Logo size on a promotional product: finding the right scale

You cannot mark a product just anywhere. The marking area is the surface on which marking is technically possible. It is defined for each product, with its exact dimensions in millimetres, and your artwork cannot extend beyond it.

On every product page, you see the real template of each available area, its dimensions and the number of colours it accepts. This is the starting point for any thinking about size: before asking yourself what size you want, look at what size the product allows. A pen only offers a narrow strip on its barrel, a tote bag a large flat surface. Some products offer several areas: choosing the right one matters as much as choosing the size.

The natural reflex is to enlarge the logo to the limits of the area. It is rarely the best choice. A logo pressed against the edges looks cramped, and the slightest positioning tolerance is more noticeable. Leave a margin around your artwork: it gains in legibility and elegance.

Also take the shape of your logo into account. A very horizontal logo, with a long name, fits an elongated area well, such as that of a custom pen. A square logo or a symbol on its own is better suited to compact areas. If your visual identity provides several variants, choose the one that best fits the area, rather than shrinking the full version to the extreme.

Centring and scale are a matter of judgement, not just measurement: take the time to compare two or three sizes in the configurator before deciding.

A logo that looks perfect on an enlarged screen can become illegible once reduced to actual size. The most fragile elements are small texts: a slogan, a website address, a tagline under the logo. A four-point text easily passes an automatic check and yet becomes illegible on the product.

A few practical rules:

• Remove secondary text on small areas: keep the name or the symbol alone.
• Beware of thin lines: they may fill in when printed or disappear.
• Prefer a simplified version of the logo when the area is small.

Each process has its own level of detail. Pad printing suits small products and curved surfaces, but very fine details are tricky: the pad printing page details its uses. In embroidery, very fine details benefit from being simplified, because thread cannot reproduce a line that is too thin. Laser engraving marks the material itself, without colour, with an understated result. Digital printing accepts detailed artwork.

If you use an image rather than a vector file, size also affects resolution. Dpi is measured at the final printed size: an image a thousand pixels wide is excellent at eight centimetres, and insufficient at thirty. The configurator calculates this real dpi from the dimensions of the area and alerts you if it is too low. To compare processes, see the marking techniques page.

Size alone is not enough to make a logo visible. A navy logo on a navy textile fully complies with the technical constraints, and is completely invisible. The smaller your logo, the more contrast it needs with the colour of the product.

So choose the colour of the product and the colour of the marking at the same time as the size. On a dark material, a light colour stands out better; on a light material, a strong shade. Tone on tone remains possible, especially in embroidery, but it is then a deliberate choice of discretion, not a discovery on delivery.

Finally, take care with products offered in several colours within the same order. A logo sized and coloured for a white material can lose all its presence on a black one. Check the result on each colour chosen before approving, and do not hesitate to reduce the number of colours if one of them weakens your logo too much.

The proof is generated at the actual scale of the template. Make the most of it: look at it with the product in mind as it will be held in the hand, not as it appears enlarged on your screen. A good test is to display the proof at its actual size and look at it from a normal reading distance.

Before manufacturing, our team also checks every print: legibility at actual size, contrast, fineness of detail, centring and scale. It is included in all orders. Once the proof has been approved, it is binding: this is the time to ask all your questions.