Logo Decoration Methods Compared

The method follows the material

Logo and imprints can be printed on products by silkscreen printing or other ways, including offset printing, embroidery, laser, engraving, stamping press and heat transfer. The choice is not a matter of taste. Each method has a substrate it belongs on and several it does not.

Silkscreen and offset printing

Flat or gently curved plastics and coated metals. Silkscreen handles solid colours well and struggles with fine gradients. Offset printing carries more detail and suits printed packaging and flat panels. Both sit on the surface, so heavy abrasion will eventually reach them.

Embroidery

Textiles and soft goods. It outlasts print on anything that gets washed, and it adds physical thickness, which is why very fine text does not survive being embroidered. Simplify the artwork before it reaches the machine, not after.

Laser and engraving

Metal and some hard plastics. Permanent, tonal rather than full-colour, and unaffected by washing or abrasion. The right answer when a mark has to outlive the finish around it.

Stamping press

A raised or recessed mark pressed into the material. It reads by shadow rather than colour, which makes it look deliberate on tools, hardware and leather-look surfaces.

Heat transfer

Full colour on shapes that a screen cannot reach. Useful for complex artwork and awkward geometry, and the method to consider when the logo has more than a couple of colours.

Decide before the artwork is final

The most expensive version of this decision is discovering after approval that the artwork cannot be reproduced. Fix the method first and adjust the artwork to it.