Artwork
Translating Ideas Into Images
Artwork connects a customer’s idea with the finished product. Because of that, it plays an important role in the Instant Imprints business.
Customers may come in with a logo, a rough concept, a photo, or only a basic idea. From there, the artwork process helps turn that idea into something we can place on apparel, signs, banners, promotional products, or printed materials.
Franchise artwork support can be handled in several ways. In general, owners have three options: outsource it, hire it, or learn it.
Outsource Artwork
Outsourcing is often the best choice for certain types of artwork. For example, embroidery requires a special file called a stitch map. This file tells the embroidery machine how to sew the design.
Creating a stitch map requires specialized software, experience, and skill. The software can be expensive, and the work blends both technical knowledge and artistry.
For that reason, we generally outsource embroidery digitizing. This allows the center to use experienced specialists while still serving the customer well.
Other artwork needs can also be outsourced. The cost can be marked up and sold to the customer, just as we do with digitizing. Therefore, the decision often comes down to finding the right partner and deciding which tasks make sense to keep outside the center.
Hire Artwork Talent
Some centers choose to employ a graphic designer. In our experience, centers with design talent on the team often have less stress around artwork questions.
A trained designer can quickly determine whether a request is possible, how much work it requires, and what the customer should be charged.
If you have design skills in-house, you should charge for that work. However, even busy centers may not have enough design-only work for a dedicated part-time position.
As a result, the best fit is often a graphic designer who is also willing to help with production. This gives the center more flexibility and helps keep the person productive throughout the day.
Learn Artwork Yourself
Learning artwork yourself is possible, but it may not be the best use of your time as an owner.
Your focus should usually stay on business growth, customer relationships, team development, and center management. While basic artwork knowledge can help you communicate with customers, you do not need to become the primary designer.
Instead, most owners are better served by using reliable outsourcing partners, hiring the right team member, or combining both approaches.
Choosing the Right Approach
The right artwork approach depends on your skills, your team, your sales volume, and your customer needs.
During the franchise process, Instant Imprints can help you understand how artwork fits into center operations. In addition, we can help you think through which approach may work best as your business grows.
Making logos stand out.
We provide quality embroidery services on practically anything you can imagine. Our centers have state-of-the-art embroidery machines to provide you with anything from individual personalization to thousands of pieces. You can count on us to make your brand more visible.
Big or small, fancy and fast.
With wide format and digital printing equipment, our centers can produce nearly any sign, banner or display a business or organization may require, including retractable banner stands, A-frames, tradeshow booths and much more. For permanent or temporary use, indoors or out.
Personalized shirts with your logo or design.
We create t-shirts with custom designs using the latest technologies in direct to garment, heat transfers, lettering and screen printing which allows for maximum flexibility with order size and a fast turnaround to customize each order.
Items that stand out and are remembered.
There is no shortage of ways to promote your business. From branded pens to drinkware to flashlights, there are endless options at your disposal. Talk to us about finding the right solution for you and your customers.
Effectively communicate with ink and paper.
Let us help you create the printed materials that will promote both your brand and your message. Customized brochures, flyers, business cards, postcards, manuals, mailers and more designed to make you more visible to your customers.