Logos on pens, mugs, bottles and bags are usually pad printed or screen printed in one to a few flat colors on a small area, and printers ask for vector artwork, lines thick enough to print, and each color on its own layer. A logo that looks fine on a screen can turn into a smudge at a centimeter wide. We rebuild your logo with fewer shapes and flat colors, flag lines that are too thin for your printer’s number, and put each color on its own layer.
Run free print check for promo items · You only pay once you approve the proof · First proof within 24 hours
What promo printers say
| Requirement | In the printers’ words | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Vector only | “We now require vector artwork for pad print.” | Duplication.ca (2023-03-03) |
| Line thickness | “you’ll want your artwork lines to be at least 0.15 points thick.” | Duplication.ca |
| Gaps | “Please make sure all empty space is at least 0.5 points thick to avoid spreading ink.” | Duplication.ca |
| Colors | “If you requested 2-colour pad print you’ll need to have each colour artwork in its own layer.” | Duplication.ca |
| Spot-color imprint | “artwork should be vector format (.eps, .ai, .svg, .pdf) with all text outlined.” | ImprintItems |
| Photos | “All raster images (photos) should be embedded and at least 300 dpi at final print size.” | ImprintItems |
| Art fee | “The average art charge is only $20” | ImprintItems |
| Equipment maker’s floor | “you should not go below a font size of 0.3 mm and a line thickness of 0.08 mm.” | microPrint, The Pad Printing Book |
These sources don’t line up, and neither is a promise for your job. Duplication.ca’s thickness is in points, which are 1/72 of an inch, so 0.15 points is about 0.05 mm. The pad-printing book’s 0.08 mm comes from an equipment maker and is described as a limit not to go below. We build to the numbers your printer gives us. If you don’t have a number, we say so in the report and mark it “check with your printer.”
Duplication.ca’s guide is written for pad printing on audio cassettes, and it says bitmap images are subject to additional fees without giving an amount. ImprintItems quotes art charges per job. Other shops publish no figure.
If your promo item is embroidered
Embroidered caps and polos follow other rules. Apliiq says text under a quarter of an inch isn’t acceptable, the smallest detail is 2 mm, and orders placed online can contain up to 5 thread colors. Fourthwall says “Any lines thinner than 0.05” are too thin for embroidery,” allows up to 6 thread colors, and says “Embroidery can’t replicate photographic images or smooth gradients.” We prepare the simplified artwork. We don’t make the stitch file; your digitizer does.
What we deliver
- Few flat colors, rebuilt from your image. Pad printing is flat color, so gradients become flat color steps, and the proof shows the result before you pay.
- Lines thick enough for the number your printer gives us. Thin lines are flagged, and we redraw them thicker where the design allows. A line that can’t be thickened without changing the design is called out in the report.
- One layer per color.
- Text converted to outlines.
- Flat artwork at the finished size. Curved surfaces stretch the print, and the plate maker compensates for that.
- A one-page print report with colors, line weights and anything we can’t verify, marked “check with your printer.”
- Editable source files (AI, SVG, PDF) and PNG, all included, with logo variants for logos.
What we don’t do
- Make pad-printing plates or embroidery stitch files.
- Keep fine texture and shading. Pad printing is flat color. The finest grain is simplified rather than copied pixel for pixel.
- Use a photo as is. A photo can’t be pad printed. For photos, you choose Line art or a Flat illustration (4–8 colors).
What it costs
| Your image | Tier | Price | New customer, first order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat logo or wordmark | Flat logo & wordmark | 19 credits ($19) | 10 credits ($10) |
| Badge or mascot | Badge & mascot | 29 credits ($29) | 15 credits ($15) |
| Gradients or many parts | Gradient & complex | 39 credits ($39) | 20 credits ($20) |
| Fine texture or engraved shading | Detailed illustration | 59–79 credits ($59–79), quoted when you upload | Not included |
The hardest part of the image sets the price, and it’s shown when you upload. If your printer rejects the file because of the file itself within 30 days, send us their note and we fix it free.
When you don’t need us
If your promo supplier quotes a small art charge and handles it, such as the $20 average one shop lists, ask for the price first. Run the free print check to see what they’d flag.
Run free print check for promo items · Pricing · Questions
Sources
Read in October 2026. Full list with exact quotes: sources.csv.
- Duplication.ca, pad print design guide (2023-03-03): https://www.duplication.com/blog/the-duplication-ca-guide-to-pad-print-design/
- ImprintItems, artwork: https://www.imprintitems.com/artwork
- microPrint, The Pad Printing Book: https://www.microprint.ch/pdf/The-pad-printing-book.pdf
- Apliiq, preparing artwork for custom embroidery: https://help.apliiq.com/portal/en/kb/articles/how-to-prepare-artwork-for-custom-embroidery
- Fourthwall, embroidery best practices: https://help.fourthwall.com/create-and-sell-products/best-practices/embroidery-best-practices