Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Branding, what is it?

Making a mark by charring.


In the world of promotional product marketing this is not far from the truth and in fact embossing is exactly that charring the surface of an item with a hot metal plate. Decorators and printers have been using a variety of branding methods over the decades and in some cases centuries, which is the case with screen printing, in order to brand products and objects such as industrial components etc.

Traditional Promotional Printing

For quite some time, techniques like pad printing foil stamping blind embossing and screen-printing have seemed to be about as refined a process for branding products as there could be - Cue digital printing. Digital pad printing has become a real game changer in the promotional printing industry and is a time saver for short run marketing campaigns.

Changes in the Promotional Product Industry

Up until recently, Digital pad printing has been limited to flat and film like sub straights, but in recent years the technology has evolved so quickly that it now has pollinated the traditional branding techniques and the once angry child in the promotional product branding fleet has become a truly reliable and a valued member of the team.

The extreme time saving in the pre-press setup sees some short run printing jobs completed in the same time it would have taken to just prepare a silk screen for printing even before one impression is made. There is no requirement for alterations to the art files if prepared correctly before going to print and the imaging is only limited by your imagination. Given that digital printing in no way comes into contact with items being branded, like the traditional forms of pad printing and screen printing, means that pinpoint accuracy in the reproduction of clients logos is perfect every time. The use of UV curing ink systems means even the most delicate of items can be branded with no ill effects from the heat generated by the more traditional branding methods. The printer and decorator that are encompassed by this technology were purely designed with a true customer focus.  With shorter and shorter lead times being the norm digital printing of promotional products is the future answer to an ever-demanding market.