Here in the last week of the year, many of our customers who visit the showroom at Black Duck are raring to get an order underway so it can count as a purchase made on the [...]]]>

Coordinating shirts now come in a range of styles, colors, and fits - perfect for your logo and staff.

Here in the last week of the year, many of our customers who visit the showroom at Black Duck are raring to get an order underway so it can count as a purchase made on the current year’s budget. While we’re not here to debate the merits of fixed-budget spending, we are here to help you make your purchase more than just a way to round out your figures. Here are three ways that you can make that last bit of budget surplus money work for your department in the coming year.

1. Start the new year with a new professional look. Nothing says ‘team spirit’ like coordinated, custom logowear. Buy your key staff new embroidered button-up and polo shirts, complete with your logo, and they’ll start the new year looking and feeling ready for business. Black Duck has selections that combine professional unisex choices with coordinating and flattering women’s styles to make every day a perfect day to wear your logo (and there are at least 3 good reasons why).

2. Stock up on some essentials, with a promotional twist. You know you’ll need office supplies in the coming year- everyone wants new pencils and pens, notepads, and even incidentals like coffee mugs and flash drives, but rather than simply buying up blank goods from your office supply warehouse, why not turn every one of those frequently used and often seen items into a promotional opportunity by adding a custom print with your logo and company information?  Not only is it a great corporate identity builder for your staff, each of these items can be used as a promotional giveaway for customers and friends of your company. Useful, quality items tend to stay around, meaning that every time your customer picks up that favorite pen, they’ll have your logo and info at hand, and on the top of their mind.

The classic Bic Click-Stick is dependable and can easily produced with your company colors and logos

3. Plan for early for your next event. You know that there’s that one tradeshow, that big meeting, that presentation that you always end up scrambling to get ready at the last minute. Why not get your promotional products set up now? Logo-printed tablecloths, banners, and feather flags, giveaway items like t-shirts, hats, water bottles and the like, printed goody bags, and even business cards can all be created and coordinated here at Black Duck! Why scramble at the last minute and pay rush fees for production? Get those things that you won’t have to change up for every event done now, and have them in reserve all year long.

Three short tips aren’t all we have in store for you when it comes to making the most of your budget, but we know that you’ve got no time to waste if you’re looking to place that order- so stop reading and start calling or coming in to our showroom! We’re here to help you get the best value out of your every expenditure. Whether you need company uniforms, custom promotional products, or even a company identity plan built from scratch, we’re ready to help you put your best foot forward. Contact us, and we’ll make it easy.

Have you ever wanted to place something truly artistic on a T-shirt? If your art is more than the average logo, or if you are promoting truly fine works, there’s no reason why screen printing can’t [...]]]>

Though it looks better in person, you can see the deep level of detail in this initial test print.

Have you ever wanted to place something truly artistic on a T-shirt? If your art is more than the average logo, or if you are promoting truly fine works, there’s no reason why screen printing can’t suit your needs. Black Duck’s staff is skilled in the recreation of fine art pieces, and though we don’t always have such masterworks to contend with, we recently had just such an order that really shows the versatility of the seemingly humble Tee.

Not long ago, the sales staff was surprised to see a customer enter the shop with a rather large piece of art. Measuring feet to a side rather than the normal inches of most source material we see, this panoramic canvas from our turned out to be an amazing Native American painting by skilled New Mexico artist Yellowman; a vibrant, rich, and detailed piece with more than just its size to make it impressive.  No sooner than it was in the door did we hear what we knew would make this job a challenge, this needs to go on a T-shirt.

Immediately we set to work, suggesting how we might crop and arrange it to end up with a selection from the original that would not only capture the spirit of the art, but create  T-shirt that people would want to wear; a shirt with a design that provided good coverage and was visible from a distance, all without compromising the original piece.  One of our skilled artists, Barry Townsend, created the new layout, and tuned the color separations that would become the screens from which the designs would be printed.

In cooperation with our skilled screen-printing supervisor, Mike Adams, the first test prints were created, and under the watchful eye of Yellowman, who was present for proofing of the initial prints, Barry and Mike tweaked and adjusted the print- achieving a final piece that had great fidelity to the vibrant colors of the original art. When they were done, not only was our customer happy with the outcome, we were all more than impressed with what the fine detail and depth of color they had achieved. If the test prints weren’t impressive enough, on every one of the various colors the customer had ordered, the prints looked fantastic, and maintained the overall soft hand that our work is known for.

We’re proud to say that though we love to print your company logos, team-sports names, and all of the simple pieces that are fairly common in our industry, we can achieve that fine-art look that pleases even the most discerning customer, even the painter of the original of a piece himself! If you find yourself curious about promoting your creation through a truly finely printed T-shirt, don’t hesitate to give Black Duck a chance to make your genius into wearable art.

What is a visual style guide?

A mock-up of how our visual style guide might look.

Simply put, a visual style guide is a document that contains the details you need to give anyone who will be decorating anything with your logo/brand in order to create a consistent rendition of your [...]]]>

What is a visual style guide?

A mock-up of how our visual style guide might look.

Simply put, a visual style guide is a document that contains the details you need to give anyone who will be decorating anything with your logo/brand in order to create a consistent rendition of your art. It lays out the look of your logo, the fonts that you’ve selected, and the colors you use in a way that’s easy for printers and art departments to understand so that no matter what you are having made, your logo looks the way you want it to look, every time. They can be as simple a single page containing only an image of your logo with some approved color numbers from a standard system like Pantone and a list of the font names used. If you are producing more complicated items, you may want a more detailed style guide, with several color examples made to show the proper way to render your logo when it appears on different backgrounds, multiple versions of your logo for larger and smaller areas to be decorated, or for horizontal and vertical decoration areas, even spacing to be used when adding other logos and text to your logo, font choices for documents on which your logo appears, and sample layouts of documents, apparel, or promotional products.

Why do I need one?

The easy answer is that it allows you to be in control of the way your logo is presented, but there are more benefits than the obvious control over your image. Having a prepared style guide saves you time and money on art preparation. One of the most time-consuming processes undertaken by most artists is the search for fonts used in a logotype. A style guide not only eliminates this search, it can provide a host of answers about proper color usage and sizing that would otherwise cost you more preparation time and might require an artist or decorator to contact you repeatedly. Having a style guide means never having to repeat yourself when describing the look you want to achieve.  Moreover, you will likely find that your entire production time is reduced, seeing that many printers and apparel decorators will favor by necessity a job with complete information over one that requires several rounds of interaction with a customer to set up. The decorator has to keep machines moving to insure profitability, and if you have your designs in order, you may end up with your design approved and slotted into an empty production line while an artist waits for details from a less prepared customer.

How do I create a style guide?

Generally, you would have this created by the artist that designed your logo. If you designed the logo yourself, you may find that your printer or apparel decorator’s art department can help you not only to redraw clean, vector-based art that you will be able to use for all your printing and decorating needs, but to create a professional-looking and information-packed style guide. Most decorators will have access to professional color-matching systems and can help you to pick out the proper color codes to include in the guide. Moreover, if they have already done the work of searching out your fonts and redrawing your logo, they’ll be armed with all of the font names and measurements they need to produce the sample images and font lists.  Common simple logo style guide sheets include at a minimum the full color version of a logo with color numbers, a single-color version of the logo for simple promotional products and paper goods, versions for dark and light backgrounds and/or backgrounds that share a color with the logo, and a list of fonts used. All you’ll have to do is sit down with your decorator’s art department to establish any other information or logo versions you’d like to include. Make sure to get yourself a PDF file, the Adobe document standard for which nearly all computers have a pre-installed viewer, and you’ll be set to send it to anyone who will be reproducing your logo.

What if I don’t think I need a style guide or can’t afford to create one?

No matter if you have a style guide or not, be aware of the basic needs of any printer or decorator, and you’ll still come out ahead. Know your fonts, have a good idea about the colors you want to use, and be prepared to answer questions about what you want. Check out my previous post on saving art and setup costs, and you’ll be prepared.

So, there you have it. Visual style guides are useful tools for keeping your logo’s look consistent and your printing and decorating worry-free. If you need a style guide, the art department at Black Duck is ready to help- either as an additional service on your next decorated apparel or promotional products order, or any time you want to create this logo life-saver, we’ve got the staff to help you tell the world how to handle your brand.

Scotty's [...]]]> [By popular request, we're re-running edited versions of some of our "success stories" from an e-mail ad campaign that we did in recent years. Here's the first of a few of these fun thumbnail sketches of our apparel solutions that just might help you see what Black Duck can do for you. -ed]

Scotty's is making Fast Friends with his Promotional Tees

Essential T-Shirt

Ultra Cotton Tank Top

Scotty has a very fast group of friends. He owns Scotty’s Southwest Corvettes, known far and wide as the place in Albuquerque for Corvette repairs, restoration, and performance upgrades. His customers aren’t just interested in a quick fix, they need quality and they know where to get it. Scotty supercharges his sales by giving his customers a custom Corvette T-shirt from Black Duck. Scotty rewards their loyalty, and his faithful customers end up as walking promotions for Scotty’s Southwest Corvettes to boot.

If you attend any meeting of the National Corvette Restorers Society, NCRS New Mexico for short, the New Mexico Corvette Association, or the Rio Grande Corvette Club, you’re sure to see more than a few of Scotty’s Southwest Corvettes shirts and hear his grateful customers recommending the awesome service.

If you’d like to rev up your word-of-mouth sales like Scotty, get your quote from Black Duck for high performance promotions!

The Range [...]]]> [By popular request, we're re-running edited versions of some of our "success stories" from an e-mail ad campaign that we did in recent years.  Here's the first of a few of these fun thumbnail sketches of our apparel solutions that just might help you see what Black Duck can do for you. -ed]

The Range Cafe staff looks great with gear from Black Duck

When it came time for the Range Café to pack up their wagons and move their Wyoming location to the new homestead across the street, they knew it was time for their old logos and signage to get out of Dodge. They came to us with a picture from the sign shop and ordered the whole enchilada; tees, polos, and aprons!

Custom Screen Printed Tee

Waist Apron with Pockets

Good for them, the skilled staff at Black Duck knew just how to make their sign come alive in stitches and ink. In no time they had the finest embroidery and screen-printing on a herd of top-shelf garments in every color under the sun.

When we were finished, the Range Café had new embroidered polos and aprons for their employees and the best silk-screened promotional tees in the great Southwest!

When it comes time to circle the wagons and take a stand against the competition, remember that Black Duck can ride for your brand. No matter what you need to set up shop, we’ve got you covered, partner.

Black Duck was featured in a post by the T-Biz Network’s Aaron Montgomery in a post entitled Examples of Good Marketing Tools in which Aaron gave us great praise for our unique and eye-catching signage, the engaging and professional demeanor of our staff, and the [...]]]>

Aaron was greeted by our locally-famous 3D Pilot Duck sign.

Black Duck was featured in a post by the T-Biz Network’s Aaron Montgomery in a post entitled Examples of Good Marketing Tools in which Aaron gave us great praise for our unique and eye-catching signage, the engaging and professional demeanor of our staff, and the style and condition in which we keep our showroom, production areas, and warehouse.

We were very honored that someone who, as a supplier to the Garment decorating industry, had seen so many shops in our field was so impressed with what we have done with our facility.

If you want to see our seemingly more-and-more famous decorated apparel showroom, feel free to take a look at our first-ever video showroom tour embedded in this post or come see it for yourselves during our business hours for your own special tour!

We had a great time showing Aaron around and we treat every customer with the same respect as we show our industry visitors. All the black Duck staff are proud of the company we have here, and Erich was more than happy to represent Black Duck.  If anything we only feel more pride every time someone in our industry or community points out the quality we work so hard to maintain at Black Duck.

Thanks again to Aaron, and thank you to all of our Black Duck staff for making our company what it is today!

If you are in need of high-quality decorated apparel like you’ll see in our showroom, or even signage like what we have on-site, we can help! We produced everything that Aaron saw on his trip, and we can give your shop and employees the same professional edge. Come on in to Black Duck!

Knowing the way that most of your customers will see your logo makes a big difference in deciding just how you want your logo to look.  To that end, we’re going to let you on a little secret that can really help you [...]]]>

The Handshake Distance tells you how your customer will see your logo.

Knowing the way that most of your customers will see your logo makes a big difference in deciding just how you want your logo to look.  To that end, we’re going to let you on a little secret that can really help you get the most bang for your buck the next time you work with us to decorate your business apparel. We’re going to teach you all about the Handshake Distance.

Something most of us can certainly understand is the concept of personal space.  We all like a little buffer between us and the next person to be comfortable, right?  Well, that’s something that an anthropologist named Edward Hall got really interested in in the mid ’60s.  Mr. Hall studied the idea of personal space in the United States, and he identified four zones of personal space that Americans seemed to like.  For our purposes, we’re just going to talk about one aspect of his studies, what we will call the Handshake Distance.

Mr. Hall stated that a handshake will typically place strangers at least 2 to 4 feet from each other, preserving what he called the personal distance.  Now, why is that important to us, both apparel decorators, and you our customers?  Well, that’s pretty simple.  Now that we know what our personal distance is, and particularly, the distance of a handshake, we know with fair accuracy about how far our customer will be from us when they see our logo on corporate apparel!

So, how can we make good use of our new found knowledge?  Well, knowing that our customer will be between 2 and 4 feet from us will tell us just how far away we should be when we judge how big we want our logo, how much/what information we want included with it in what size text it should be. More importantly it can show us how much is too much or too little to fit into the space we have available.  Now that we have the magic number, we can really see how to get the most impact while maintaining the best look for our corporate apparel.

Though fine up close, viewed at the handshake distance, some small text may be hard to read.

Try this excercise- when deciding what to place on your apparel, print out at the finished size you want, tape it to the wall, and walk three feet away. Does your logo look cramped? Are the details lost at this size? Could something be changed, moved, or eliminated to make it easier to read, or make the logo more identifiable? Let’s say you put your phone number or your web address under your logo and you can’t read it from the handshake distance.  Now you can decide whether or not you want to make the text bigger, or perhaps, in the instance that your customer is already talking to your representative, whether you really need it at all.  Answering these questions and considering your customers’ point of view can make all the difference when preparing your logo for apparel.

Moreover, the handshake distance helps us in evaluating samples of our finished logos. Some customers will all but use a magnifying glass to check infinitesimal details without looking at the garment from the all important Handshake Distance. Though we at Black Duck are highly detail oriented to the point that we’ve probably already had the magnifying glasses out ourselves, it’s best to view a sample in the same way most will see it.  It’s not likely for your customer to stare at your shirt from 2 inches, why evaluate it that way?

With the handshake distance in mind, everything we create can be crafted to make the most impact right where it counts, in the eyes of our customers.

Come to Black Duck’s fully-stocked showroom, and we’ll show you samples of our work so that you can decide just what you need to keep your business on the top of your customers’ minds.  Our knowledgeable sales staff and expert artists can help you decide how to apply your art, whether you have it all drawn out to the last detail or just a thought and a desire to make it real. We live decorated apparel, and we can help you at any stage of the process.

Written by Erich Campbell.

You already know that wearing your organization’s logo is great for identifying you staff and building team spirit, but that’s for office hours and weekdays, right?  Though it’s a must to look professional when you are on the job, with the comfortable, stylish, and functional apparel [...]]]>

Realtors often use logowear to sell 24-7, shouldn't you?

You already know that wearing your organization’s logo is great for identifying you staff and building team spirit, but that’s for office hours and weekdays, right?  Though it’s a must to look professional when you are on the job, with the comfortable, stylish, and functional apparel that’s available to your garment decorator, there’s no reason not to wear your logo out shopping, in the gym, at sporting events, or anywhere!  More to the point, here are 3 reasons why you and your employees can and should wear your logo every day and everywhere.

1. Brand Recognition

We all know how much good traffic and signage can change how well your business is known in your local community, but what if you could walk your sign around town? When you foster team spirit by rewarding your employees with cool and comfortable ways to wear your logo in their off-time, you can do just that!

2. Personal Recognition

If you want to make sure that you are on the top of everyone’s mind, you have to be seen and identified with your company!  When you wear your logo, every errand becomes a chance for your community to see and recognize you as a representative of your business! Start wearing your logo and soon enough you will be the local go-to expert for your field.

3. Starting the Conversation

If someone is interested in your company or group, wearing your logo is an invitation to open up a conversation about what you do.  Carry business cards and make sure you have a solid 30 second pitch for your business, and even the most hurried trip can be a chance for prospecting! Even if the initial contact isn’t promising, the next time your prospect needs your service, or knows someone who does, your face is in mind and your card is in hand!

At Black Duck, we can create any look from the most casual sports and gym-wear to the most formal business attire. We have solutions for any situation. So, whether you want polo shirts for the golf course, embroidered caps and jackets to fight the winter chill, or the time-tested t-shirt for employee giveaways and promotions, we can provide you with the eye-catching design and execution you need to get noticed.  Call us at (505) 884-3656 and mention the blog to get started with one of our experts in sales!

In times when we are forced to scrutinize every penny we spend for the immediate return it can bring, it is hard not to groan at the upcoming season of gift-giving, holiday parties, and the promotional push that precedes our customers’ busiest shopping months.  Some [...]]]>

Promotional items can have a huge impact on your customers.

In times when we are forced to scrutinize every penny we spend for the immediate return it can bring, it is hard not to groan at the upcoming season of gift-giving, holiday parties, and the promotional push that precedes our customers’ busiest shopping months.  Some business owners look at diminished profits, throw up their hands, and decide to slash promotions, cancel get-togethers, and leave their employees entirely without reward.

We are here to tell you that there is a better way.

First, remember what you’re cutting.  By not giving company gifts or recognition, you cut morale.  What is more important than morale among your employees, especially if you have had to let someone go?  By not giving promotional gifts to your best customers, you cut loyalty, mindspace, and recognition.  What can be more important than cementing relationships with your best customers in a time when they become the backbone of your economic survival?

These self-destructive cuts stem from a problem of perception.  You may feel that previous extravagance renders smaller gifts less palatable. You may think that your smaller budget makes it impossible to purchase a memorable and high-quality gift.  You may simply be unaware of your gift options, believing that gifts don’t make much impact on their receivers or aren’t really easy to make identifiable with your company.  In all of these cases, it is your perception that needs adjusting more than your budget.  Smaller gifts need not lack quality and compared with giving nothing, a small gift becomes much more attractive.  You can use this season to your advantage, no matter your budget.  Remember that even in corporate gift giving, it’s often the thought that counts.

To that end, here are 5 ways to give gifts make an impression no matter your budget.

1. Put your logo on everything - This almost goes without saying. If you do this for your employees, it gives them a sense of belonging and builds company identity and pride.  If you do this for your customers, it keeps your name current in their minds through the continued presence of the gift, especially if the gift is useful or novel.  This doesn’t have to be expensive: there are logoed promotional items that are within almost any budget.

2. Tiered Gift Giving – arrange your best customers according to some useful metric for your company.  You might arrange them by how much they spent with you for the year or how long they’ve been a customer.  Then, set up a hierarchy of how much you will spend on each level, this way your top customers can be afforded a more extravagant gift with the savings on the smaller gifts afforded the lower tiers.  If you are very restricted by your budget, make the bottom rung of this ladder a hand-written, logo-emblazoned thank you card.

3. Keep your gifts novel – Sometimes an inexpensive gift really makes an impression if it is fun, strange, or otherwise noteworthy.  We once did a promotion about “building up business” for which we created a logoed construction-helmet stress ball.  They were universally loved by the customers and, years later, those little helmets still grace many desks, silently keeping our logo and name in view.

4. When you give less, say more – The inclusion of a handwritten note that personally thanks a customer or employee by name and highlights their relationship to you will help any gift mean more.  This is especially true in these times when we pull our companies and their supporters closer together to weather the financial storm. Select a gift that helps to convey this message, and it will become a symbol of that relationship.

5. See an expert - I’m sure you were waiting for the promotion for Black Duck, and here it is.  We sell promotional items and make gifts for people all year round, and moreover, we’ve handled company parties and gifts for decades.  We can help.  Seeing someone who keeps themselves constantly aware of new items and methods of decoration means all you have to have is the desire and a budget in mind to end up with a great gift solution.

Whether you are looking to reward your employees or strengthen bonds with your customers, remember that even a small gift says a lot, especially in these tough times.  Give quality even when you can’t give quantity, and give from the heart.  You will find the reward is more than monetary.

If you are in or around the Albuquerque area, be sure to come to Black Duck’s open house on holiday gift giving this November 3rd from 12 – 6PM. We’ll have samples of all the best promotional products, snacks, door prizes, and the most knowledgeable staff to help you choose the best gifts for your budget.  Please call us at (505) 884-3656 to RSVP.