Artwork that survives the factory

Customisation is where a straightforward order turns into six weeks of email. Almost every delay traces back to the same four items, and all four can be settled before the deposit.

1. Logo file: vector, or it will be redrawn

• Send: AI, EPS, PDF with outlines, or SVG.
• Do not send: a JPEG from a website, a screenshot, or a PNG under 1000 px.
• If vector does not exist, expect a redraw — and expect the redraw to be approved by you before production, or the first batch will carry someone else's interpretation of your mark.

2. Colour: a code, not a description

“Navy blue” is not a colour. Send a RAL code for powder coating, or a Pantone reference for print. Two practical notes:

• Powder coat and print never match exactly. If the frame and the logo must look like one colour, say so up front and expect a compromise.
• Metallic and pearlescent finishes behave differently on a tube than on a flat swatch. Ask for a sprayed sample on an offcut.

3. Size: check it at production scale

A logo that reads well on a 1920 px screen may be unreadable at 40 mm on a frame tube. Before approving, print your mark at the actual size on paper and look at it from a metre away. Thin strokes and fine serifs disappear first.

4. The paperwork around the product

Four items that are easy to forget and expensive to fix after the container sails:

• Manual language and content — translated, proofread, and legally required in most target markets.
• Nameplate and model code — your brand, your model naming, and the serial format you want for warranty tracking.
• Retail carton artwork — dielines, barcodes, and the shipping marks your forwarder needs.
• Charger plug — the destination standard, not the Chinese one.

The sequence that avoids reprints

Send artwork → receive a digital proof → approve in writing → receive a physical sample of the printed part → approve that too → then produce. Skipping the physical sample is the single most common cause of a second run at your cost.