Posted by: Jane Swanzy

Bullpen Marketing does everything from print and web design to imprints and embroidery on promotional and apparel items. However, just because a logo looks good on paper or on a website, doesn’t mean that it’ll translate to a sewn medium. Here are some rules to keep in mind to keep expectations in check and ensure a quality embroidered product.

Rule 1: Thread has density, ink doesn’t – When you print a design, the ink is flat, and doesn’t take up space. Thread has dimensions, it needs to wrap around the material, and it takes up space. A very dense design won’t reproduce well in thread, since there won’t be enough space for all the details.

Rule 2: Small lettering won’t be legible – As a general rule, lettering should be no smaller than ¼ inch. The optimum size of the letter may also depend on the font you choose to use. You may need to experiment with different fonts to find the minimum size for any lettering done in that font.

Rule 3: Gradients and shading don’t reproduce well – Variegated thread may be a way to get around some shading issues but, as a general rule, designs with shading or fading or gradients won’t reproduce well as embroidery. Solid color designs work best.

Rule 4: Bad artwork results in bad embroidery – The better the work that you start with, the better the finished product.

Rule 5: Ink color and thread color aren’t the same – The colors in a printed design may not be exactly duplicated by the thread used to embroider the design. Even with a PMS number you may not get an exact match since there will be variations in color between ink and thread dyes.

Rule 6: The material being embroidered also matters – Embroidering on fleece is different than embroidery on a polo shirt is different than embroidery on an oxford and so on. When determining if a design will work for embroidery, you should also consider on what fabric it will be embroidered.