Button Badges Artwork Guide
Okay. So you want to get some badges made, huh? Music to our ears!
Here are the most frequently asked questions relating to badge artwork.
How do I send you my artwork?
What do I need to supply?
Will my artwork be suitable for a button badge?
How do I send my artwork as a .psd?
Do you have a Photoshop template for a 25mm badge?
How do I send my artwork as a .jpg or .pdf?
How do I send my artwork as a Word document?
What's the difference between CMYK and RGB?
Can I post you artwork?
I don't have any artwork - can you help?
I have a logo and know what text needs to go on the badge, but don't have the software to run the text in a semi-circle around the outer edge of the design. Can you help?
Will I see a proof of the badge before you make them?
How do I send you my artwork?
Simply send your artwork as an email attachment to info@buttonbadges.co.uk.
You can do this once you have ordered and paid, but if you would like us to check your artwork before you order, that's not a problem - email it to us and we will be happy to take a look for you.
What do I need to supply?
All we need from you is the artwork that you want to appear on the badge. We do everything else and then deliver completely finished pinned button badges ready for you to sell or give away.
If you only have a logo, image, or photo, we can crop it into a circular design and then add any text you require at no additional cost.
Will my artwork be suitable for a button badge?
We will be using your artwork to print the badges to fill your order - and of course the badges can only be as good as any artwork supplied.
The finished badge is one inch in diameter (25mm) and circular so make sure your artwork takes this into account.
The useable face of a badge is 23mm in diameter - the extra 2mm is where the badge begins to curve.
If you want the background to run over over the edge of the badge you have to allow for "bleed". To do this make sure your artwork is 28mm in diameter, while remembering that any text or image you want to appear on the face of the badge remains within a 23mm diameter.
Very intricate designs or too many words are not usually a good idea, but it is surprising how much you can get onto a button badge by good use of contrast.
It's also true that black on white works better than white on black if your artwork contains fine lines or fine text.
If we feel that the supplied artwork is unsuitable for a button badge or is of too poor quality, we will inform you and try to offer suggestions to improve it. If we are unable to use your artwork we will offer you a refund rather than produce badges you won't be happy with.
TOP TIP: Do not draw your own circle around your design - unless you want a circle to appear on your finished badges that is. If you want to draw a circle as a guide send us two versions of the design - one with the circle and one without.
What's the difference between RGB and CMYK artwork?
Please also bear in mind that although we do our best to match colours, we cannot Pantone match colours and there are certain vivid colours we cannot print. And what a colour looks like on a brightly lit computer screen won't be exactly the same on a button badge anyway. That's because screens use RGB to display colours, whereas printers use CMYK to print colours. For more on this see our CMYK v RGB guide.
How do I send you my artwork?
You can send your artwork to us by email or by post. Email is best - it's quick and easy for both you and us.
If e-mailing your artwork please follow these instructions:
If sending a PhotoShop image (.psd)
- • A badge is 25mm in diameter, but your artwork should fit within a 23mm circle to allow for the curvature of a badge.
- • Ideally your artwork needs to be at 300dpi
- • If you want your design or a background colour to bleed over the edge of the badge, add 3mm for bleed (your design will then be 28mm in diameter)
- • A 25mm / one inch badge template for Photoshop is available for download - don't forget to remove the text and guidelines from your final design!
- • Please ensure your artwork is
formatted for a PC - we do not use Macs
If sending your artwork as a .pdf or .jpg
- • We will resize your artwork here and will get better results if your artwork is larger than button badge size, especially if it is a .jpg
- • If possible make sure your .jpg artwork is two to three inches in diameter (5-8cm) so that we can reduce it to the exact size required for button badges
If sending your artwork as a Word document
- • What we will do is look at the Word document received and send you a .jpg version of your artwork so that you can see exactly what we have received
- • Word is not great for artwork, but is a good way to let us see what you are trying to achieve design wise - we can usually make good any Word problems
Take a look at an example artwork from A Word Document To A Button Badge! Click here.
If you don't have any artwork as such
- • Send what you have - a logo, a photo or an image - and we will do our best to transform it into a button badge
- • We can add text for you, including text that runs around the outer edge of your design in a circular fashion
- • We do not charge any extra for helping you with simple designs
If sending your artwork on a floppy disk or a CD-R:
- • If possible make sure your artwork
is sized as above depending on the format
- • Please ensure your artwork is
formatted for a PC - we do not use Macs.
- • If you are scanning artwork it
will look best at a minimum of 300dpi minimum
If sending your artwork on paper:
- • We can produce button badges from
letterheads, leaflets and artwork on paper, but again the better the quality
the artwork the better your button badges will look.
- • If you are printing out artwork as
opposed to sending it on a disc or CD-R, please ensure that you are using the
best quality setting available and also use high quality WHITE art paper if at
all possible. Better still, just email the design as above.
- • Please ensure that your artwork is protected by stiff card and that the envelope is clearly marked "do not bend".
You can send discs and artwork
by post to:
attn: Rhona Marshall
Button Badges
PO Box 13339
Hawick
TD9 1AF
Scotland
Please send by Signed For delivery (used to be called Recorded Delivery and is cheaper than Registered post)
I don't have any artwork - can you help?
If you don't have any badge artwork, but want something simple, we will do our best to help you. We can do this for you free of charge.
If you are looking for something more detailed and can't produce the artwork yourself, we suggest you ask a graphic designer or a friend with a graphics package on their computer to help you out.
I have a logo and know what text needs to go on the badge, but don't have the software to run the text in a semi-circle around the outer edge of the design. Can you help?
We certainly can. Just send the artwork plus the text you need to run around the outer edge of the badge and we will sort everything for you here.
(Why curved text can bring out the best in a badge)
Will I see a proof of the badge before you make them?
Yes, before we press the production button, we email you a proof of your design exactly as it will appear on a badge - so look out for it in your email inbox!
What about . . . ?
If you have any other questions or queries, please email us at info@buttonbadges.co.uk and we will do our best to answer them.
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