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Scratch Resistant Flash Drives That Give Greater Protection to Printed Logos

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Whilst the vast majority of printed USB flash drives are pretty robust and will brush off the knocks and bumps of everyday use, the logo that you get printed onto them will ultimately wear off and scratch over time.

Although most printed flash drives are protected with a lacquer, which the factory applies after the print process, this is not sufficient to give a life long guarantee. If the printed memory sticks are attached to a key ring then the wear and tear inflicted on the printed logo is going to be quite severe and again this will shorten the life of the printed logo.

Given that one of the key drivers for buying branded flash drives is to promote your brand the likely longevity of the print should a key consideration.

Realistically, no supplier is going to be able to give you any hard and fast warranties on just how long the print will stay on simply because no one can anticipate the environment in which they will be used. But allowing for fair wear and tear and “normal” usage if such a thing can be defined you should expect your printed logo to last for more than a few weeks. If the print does start to fail early on then go back to your supplier and ask for an explanation and a plan of action to deal with the issue.

If you’re anticipating that your branded flash drives might take some punishment once distributed to your clients then you might want to consider a model or style of flash drive where the printed logo fully protected under a layer of resin. The benefit of these resin coated sticks is that they support a full 4 colour print process and a clear layer of resin then “encases” the print not only giving it excellent protection but also making the finished product incredibly tactile.

Scratch Resistant Flash Drives

The resin layer enhances the finished product and of course has the added benefit of protecting your logo or brand. So if you’re looking for a scratch resistant flash drive that offers greater protection and looks fantastic then consider something like the Express Flash Drive from USB2U

Scratch Resistant Flash Drives That Give Greater Protection to Printed Logos

Tags: flash drive, Flash drives, printed flash drives, promotional flash drives, scratch resistant
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Cheap Printed Flash Drives – Fact or Fiction

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Everyone loves a bargain but is there such a thing as a good quality cheap printed flash drive. Considering that any item that is printed with your company’s brand effectively becomes an ambassador for you company its important when sourcing branded products that you don’t compromise on the core quality of the product by buying cheap.

This is particularly true of memory sticks. Anyone given a printed memory stick is going to want to trust it to store and carry data on. They will expect any promotional memory stick carrying a corporate brand to perform equally as well as, if not better, than memory sticks from regular brands such as Kingston, Sony or Transcend. If you’re printed memory sticks underperforms or worse fails and the user loses their treasured or important data this negative memory will be associated with your brand.

Equally if you want to pre-load the memory sticks you are buying with data before your distribute them then you don’t want to discover when you come to load them that they are slow or worse fail. Today its common for memory sticks to be loaded with Sales Sheets, Product Sheets, Web Links, Audio and Movie Files and other sales collateral. Implicitly you need this data to be accessible and readable otherwise why go to the trouble of preparing it and loading it. Trusting it to a cheap, sub standard memory stick that might have been manufactured using Grade B (recycled) flash memory chip sets would be false economy.

Express Flash Drives

The core component of any memory stick is the flash memory module and the controller chip that goes with it. These have a price in the market just like any commodity and most factories that assemble memory sticks buy from the same small number of flash manufacturers at the prevailing rate. The price variance in the market of the finished memory stick (within a given memory size) is driven by the costs of the shell/case around this core component, the assembly costs, the manufacturers profit margin and the currency exchange rate to bring the memory sticks into the country. Given this the price for any printed flash drive should be broadly similar so if you are being offered prices below the general market price ask yourself why but more importantly ask your supplier why. Ensure you get some guarantees on the grade of chipset being used and check the credentials of the supplier.
In reality the only safe way to reduce the cost of branded memory sticks is to:

Buy memory sticks with a smaller capacity, e.g. 128MB instead of 1GB. The smaller the memory capacity the cheaper the stick but don’t go too small or you will give the user little incentive to carry and use it.
Plan ahead to ensure you allow sufficient time to get them printed at the point of manufacture e.g. in China. Last minute orders mean your supplier will have to print them locally and local printing is typically 3-4 times more expensive.
Avoid times of high demand and limited supply when the prices are driven upwards. Typically this is during Chinese New Year and in the run up to Christmas.

As with everything in life you get what you pay for and printed memory sticks are no exception!

Cheap Printed Flash Drives – Fact or Fiction

Tags: cheap printed memory sticks, printed flash drives, Printed Memory Sticks, Printed USB
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Top 10 Tips For Buying USB Memory Sticks Printed with your Logo On

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

USB Memory sticks printed with your logo on are incredibly popular at the moment but there are a few golden rules to consider when sourcing them. Here’s our starter for ten:

USB Twister

Be clear about what logo you want printed on the Printed USB sticks. In many cases you’re not going to have a huge amount of choice about which logo or brand to use particularly if you’re printing your corporate logo and you have clearly defined brand rules and guidelines to adhere to. But, there’s no doubt about it that some logo’s work better than others. Because of the relatively small amount of space the logo will be printed on a complicated or over fussy logo will not reproduce well. Try to use simple logos with strong colours that have a good visual impact. It may be necessary to adapt an existing logo to get the best effect.

Printed USB

USB Artwork

Prepare the right artwork: Don’t expect to be able to use the low-resolution images from your company’s web site for printing. To get a great finish its essential that you make available to your supplier images in the highest resolution possible. Vector shape logos are preferred because they never lose any sharpness irrespective of how big or small you make them. Vector logos will typically be saved as .EPS or .AI files. If you have an in-house designer they’ll understand what’s needed.
Select a memory stick that works with your logo: Sounds obvious really but some logos look better on certain style Printed USB Flash Drive than others. A popular option at the moment is to go for a model where the main body shell can be pantone matched to one of the primary colours from your logo. The end result when this is done looks fantastic because it looks as though the flash drive has been specifically designed for you. If you’re not sure what the best option is then ask your supplier to work up a range of “mock-ups” for you. They should be happy to do this for you and at no cost.

USB Chic

Printing is not the only option: Until recently spot printing was the only option available but now slightly more complex logos with colour blending can be accommodated using digital print technology. On metal-cased memory sticks you could also consider laser engraving. This is a professional looking, long lasting option.

USB Memory Sizes

Don’t skimp on the memory size: Whilst cost will of course be a determining factor its important to get the balance right between choosing the correct capacity and the budget available for your logo USB memory sticks. Low capacity memory sticks that don’t offer much on-going use to the recipient. They are “ok” if you’re just using them to distribute data but if you want them to have a life beyond the initial distribution its important you give the user a reason to carry them around. A memory stick with little or no real or perceived storage will just end up in the back of a drawer.
Data to load? Get it ready early: If you have data that you want to load onto your logo branded memory sticks then try if at all possible to get it ready early. This way the data can be loaded during the manufacturing process for just a few pennies per stick. It’ll save hours of pain and heartache of doing it in-house or further cost if you have to have the data professionally loaded after they have been manufactured.

Packaging Accessories

Don’t forget the packaging and accessories: If cost is a real issue or if the memory sticks are just promotional giveaways then you probably won’t want to run to the additional cost of presentation boxes or lanyards. But there’s no doubt about it that a good quality presentation tin or box coupled with a neck strap (lanyard) really raises the overall look of the end product and if you want to go the extra mile you can print your logo onto the gift box and embroider your logo into the lanyard.
Allow enough time: Some supplier can provide printed memory sticks in a couple of days but you’ll be very limited in terms of choice, colour and the number of colours that can be printed. Ideally allow at least 14 days and this way you’ll be able to choose from a very comprehensive range and you’ll even have enough time for the sticks to be pantone matched. Remember the memory sticks are all produced in China so as well as the production time(s) the lead time of 14 days is to allow for the shipment of the finished product to you.
9. Don’t always buy the cheapest Printed USB’s: There are many horror stories of memory sticks being supplied with “used” or Grade “B” memory chips inside. Some factories also disguise smaller capacity chips and sell them as larger memory sizes. If you’ve been offered a price that no-one else can match or get close to then its time to ask some hard questions and make sure that chips are brand new, does the price include a warranty, if so how comprehensive is it? Finally, does the price include all of the costs, i.e. Artwork setup, production and delivery.
Go with the right supplier: There are far too many people trying to make a ‘quick buck’ from unsuspecting customers looking to buy logo USB sticks so make sure you undertake proper due diligence. Get testimonials; check it’s a “real” business and not operating “side of desk” somewhere. Make sure they are a registered company and have QA processes and warranty policies in place.