Whilst we have a web site at Insignia it is much more than that. We believe in good old fashioned service, and that people like to deal with people.
We are here from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday to help you with any queries or questions you may have with any aspect of your quote or order. However, if you need answers outside of these hours below is a list of frequently asked questions and answer which we hope you find helpful:
Q: How do I get a quotation for my specific needs?
We will then send you a specific written quotation, entirely without obligation of course. You can simply e-mail us with your authorisation to go ahead or submit your official order.
Q. Do the prices shown include VAT & Delivery?
A. Our prices exclude VAT and delivery. Delivery costs will be included on your quote and VAT will be added at the prevailing rate.
Q. How long will my order take?
A. Our products have different lead times. The standard lead time for the products can be seen in the item description and will be stated on your quotes. If you need your order in a hurry, let us know and we will do our best to meet your deadline.
We also have express products available in 1, 2, 3 and 5 days! .
Q. How do I know what the quality of your products is like?
A. We can send you samples so you can see the quality of our work. In the case of low cost items these samples are supplied free of charge. Higher cost items are sent on a sale or return basis. These samples will either be plain or will illustrate what we have done for other customers.
Q: Will I get to see a pre-production sample to my own design?
If you would like to see a pre-production sample, before we go ahead with the bulk of your order, please mention it to us. It is almost always possible! These samples are usually supplied free of charge, but if you decide against proceeding with the order charges will have been incurred by you in the production of the sample. Please let us know in advance if you wish to know how much these will be.
On some products, particularly for small orders, there may be a pre-production sample charge so again, do let us know if you wish to see a pre-production sample. Under these circumstances many of our customers feel artwork proofs are sufficient (see below).
Q. What kind of artwork do you need from me?
A. Our factories generally need what is known as “EPS* artwork” to work from. These can be created in either Photoshop or Illustrator. Don’t worry If you don’t know what an EPS* file is, just send us what you have; be it a paper picture, an email image or an actual sample and we will quote you for producing the artwork in the correct format. We will also arrange for the artwork to be sent to you for approval before going ahead with an order.
Q. What is an EPS* file?
A. EPS stands for Encapsulated PostScript and can contain text as well as graphics. EPS is a file extension for a graphics file format used in vector-based images in Adobe Illustrator. Please don’t worry if you don’t know what all this means. We can create the necessary artwork for you from whatever you have available. Just call us on 0345 200 40 49 or email sales@insigniapromotions.co.uk.
Q: What is a pantone colour?
A: Pantone colours are a colour system of over 1200 standard colours developed by Pantone, Inc. They are recognised and used by printers throughout the World. Pantone colours can be categorised as either Uncoated (U) or Coated (C). Pantones are used when printing items. When personalising in other ways, such as embroidery, pantone numbers are not necessary available in threads but provide a good basis for colour matching.
Q: Can I have my products printed in my specific pantone colour?
A: The majority of our products can be pantone matched in terms of printing. Where there are only standard non pantone colours available we will let you know.
Q: Can I have my items made in my own colours?
Most of our products come in a wide range of colours and we can usually find one to match your corporate or school colour. Many products themselves can be pantone matched at the manufacturing stage, if sufficient quantities are ordered – please enquire but generally this would mean at least 3000 items per colour, but this is very dependent upon the product.
Q. What is a screen charge?
A. This is a cost for making the tool to print the ordered items with your artwork/design. As the printable areas are different per product, a screen charge is usually applicable for each different item ordered.
Screen charges are sometimes referred to as set up charges or origination costs.
Q. What is a disc charge?
A. This is the cost for making the embroidery disc (sometimes referred to as a tape) that is then used in the machine to embroider your artwork onto the products
Disc charges are sometimes referred to as set up charges or origination charges.
Q: What is a die charge?
A. This is the cost of striking a bespoke die for your particular design.
Dies are generally used in the production of enamel badges, medals and gold blocked products such as folders and bookmarks.
Die charges are sometimes referred to as set up charges or origination costs.
Q. What is an imprint colour?
A. This is the colour that you would like your artwork printed in on the items you have ordered. Consideration needs to be given to the contrast between the item and the print colour. For example, printing yellow onto white doesn’t usually give sufficient contrast (we are happy to offer you advice to help in your decision).
Q. I can’t see what I am looking for in the catalogue or on the website. Can you help with this?
A. No problem! We have over 100,000 products in our range, and if what you want isn’t there we will source it for you. Just get in touch.
Q. Why might the price on my specific quotation differ from the price shown on the website?
A: The prices shown on the website are the cost per item* personalised in one colour and one position. If your design involves more than one colour, or you are having your logo in more than one position, it will affect the price.
*on very low cost items such as stickers and balloons the price shown may be per 1000 items
Prices shown on the web are exclusive of carriage and VAT. Carriage will be included in your written quotation and VAT will be charged at the prevailing rate.
Q. What methods of payment do you offer?
A: We accept payment via bank transfer or debit/credit Card. (Cost may be applicable to certain payment cards)
Q. What does ‘Quantity Tolerance’ mean?
A. Like other companies in the promotional merchandise industry, it is common practice to reserve the right to over or under supply by 10%.
An example of an ‘under supply’ would be, for instance, when mugs are ordered sometimes cracks in the firing process occur. Rather than supply you with faulty goods, we would remove these from the order and deduct the quantity of mugs under-supplied from your invoice. The reason we deduct, rather than replace, the goods is that the majority of the order cost is in the setting up and it is not viable to rerun firing for small quantities.
An example of an ‘over supply’ could be on very large orders of, say, stickers, where it is not possible to pause the print run absolutely accurately. In this instance, we would add the cost of the extra items (up to a maximum of 10% of the quantity ordered) to your invoice.
We would like to stress that every effort is made to supply the exact quantity ordered and quantity tolerances seldom arise.