If this is your first entry into the world of promotional items, you might be feeling a bit lost—there is such an enormous variety of items that all the choices you have can make the whole process somewhat confusing. Here’s quick run-down of some of the basic categories of items that are available, as well as some brief explanation of the important points of the ordering process.

Office and Desktop Items

Some of the most popular promotional items ever are included in this category—pens, coffee mugs, and mouse mats. In addition there’s a vast array of other office supplies and desktop items, including letter openers, paper products, as well as smaller items such as paper clips, erasers and rulers. In addition there are items like calculators, wall and desktop clocks, paperweights, mobile phone holders and similar items, all of which can be branded with your company logo or promotional message.

Clothing

Items of clothing are a popular choice, too—highly visible advertising and a large print area make these an ideal choice for many situations. There are caps, t-shirts, polo shirts and sweat shirts available, as well as jackets and fleeces. These items are available in a great range of colors and color combinations, and you are able to choose the sizes you need, as well as other specifications such as color and your printed design.

Travel & Leisure Items

This category includes a very wide range of items—from a simple bottle opener to practical promotional items such as torches and Mag-Lites, knives, traveling sewing kits, tape measures, road atlases, pedometers and stopwatches, travel mugs, and other useful items. There’s plenty of choice here, so you’re easily able to select leisure items that will suit your promotion and your business focus.

Ordering your Promotional Items

When you’re ordering your promotional items, the first point to notice is how prices are structured. In most cases, the listed prices of items includes the cost of a single color printed design in one position (that means, for example, that if you’re choosing polo shirts and you want a design on the breast pocket and on the back of the item, there is a separate charge for each additional print position). Note also that while a few items include the cost of a full color print, in most cases a small charge per item applies if you want additional print colors. Finally, your order also involves a one-time setup fee for each different design you choose.

The second important point is the print area. Each promotional item has a print area of a specific size (measured in millimeters), and depending on the item, may also be placed only in specific areas. For example, most people will choose to have shirt designs placed on the left breast pocket, or on the back of the item.

Finally, note that in most cases, the turn-around time of your order is 15 working days from the time your design choices are approved. In a few cases, this lead time is shortened to around five days, however this depends on the availability of items and generally the most common lead time is 15 working days.