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Custom patches are a way to express your connection or participation with a team, institution, employer, cause or event by wearing it on your person, or adding it to an accessory like a bag! They’re also a fantastic way to promote your company or brand in bulk at conferences, tradeshows and festivals.
For those of you familiar with designing custom embroidered patches, you know about twill.
Has your business come across budget constraints when considering embroidering individual caps and uniform items with direct embroidery? We are here to help with bulk patches!
At Artex Group, our in-house designers have been crafting embroidered patches since 2002. Over the years we have worked with countless businesses and organizations, including renowned automotive companies, small businesses (i.e. independent microbreweries), public service teams, police departments, and more to produce over 150 million patches. Our objective remains steadfast: To create custom patches that accommodate your brand’s specific design needs while adhering to precise color and detail requests.
Our passion rests in continuing to deliver patches that represent your company’s brand with the highest quality as we manufacture at a low cost.
We offer the quality assurance of ISO-certified production to ensure our customers receive superior patches every time. We help every step of the way from concept to artwork to final production.
The process is seamless. Send us your current design or ideas, and our in-house designers will translate your brand’s identity into a patch of your choice: embroidered, woven, sublimated, or PVC. We promise to provide you with a custom quote within 24 hours of inquiry.
We invite you to start the process by submitting your current logo or ideas to receive a custom quote.
Have you ever considered producing custom cap patches for your organization? It's definitely an on trend promotional tool right now. Think about how many people you see everyday wearing ballcaps and beanies. If you look closer, most caps almost always have a patch on the front or a woven tab on the back or side. Have you ever seen a cool cap with a unique patch and thought - I NEED that hat! Or - that's a cool cap patch, let me google that company and see if I can buy one!
One of the most frequent questions we get from new customers is this: “So how does this work, anyway?”
Some folks want to hold a physical patch sample in their hands, put it up the light, and examine the thread before proceeding with production. Others are content with a digitized sample.
What’s important to remember is that everyone’s journey is different, just as each patch has a unique purpose.
Some people come to us with a logo fully developed by in-house graphic artists, thread colors picked, a style already in mind, and all of that information beautifully laid out in a spreadsheet; others come to us with a hastily-snapped photo of a pencil drawing in their notebook. There’s no right or wrong way to go about it, but understanding the process of developing a custom patch will help you be prepared to get the most out of your experience.
Without further ado, here’s a step-by-step guide to ordering your first custom patch!
Before you can create your patch, you have to know what your design will be! Now, some patch manufacturers will help you create the actual artwork for the patch and some won’t – here at Artex, we’re proud to provide a basic design service – but if you (like most of us) weren’t blessed with artistic vision, consider using a freelance graphic designer to bring your logo to life. Websites like Fiverr and Upwork are great for quickly locating available talent without straining your budget, plus you get to feel good about supporting the little guy!
Once your logo is primed and ready, it’s time for step two.
This is a whole blog post in and of itself… luckily, we already have one, which you can read by clicking here!
The short version is this: the style of patch you choose (embroidered, woven, sublimated, PVC, et cetera) will have a tremendous influence on the way your patch looks and feels. If you’re having trouble deciding, have a conversation with one of our salespeople! They have decades of experience in the patch industry and know which style will suit a particular logo simply by looking at it.
Remember, the style of patch you choose will ultimately affect the way the patch looks and feels. Once you’ve got your artwork ready and you’ve picked the patch style that best suits your logo, it’s time to get things moving!
Once the details are settled, the next step is to produce what’s called a “stitch-out” or “sew-out” for your approval. So what exactly is a stitch-out? It’s not complicated – a stitch-out is just a scanned sample that will be passed along to you in order for you to decide whether you’d like to make any changes to the design prior to proceeding with production.
It’s important to be detail-oriented at this stage, but also to remain realistic. Remember what attracted you to your logo and focus on what’s important. It’s important that you love your logo – it’s very important! – but no one will ever analyze it to the same extent that you will during the design phase. Knowing what matters most to you will help you keep that perfectionist tendency in check while also ensuring that your custom patches are exactly what you wanted.
As soon as your patch is approved, production begins. The lead time on manufacturing a batch of new patches is typically around three to four weeks but can vary depending on the size of the order and the complexity of the design. Some styles – such as metal pins – may also take a bit longer than a traditional embroidered patch.
If you’re under a time crunch or if something unexpected comes up, don’t be afraid to communicate your needs! There have been times when our team at Artex has had to wrangle large orders of custom patches in just two weeks, but the worst thing for both the manufacturer and the customer is a breakdown of communication.
Once your patches have been manufactured, the last step is getting them to your doorstep! Artex Group offers shipping options ranging from standard to overnight, but communication is key! Make sure you leave room in your schedule for mishaps. If you need your patches three days, for example, it’s best not to select two-day shipping… we’ve seen packages left unscanned in carrier warehouses and all other forms of slip-ups in our time, and we can safely say that a little bit of cushion never hurts! It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
… and that’s it! You have your custom patches!
If you have any questions about the process of ordering custom patches or if you’d like a quote for your design, feel free to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help you get your next order of patches going!
There’s a lot of terminology to learn in the wide world of patches. Do you need a sublimated patch or an embroidered one? Or maybe you’d be better off with a woven patch? Do you want a merrowed edge or a hot-cut one? Will your backing be heat-seal, velcro, plain? It’s a tough decision to make unless you have the right information, especially if you’re new to the patch game – but don’t worry, it’s not as complex as it seems!
Our logo as an embroidered patch
Embroidered patches are classy and recognizable, bringing dimension and character to your logo. Embroidered patches are ideal for simple and bold designs, and they work best with 1″ patches and larger. They’re also great for achieving a textured look.
No other style can match embroidery in flat-out coolness… at least not in our opinion!
Our logo as a woven patch
Examining a woven patch feels like sharpening the focus on a camera lens: the blurred edges fall away and become crisper, clearer. They capture minute details well and still retain a sense of dimension. They’re also a very popular option for apparel, bringing a refined look and modern flair to your logo – in that last few years, for example, demand for woven patches in the hat industry has skyrocketed.
If your design requires intensive detail, or if you’re creating something like a shirt label or uniform name tag, woven patches are a great choice! They’re flexible, attractive, and undeniably stylish.
Our logo as a sublimated patch
While woven patches may be capable of capturing more detail than embroidered ones, sublimated patches take the prize when it comes to faithfully rendering every element of your design. Sublimated patches aren’t actually stitched onto a twill base like a woven or embroidered emblem – they’re printed, which means a sublimated patch can capture photo-quality detail. No matter how busy or difficult your design, it can be digitized and translated onto a sublimated patch.
If your logo looks like a work of art, with an array of colors and a wealth of detail, sublimation is a great option for showcasing the quality of your design. Background elements such as gradients translate perfectly into sublimation, representing complex imagery such as sunsets with a fantastic blend of color.
Plus – here’s an insider secret for you – you can always combine embroidery with sublimation to achieve that sought-after textured look!
Our logo as a PVC patch
PVC patches are totally weatherproof and can stand up to whatever punishment you have in store. They’re a great choice for outdoorsy apparel or any equipment which might end up on the receiving end of constant abuse, such as a hiking backpack. The thickness and makeup of PVC patches give them an extra layer of armor, which means they can keep a licking and keep on ticking.
That’s totally understandable! It’s a lot to take in all at once. Fortunately, we have an expert team with dozens of years of experience. If you’re wrestling with which style of patch would look best with your design, we’d be happy to give you our two cents – totally free of charge!
Remember, creating a business strategy can sometimes be a (pardon the pun) patchwork enterprise. Not everything is always apparent at the outset. But with some friendly advice and a few handy blog posts, you’ll be armed with all the information you need to keep your patches – and your business – going strong!
