What would you do with this small text?

[Gilligan]

Customer wants this logo on left chest of 25 Nike dri-fit Polos.

I'm thinking 3" wide.  That makes the small text 1/8th of an inch... obviously that's not going to cut it.

What would you guys do?

[JBLUE]

Explain to them that embroidery cannot hold the same detail as a screen print and let them know they need to increase the size of that text or drop the text all together. Be straight with them up front and they should not have an issue if they have any common sense.

[Gilligan]

I actually already said I'd probably have to increase the text.

I just recently dropped it to underline the entire thing (state and all) and it's still so small.  I increased the stitches to see what happens, about to run a sew out... I don't think it's gonna be enough.

BTW, for the record, I caught the "since" thing and called them.  My guy said all the stuff he has on his desk has it spelled correctly... I told him to tell whoever to delete that file so it doesn't get printed incorrectly by someone who isn't paying attention!  Kind of defeats the entire tag line in itself doesn't it?

[royster13]

The tag line should be deleted from the main logo and put on the sleeve......

[Gilligan]

Great idea Royster.

They actually want their logo (without tag) on the sleeve as it is.  I felt like it was rather redundant to have the logo on the LC and on the sleeve. 

[ScreenFoo]

You should shoot them an email and say "your not understanding this spelling problem correctly" 

[Denis Kolar]

Do not use serif fonts for small text, go with san-serif

[Gilligan]

Dennis, I never even looked at doing a serif on that small text.  I went straight to my "small block 2" font.

[Fresh Baked Printing]

So they meant to spell Since? Not Sense?

EDIT; Never mind. I see you spotted it. Nice catch because you know they would have blamed you 

[mk162]

I would drop the text, it's useless anyway.  A lot of my customers demand it and we do the best we can, but if you have trouble reading it, what is the point?  Are you trying to get people to stare at people's chests?

[inkman996]

Drop the tag line if they do not want to then increase the logo to 4" wide, it is a narrow logo it will not look bad at 4" and drop the whole tag line beneath so you can expand it the width of the entire logo.

[Gilligan]

Drop the tag line if they do not want to then increase the logo to 4" wide, it is a narrow logo it will not look bad at 4" and drop the whole tag line beneath so you can expand it the width of the entire logo.

Not a bad idea... I already dropped it down and ran it the entire length.  I just have a tendancy to go TOO big when I first start making left chest and have to sew out a few test to get it sized right.  This time I got it right but the tag won't work.

I talked to them about Royster's idea... he wasn't really digging it.  He thinks it will make the sleeve too busy. *shrug*  I tried to say it's pretty common.  I told him I'd keep working on it and see what I could do and he liked that idea better.  They apparently really want it on the front.  *sigh*

Speaking of looking at chest.  Being in the t-shirt business gives you a good reason and makes you get caught more often (incorrectly) looking at breast.   "sorry, I make t-shirts and was just looking at how the shirt was printed." 

So they meant to spell Since? Not Sense?

EDIT; Never mind. I see you spotted it. Nice catch because you know they would have blamed you 

I almost didn't, I typed it "Since" then as I whipped back over to get the next word I thought... wait a minute!

My first batch of business cards (1k) for myself had "Available" spelled "Availible"  apparently I've spelled it incorrectly for my entire life.  So when the proof came back I didn't blink an eye at it.  Thanks printer!  Now that I'm thinking of it, a buddy of mine did the layout for me, I guess he spelled it incorrectly also.  At least 3 people looked at it and didn't notice (though, I've only had one person say anything to me since).

[beanie357]

We keep a competitors small text job to show people what small is. Usually they rethink the itsy bitsy teeny weeny concept, and we steer them to sleeves, or a layout with the ability to use bigger size letters. Of course for those who refuse to learn, our tajimas do justice to the microscopics, and we have a Sherlock Holmes sized magnifying glass for them to view their stubborness.

Actually, using an existing job from a competitor to point out it's not readable at standing talking distance kinda gets them wondering about the "other guy" not pointing this out to them. hee hee. Competitors-my favorite marketing assistants!

[bj]

Do you have the ability with your digitizing software to stretch the small text vertical so you max out the height?   I know you already said you maxed out the width but sometimes what I do is stretch the whole text more vertical and it helps the text look a little clearer.   Also, giving the text a bit more pull. comp.  than usual can help with small text.