Trademarked and Copyrighted logos

When people find out what we do, especially family and friends, they always say, "Wow, that's so cool, you can make your own name brand clothes now: Nike, Polo, Lacoste, UH and so forth." While we have the capability and know how to recreate the logos, due to a little thing called Trademark and Copyright laws, we are not able to do so without the written consent from the appropriate parties. We frequently receive inquiries especially from team parents to embroider a licensed sports team's logo such as the "Chicago Bulls" on to their child's jacket or bag and simply change the city name. While we can't legally do that, all is not lost. An alternative is to embroider the city name and team, for instance, the Manoa Bulls above a red and black ball (see picture).
Sure, if you call around enough you may be able to find a business who may be willing to "bend" the rules or look the other way but if they are willing to do that, what's to stop them for selling YOUR logo for a profit. Be smart, be creative and keep it legal. Some risks aren't worth taking. Call us and we'll be happy to help you come up with alternatives.

December's Promotional Product of the Month!

Oval Letter Opener
20486

Give a gift this holiday season that will help your customers in the New Year. And remember, every time they use it, they'll remember you because your logo will be right there.

Price Includes: 1-color imprint, 1 location

Product Size: 2-7/8"w x 1-7/8"h x 1/4"d

Product Colors: Black, Translucent Blue, Translucent Green, Translucent Red, White

Production Time: 10-15 Business Days Setup Fee: $50

Standard Imprint Method(s): Pad Print: Side, 1-1/2"w x 1"h oval, 1 color(s) max

Notes: Item Color/Imprint Colors: White: standard PMS colors; Colors: white only

Min. order 250 pieces
$.99 each
*shipping cost not included

November's Promotional Product of the Month!

Koozie Six-Pack Cooler 45036

I know we've missed a couple of months but we're posting November's Product of the Month early this time. Just in time for the holidays, a gift that's cooler than the average rinky dink gifts other companies and bosses are giving out.

A kooler staple, the Koozie(R) Six-Pack Kooler is made of durable watertight construction and is available in thirteen popular colors.

Watertight insulation 32" shoulder length strap and front slip pocket for additional storage Room for 6-pack and more

Materials: 70D nylon

Price Includes: 1-color imprint, 1 location

Product Size: 8-5/8"w x 6-1/2"h x 6-3/4"d

Cooler Colors: Apple Green, Black, Hunter, Ice Blue, Maroon, Navy, Orange, Pink, Red, Royal, Smoke Gray, White, Yellow

Production Time: 10-15 Business Days

Setup Fee: $50 per color

Standard Imprint Method(s): Screen Print: Front, 6-1/2"w x 4"h, 4 color(s) max

*SPECIAL PRICING UNTIL 12/31/2009 Only $2.90 each!*

Min. order 96 pieces
$4.79 each
*shipping cost not included

The Bottom line...choose Quality every time.

Amid this recession (oh no, not the "R" word) or should I say slump in the economy consumers and businesses are really keeping an eye on their bottom line and cutting back where they can. While I can understand this, it's important to remember to not sacrifice quality as it will end up costing more in the long run. Cliche but true.

From a business standpoint, think about the uniforms you provide for your employees, if you go with a cheap shirt, 1) you'll need to purchase shirts more often , 2) the shirts will look raggedy after a few washes and reflect poorly on your business, and 3) employees won't want to wear them if they look worn out which minimizes the amount of time your logo is out there promoting your business.

As for promotional items or gifts, businesses often try to find the most inexpensive item to give to their clients since large quantities need to be purchased. You've all received freebies from various companies: pens, letter openers, stress balls, calenders, etc. Which ones are the ones you keep? Exactly. The cool, high quality functional items. And what happens to the crappy pen that doesn't work? Straight to garbage heaven along with your branding. A quality product will keep your company in front of your customers' eyes for years and will be on top of their mind when it's time to make a purchase. People remember which companies have the good stuff and which don't.

For personalized items, we encourage customers to bring in their own products. You know what you want and like and should have the option of enhancing it with embroidery. Quality products whether it's a shirt, towel, bag or jacket complement quality embroidery. Cheap or low quality items will affect the quality of the embroidery as well since often times the material is not stable enough to hold the stitches. You don't want the embroidery to be holding the towel together!

As you already know, the bottom line is very important so spend a few extra dollars now and save a lot later, choose quality every time...you'll be glad you did.

Profit is NOT a dirty word...

Oh my goodness, I just said it...profit. So what? It's perfectly fine. Most of us are in business to make a living and those of you who work for non-profits reap the rewards of knowing that what you are doing is helping the cause you are fighting for. Many of our clients are small businesses owned by sole proprietors or family-owned businesses or LLCs run by only a handful of people. I hear a lot of them say, "we don't want to charge more because we are afraid we'll lose our business to the guy down the street." If you have a quality product or service, stand by it and value YOUR time. If you don't, how do you expect your customers to? Of course you have to do your homework and figure out what it takes to effectively run your business or organization and then charge accordingly. From my experience, those customers who shop solely based on price will flee to the cheapest place every time, ALL the time. Not the kind of clientele you're probably looking for anyway. Find people who appreciate what you do (they are out there) and in return show your appreciation by providing them with top notch products and/or service. A friend of mine sent me the picture above which I think sums it up best. Remember, profit is not a dirty word.

Kick it up a notch with Kanji!

Kanji characters are now available in 1" and 2" sizes. Choose from over 250 stock kanji characters to add some Feng Shui and Asian flair to your decor. Kanji characters are great on towels, shirts, bags and make terrific gifts for any event: weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.!

Awesome pricing starting at only $5 per character!

What are Stock designs?

Stock designs are embroidery designs that have already been pre-digitized and are readily available for use. Every embroiderer will have different stock designs available as each one purchases different packages based on their clientele. The most common types of stock embroidery are sports-related such as basketballs, baseballs, footballs, etc. Other popular ones are animals, hearts and occupations.

Stock designs are great because it's a quick and easy way to create a logo and have it embroidered. For example, select a cute animal design, add a person's name, embroider it on a blanket and VOILA, you have a great present for newborn!

There are some limitations to stock designs such as they are for the most part restricted to the size that they were digitized. If a stock design of a ball is 2" in diameter, you would need to embroider it at that size. Stock designs are usually charged by the stitch count.

Although there are thousands of stock designs available, some times you won't be able to find exactly what your looking for but not to worry, anything can be digitized...for a fee of course! Thanks for reading!

August's Product of the Month!

Grocery Tote

GO GREEN! Do your part to spread the 3R's in your community: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE! These totes are the perfect giveaway to your best customers. Let them help you get free brand exposure while they tote these around the stores. Reward your customers and help save the Earth, it's a WIN-WIN for everyone. Reusable and Recycle-able! The perfect tote for a quick trip to the market.

Non-woven polypropylene Reinforced bottom panel

Price Includes: 1-color imprint, 1-location

Product Size: Bag: 12-3/4"w x 13-1/4"h x 8-5/8"d, Handle: 1-1/4"w x 20-1/2"l

Bag Colors: Black, Kelly Green, Red, Royal, Tan

Production Time: 10-15 Business Days Setup Fee: $50 per color

Standard Imprint Method(s): Heat Transfer: Front Center, 4"w x 9"h, 4 color(s) max *SPECIAL PRICING UNTIL 12/31/2009 Only $2.12 each!* Min. order 100 pieces $3.09 each *shipping cost not included

Promotional Product of the Month!

Monterey Outdoor Emergency First Aid Pouch

Make sure your customers remember your name when they were in need of help and your nifty little First Aid pouch was there to save them!

Classy and stylish, this drawstring pouch holds a selection of essential first aid components, and is reusable, to make sure your message endures!

Stylish pouch can be reused

Materials: Nylon bag

Price Includes: 1-color imprint, 1-location

Product Includes: Includes 34 pieces: 3 aloe packets, 6 antibiotic ointment packets, 17 bandages, clean nap, 2 first aid cream packets, 2 insect repellent towelettes, 3 SPF-15 sunblock packets

Product Size: 4"w x 5-3/4"h

Product Colors: Black, Blue, Green, Pink, Red

Production Time: 7 Business Days Set up charge: $50 per color

Standard Imprint Method(s): Heat Transfer: Front, 2"w x 2"h, 4 color(s) max

Min. order 50 pieces
$11.99 each
*shipping cost not included

To Tweet or to TV?

Traditional vs. Social Media Marketing

Of course we all know that the best and most cost efficient way to advertise and promote your organization or business is through decorated apparel and promotional products. Shameless plug. Sorry about that. But there are also numerous ways a business/organization can get its name out there. There's the traditional advertising mediums such as TV, radio, newspapers, Yellow Pages, etc. but there's also a "new" form of advertising called Social Media Marketing. I'm sure most of you have already heard of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogger...the list can go on and on. I was watching the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson last night and Michael Douglas (Catherine Zeta-Jones' hubbie) was a guest and he called the site MyFace which is the perfect example of how people have heard of social networking sites but don't exactly know what they are or the differences between them.
A lot of us or people we know have these pages and use it to find old friends or to keep in touch with loved ones. But these pages can also be a great marketing tool for a business or organization. You can create a company blog on blogger (like this one) to share information about your industry and let your customers know the latest and greatest about what's going on with your company instantaneously. Your Facebook page or Twitter page is an excellent way for you to interact with your target market on a more personal level so that they are comfortable doing business with you before they even step foot in your door.
The key difference between traditional advertising mediums and social media marketing is that TV, radio, newspapers cater to the masses and is an 'interruption' means of advertising. Commercials interrupt you while you're watching or listening to your favorite shows and hope that you'll stick around to listen to their message. Social Media Marketing is a 'participation' form of advertising. Your clients, customers, fans and want to hear from you and have chosen to opt-in to see/read what you have to say. The people on your fan page on Facebook and following you on Twitter have an interest on what's going on with your organization and have given you permission to speak with them.
By no means am I suggesting that businesses stop advertising through traditional means as they can still be very effective. I'm just saying that there are a lot of great FREE advertising tools out there so it's not a bad idea to check them out. With that being said, become a fan of ours on Facebook or follow us on Twitter! The links are to your right...hope to see you there!