Glossary
The world of customising can be very confusing if it's your first-time ordering, especially when it comes to technical terms and the branding process.
If you've spotted any terms while browsing our website that you're not sure about, you might find the information you need here.
A
AI - Adobe Illustrator Artwork (AI) is a type of file format accepted for submitting logo designs.
Artwork - The final designs, usually corporate logos, to be sent across for customising branded products.
B
Barudan - The Japanese brand Barudan has been offering reliable and robust embroidery equipment since 1959.
Bespoke - Custom-made products, made especially for and unique to the individual business.
Brand awareness - Measures the level of which a customer is easily able to recognise a company through their brand imagery.
Brand image - The perception that customers have of a brand or organisation.
Brand loyalty - The action of repeat custom from satisfied customers who continue to purchase products or services from the same company.
Brand perception - A customers view of a company which is ultimately influenced by their previous experiences and satisfaction.
Branding - A distinctive and unique symbol or logo which will be use to identify a brand through all of their marketing and advertising methods.
Branding area - The specific section on any item in which a company's branding will be present.
Branding position - Refers to the place in which a company’s logo will be placed on any item.
C
CMYK - refers to the four ink plates used in some colour printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black).
Corporate - A term used to define a large company or business organisation.
Cravat - A cravat is a short scarf worn around the neck.
Customisation - Customization refers to the action of altering a product or service to suit a person’s or company’s preferences or requirements. For example, embroidery branding uniforms.
D
Digital Printing - Digital printing is a method of printing from a digital-based image directly onto your chosen product.
Digital Transfer - Digital transfer printing can be utilised when a design is too intricate or complex for traditional screen-printing methods
Digitise - The process of turning your artwork into a file format that stores instructions for stitching an embroidery design.
DST - A DST file is a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) file. It stands for Data Stitch Tajima and is read by embroidery machines.
E
Eco-friendly products - Eco-friendly products are ones that are made from sustainable, or green products and then created via sustainable methods.
Embroidery - Embroidery is a form of product decoration and it involves using a needle and thread to create stitched designs on items.
Epaulette - Epaulette is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Suitable for a variety of authoritative positions and are a great way of providing trustworthy identification.
EPS - EPS, short for Encapsulated PostScript, is a vector format designed for printing purposes.
F
Font - Font is the term given to the design of a set of characters. Commonly known fonts include Times New Roman, Arial and Comic Sans.
Four-Colour Process - The Four-Colour process is a printing method that uses four colour plates: cyan, magenta, yellow and keyline (black.)
Fulfilment - Fulfilment is a term given to the overall process of receiving, processing and delivering an order that has been placed with us.
G
Gore-Tex - GORE-TEX is a patented type of waterproof fabric. As one of the first flexible waterproof fabrics invented, GORE-TEX remains a highly popular waterproofing material.
H
Heat Transfer Printing - Heat transfer printing is a modern printing method not too dissimilar from digital transfer printing, whereby a design is printed onto transfer paper and then thermally transferred onto the material of your choice.
L
Lead Time - Lead time is defined as the time between the initiation of a order confirmation and the full delivery of the order.
Logo - Logos are symbols adopted by businesses and organisations to stamp their brand identity.
M
Madeira - Premium embroidery thread supplier for the embroidery and textile industry.
Minimum Order Quantity - Minimum order quantity dictates the minimum number of units a supplier can viably sell in one transaction.
O
Overrun - An occurrence where an additional number of products to what you ordered may be printed to ensure the process is correct.
P
Pantone Colour - Also referred to as spot or solid colours, these are the colours found in the Pantone Matching System.
PDF - Stands for portable document format; a type of file you can use to send your logo/artwork in for personalisation.
Personalised Goods - Products which have been customised to display a bespoke design, usually your logo/branding or marketing material.
Pre-Production Proof - A sample item that is printed with your branding. Allows you to confirm you're satisfied with the quality of the finished product before your order is progressed.
Price Per Unit - When bulk ordering promotional products, the price per unit splits the overall cost into how much you're paying for each individual item.
Usually, the bigger the quantity you order, the smaller the price per unit.
Printing - The process of transferring your logo or design onto your selected products.
Product Colour - Many promotional products are available in a range of different colours, meaning you can choose one that fits your branding style.
R
RGB - RGB (red, green, and blue) refers to a system for representing the colours to be used on a computer display. Red, green, and blue can be combined to obtain any colour in the visible spectrum.
ROI - Return on investment; the amount of money you make back from a campaign or process you've put money into.
S
Sample Item - An unbranded product from our range, available to be sent out before deciding to branding it up and use it in your campaign.
Screen Printing - A branding method which allows us to transfer high-quality, high-resolution imagery to materials.
Supply Chain - The large network of manufacturers from which our products are sourced.
T
Threads - When embroidery is used as the branding technique, the coloured threads are what the machine uses to make up your logos.
Trade Show - An event or exhibition for a specific industry, that showcases businesses' products and services.
Trademark - A legally registered logo or words that represent a company or product.
Transfer - A method of branding in which the design is transferred on to a product using heat.
V
VAT - Value-added tax; a rate of 20% tax added on to products/orders in the UK.
Vector - Vector graphics are designed with curved points and lines which create a clean, infinitely scalable picture when combined in vector artwork. Vector graphics are based on mathematical formulas rather than square pixels.
W
Woven - Woven fabrics are made by interlaced threads or yarns to form a fabric or material.