5 Tips for Last-Minute Corporate Gift Orders

Yes, yes, we know - you would never leave something as important as corporate holiday gifting to the last minute. Except sometimes, stuff happens. We understand! And we're prepared to handle your last-minute business gift rushes during the holiday season. When you need it fast, here are 5 things to keep in mind:

  1. Have your art ready to go in vector format. That means a file ending in .AI, .EPS, or possibly .PDF; not a raster file ending in .JPG, .GIF, .PNG, or .TIF. Raster files can be converted to vector files, but that can add a day or two to your timeline (not to mention some additional labor cost). For more information on raster and vector files, click here.

  2. When printing, keep the number of colors in your design to a minimum. Imagine for a moment that your computer's printer didn't print all the colors of the rainbow at once. Instead, it would first print the red, then the orange, then the yellow, and so on, and in between every color, it had to dry for several hours. That's how multi-color imprints on t-shirts, mugs, pens, and other promotional products work. The more colors in the design, the longer the production process takes. It's often possible to produce an item in 24 hours, but only with a 1- or 2-color imprint.

  3. Some decoration methods take longer than others. Embroidery can be time-consuming, especially for a large design, so it may not be possible to turn an embroidery order around in 24 hours. Printing and laser engraving, on the other hand, can generally be accomplished quite quickly.

  4. Watch your e-mail. We'll be generating your order acknowledgement and art proof quickly, but we can't move forward with production until you let us know we've got it right. The faster you approve the proof, the faster your item can be delivered.

  5. Expedited shipping can be quite costly, especially on large or heavy products. If you're worried about the added cost of overnight delivery, we can consult our list of manufacturers and choose one that's close to your delivery location. That means you can ship ground and still get it fast.

For a dozen examples of corporate gifts we can produce and ship in a hurry, click here. Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg.

You can search our catalog for ideas, or you can have us do the searching for you. That's a load off your mind!