assessed lower limit, not a promise that every font will stitch clearly. Fine serifs, narrow strokes, tight spacing, complex characters, fabric texture, thread and digitising all affect the result. Use larger lettering where possible and confirm an actual-size sew-out for critical small text. Wilcom’s lettering considerations explain why letter construction matters.
A positive stroke is an inked line or narrow part of a letter. A negative gap, knockout or counter is an unprinted opening through which the garment shows. Measure both in millimetres at final print size.
Positive stroke vs negative gap
Measure the solid line’s thickness
Measure the clear opening between printed areas
Diagram not to scale. Measure the final-size artwork, not this screen illustration.
Published production specifications differ:
For an initial design to discuss, a conservative starting target is 0.75 mm or wider for both printed strokes and clear gaps. This is provisional artwork-preparation guidance awaiting production review, not My Promo Shop’s confirmed DTF minimum or an output guarantee. Finer details may be possible with a confirmed process; request review before relying on them.
For raster artwork: pixels = millimetres ÷ 25.4 × PPI. At 300 PPI, one pixel represents about 0.0847 mm.
Nine pixels at 300 PPI are approximately 0.762 mm. These are raster design equivalents, not printer DPI specifications. A pixel count alone has no fixed physical size: nine pixels at 600 PPI are only 0.381 mm. Use the millimetre measurement as the controlling value, and do not count faint anti-aliased edge pixels as the full solid stroke width.
These DTF figures apply to textile heat transfers. They are not specifications for DTG or UV DTF. Reference illustrations are not to scale.
Direct-to-film printing transfers a printed design from film to fabric using heat. Consider it for multicolour artwork and designs with details better represented in print. Selected My Promo Shop DTF products can be ordered from one piece. Check the chosen garment’s heat suitability, print dimensions and the feel of a larger solid graphic. Availability depends on the product and placement.
Screen printing applies ink through prepared screens. Compare it for a larger run of the same design, particularly with fewer colours. Colour separations and setup affect the quote, so request a like-for-like total rather than assuming a quantity at which it becomes cheaper. Fabric and ink compatibility still need checking. Minimum quantities are product- and job-specific.
Laser engraving or marking can suit selected hard-surface gifts. The material, coating and laser process determine the appearance and contrast. A coloured logo will not automatically retain its original colours. Send the exact item for assessment rather than assuming all metal, timber or plastic products behave alike.
Pad printing transfers ink from a plate using a flexible pad. It can suit compact logos on selected curved or shaped items. Check the available print area, achievable colours and ink adhesion on that surface. Gift-product availability and quantities need confirmation for both pad printing and laser engraving.
Embroidery remains a strong starting point for logos on polos, caps and everyday uniforms. For branded hard goods and signs, UV decoration adds full-colour options. Here are three practical approaches to discuss when ordering; they are not an exhaustive list of UV printing technologies.
Depending on the product and print system, UV decoration can offer:
These are available capabilities of UV systems; confirm the finish, minimum quantity and price for your selected product.
Ink is printed directly onto the item and cured with UV light. This suits compatible, flat printable areas such as notebook covers and corflute signs, including detailed artwork and colour gradients. The item must fit the equipment, and its surface must accept the ink. My Promo Shop uses this approach for corflute signs and suitable notebooks. See Roland DG’s notebook example and Corex’s corflute UV-flatbed process.
A rotary system turns the item while ink is printed directly onto its surface. It can provide wraparound colour artwork on suitable cups and bottles. The product’s diameter, taper, handles, coating and usable print area affect what is possible; confirm coverage on the selected item. My Promo Shop uses rotary UV for compatible cups. Inkcups explains cylindrical UV printing and product-size limits.
The design is UV-printed onto adhesive transfer media, applied to the product with pressure, and the carrier film is peeled away. It helps decorate suitable shapes that are awkward to print directly. My Promo Shop’s hard-hat logos use this UV DTF transfer process. Adhesion and placement need checking on the actual surface. Roland DG’s UV DTF workflow.
Garment DTF uses a heat-activated adhesive and heat press to transfer a design onto fabric. UV DTF uses an adhesive transfer for suitable product surfaces. When requesting a quote, specify the item and which process you mean. Roland DG’s garment DTF process.
Send the product, quantity, logo, print size, intended use and required date. Ask for confirmation of:
“UV” describes how the ink is cured; it does not by itself guarantee outdoor life or resistance to damage. Ink adhesion and weather performance vary with the substrate, so testing matters. Mimaki’s UV-printing precautions. For UV DTF drinkware, confirm the supplied care instructions: Roland DG recommends hand washing its transfers because machine washing can reduce adhesion. Roland DG’s material and care guidance.
These are planning examples, not customer case studies.
1. A team needs 24 branded polos and matching caps. Start with embroidery for a compact logo. Review a simplified version if the artwork includes a tiny slogan. The AS Colour 5411 polo and Surf Cap are possible products to assess separately.
2. An event team needs 12 T-shirts with a detailed, multicolour graphic. Compare DTF on the AS Colour 5026 Classic T-Shirt. For a later 200-shirt run with a simplified two-colour design, request a screen-print comparison; the best-value option needs an actual quote.
3. A business is adding winter layers and day-use hi-vis polos. Consider the AS Colour 5146 Heavy Hood and JB’s 6HVPS separately, checking the decoration method and placement for each. The 6HVPS is listed for day use only. Have your workplace’s requirements checked before selecting the garment and decoration.
4. A buyer wants a small logo on a shaped promotional gift. Send the item specification and artwork for a pad-printing or laser assessment. Choose the intended colour or surface-mark appearance first, then confirm whether the product can deliver it.
At My Promo Shop, each mockup is prepared manually. Use it to review the proposed artwork, placement and size, checking the written measurements rather than judging scale from a screen alone.
A digital proof cannot show the actual texture, fabric behaviour or exact physical colour. If you need to assess those, discuss a physical sample before committing to the full run. Confirm whether the sample is a stitch-out, a decorated product or another format, what it costs and how it affects the schedule.
Provide written artwork approval only after the agreed details and any required sample have been checked. Keep the approved version with your order record for future reorders.
For products with suitable decoration options shown, choose your sizes, quantities and artwork options and order online. Contact us when your requirements are not covered by those options.
For an enquiry, send us your artwork, product shortlist, quantities and required arrival date. We can assess the method against the actual brief and confirm the ordering options. Contact My Promo Shop to discuss your decoration.
