Most promotional items are available in a large range of colors, shapes and sizes, and the mouse mat is no exception. There's a wide variety to choose from?round mats, custom-shaped mats, mat and coaster sets, calculator mouse mats, and more. In addition, there is a variety of different textiles that your mats can be made from.

Most modern printed mouse mats are made from foam rubber, with a bonded-fabric surface. However, there are more options than just foam?more durable mats are made from strong and long-wearing PVC, which provides an excellent mousing surface. Other textile options include vinyl, laminated material, and rubber.

Which textile is the best to choose? Sometimes this may simply depend on price'if your budget is tight, you'll probably want to choose an inexpensive option rather than a high-tech or high-precision mouse mat design. Most mats are available for less than ?1.00 per item, and if you really want to keep the costs down, there are several priced at less than ?0.50 each for a single color printed design. These are definitely not a ?cheap? option, however'at any price, you'll get a good quality item with a great design.

If price is not your primary consideration, this may depend on the purpose you intend for the mats?not all mouse mats are created equal, and different textiles produce mats that are best suited for different purposes. For example, the printed mouse mats favored by computer gamers are typically made from plastic or other synthetic fibers, because these produce a very high-precision surface.

On the other hand, if you want your mats to be particularly durable and long-wearing, it may be more important to choose a mat made that is easily cleaned'in these cases, fabric-topped mats will not be the best choice, as these pick up stains easily and cannot be cleaned simply by wiping the mat. Hard top mouse mats are a great option if you want an item that is particularly well-wearing, and these also provide high-precision mousing surfaces that are easy to clean.

Rubber is a good mouse mat option if you want to give the recipients of the mats an item that clings to the desk top and does not slip easily. For typical office-related work this is often more of an advantage than a high-precision surface, as a standard mouse pad is high precision enough for most office tasks.

One particular advantage of mouse mats made from softer textiles is simply their flexibility. A mouse mat that can be rolled up into a cylinder provides some opportunities for interesting presentation?for example, roll up a mouse mat and pop it in a promotional mug and give two gifts at once?and they're very easy to mail, too.

When choosing mouse pads, bear in mind that they should be made from textiles that will support the use of both optical and track-ball mice?even though optical mice are gaining in popularity, there are still plenty of people who use track-ball mice, and you have no way of knowing which kind the recipients of your gift will use.