Purchasing A Tablecloth With Logo, How To Guide
by Tony Cueto September 5, 2022
We all know and understand the importance of branding in today’s market. A tablecloth with logo of the company is a great branding opportunity and very effective. If high quality print and of good material, it will be eye catching and make your booth stand out, even at a crowded tradeshow.
You are either looking to purchase a custom table cover for your business for a show you are attending or have the responsibility of purchasing a tablecloth with logo for your business, school, event or promotion.
Often this task, if the 1st time doing so can seem a little overwhelming or confusing for someone not familiar with promotional print companies, nor with the printed tablecloth process, options available and artwork needed.
Here is a checklist of what to look for and things to consider before purchasing making the purchasing decision as well as what you will need once purchased and the process.
What To Watch For When Sourcing A Printer
A Google search for custom printed tablecloths or trade show table covers returns over 130,000,000 companies that offer a tablecloth with logo. Where to purchase from, what to consider?
1) The best suggestion is before going by the lowest price, research and find out several questions about the print company. Are the printed products made in the U.S.A. or come from abroad? This is critical for two reasons. 1st, Many imported printed tablecloth are poor quality, low thread count and thin. The 2nd reason is shipping delays. I cannot count the number of times in the past few months that customers have called us and had to pay for expedited production and next day air shipping with us because their promotional table cover coming from India, China or Mexico was delayed in transit. A very easy way to tell if a company prints abroad is their production time. If they show 5-days as standard production and have an upcharge (if offered at all) for 3-day production, there is an excellent chance these are imported. The upcharge for 3-day production is to cover the expedited shipping from abroad without telling you.
I have seen many of these companies even falsely advertise on their website they are manufactured in the U.S.A. Yes, they may be based in the US but print abroad. If the company offers any 5-day production, make sure they also offer 3, 2 and 1-day production to be certain you are not going to receive an imported table cover.
2) Is the print company an actual printer or just a re-seller? When you purchase directly from the printer, the pricing will be lower than a re-seller who marks up the print company’s price. Also working directly with a print company, you avoid the possibility of miscommunication along the process since dealing with a middleman. An easy way to know if the company you are considering is a printer is to Google their address. If Google maps returns someone’s home, keep searching.
3) Is the company A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau? Reviews should be read, taken with a grain of salt as they can be manipulated or fake.
In addition, 31% of all new business fail within 2 years. In the Print On Demand industry it is alarmingly higher, 85% being conservative. This is due to all the YouTube get rich quick opening a P.O.D. or being a promotional product re-seller. Even with knowledge about the industry, it is a very competitive industry, and many companies go out of business one day to the other. My former business partner, with all his knowledge and experience who decided to open his own company, filed for bankruptcy within a year. That a business is A+ rated by the B.B.B. not only provides confidence that the business is trustworthy, conducts business to the B.B.B. standards and provides excellent service, but also that they have been in business over 2 years. They will not even rate a business until their 2nd year.
That a printer is an ASI member (Advertising Specialty Institute) also gives some peace of mind but by no means should be the sole criteria in choosing your printed tablecloth supplier.
4) Watch out for hidden fees. Add your products to the shopping cart and click proceed to checkout to observe if any hidden charges are added on.
5) Pick up the phone and call the company you are considering hiring. Ask questions. Do they answer the questions in a way that you understand? Not only observe how knowledgeable they are but the customer service they provide.
What You Will Need and How The Process Works
The logo art file needs to be a editable, high resolution file which is called a vectored art file. Adobe Illustrator file, an EPS or editable PDF file. Other acceptable file types are INDD, PSD, Tiff, and SVG files. JPG or PNG file are also usually printable if 150 dpi or larger when at full size. Do not stress if you cannot find or do not have a printable file. Most companies offer vector conversion service for a fee. At Premier Table Linens the charge is $29.95 and our graphic designers will re-draw your logo for you to be top quality, high resolution and print ready. Some customers also use Fiverr to hire a graphic designer.
Once the printable art file is received, you will receive a proof on a template showing exactly how your print will appear. Inspect this carefully as it is the final step prior to printing. Notify the company of any changes you need or if perfect, approve the proof. Production time begins when the customer gives their approval to the proof. If there have been any delays with the proofing system, This is last opportunity to verify that the shipping method selected will still meet your in hand date. We send our customers proof within 60 minutes during business hours but not everyone is as quick. There may have also been a delay due to issues with the art files so always check shipping time and in hand date requirements when approving.
