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Choosing the Right Font

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Choosing the Right Font

If you’re in the mood to start designing your own apparel, Rankin wants you to enjoy the process. After all, whether it’s your own company message or a personal event you want to commemorate, you want your guests to have fun, right? And it would be great if they wore that shirt again!

One of the most common questions we hear from customers who are designing on their own is, “Does this font look right to you?” If you’re interested in learning more about fonts and typography, you can find a wealth of information here.

Regardless of your event, typography is a very common design challenge and one almost everyone must consider. I mean, you were probably going to put some kind of message, group name or company slogan on there, right? So let’s have a look at ways to choose a font that fits your event for dye sublimation, embroidery, screen printing or other printing processes. Rankin’s FREE online custom design lab make it available for your use with a wide variety of fonts and design elements for your use. Let’s have a look at how we can make this easy for you.

 

Consider the CHARACTER of the event.

Is this a corporate event with polo shirts or a picnic with custom t-shirts?

If formal-more-corporate is the style of the day, BASIC fonts may be in order.

Custom Design Lab

 

The “Basic Fonts” in Rankin’s design lab are clean, simple and sure to convey your message while allowing your company or group logo to remain prominent. So for simple and supportive text, these may be one of your best choices.

On the other hand, perhaps your group is “Loud and Proud”. If you want a more aggressive look, the GRUNGE collection may be in order.

 Custom Design Lab

Notice how the typography supports both a more active sense of style but also carries the sense of motion (and in this case) rough action of the activity.

Rankin’s custom design Lab is intended for those customers who want a ready library of easy to use graphics and fonts. If you’re not sure where to start, these tools are for you.

SIZE & SHAPE

As part of Rankin’s professional service, we offer advice making sure you’ll be happy with the results. Along with designing hats, shirts, jerseys and team apparel, reproduction is as much art as science. It’s our job to understand the materials and the process to applying your artwork. Some fonts and designs that look great using dye-sublimation will be less successful in embroidery simply based on their differences in process. You can always count on your friendly and knowledgeable Rankin Techs to point you in the right direction.

 

 

 

Cycling Jerseys

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 Cycling Jersey Sublimation

 

Dear Cyclists, if you’re among the tens of thousands of cyclists in the United States who’ve gotten out (or hidden indoors) during the long-cold winter months, its time to celebrate! Spring is finally here and Rankin Textile is ready to take care of you! Your chosen-sport is truly challenging! Whether you’re climbing or hammering a long-flat, there are dangers at every turn. At Rankin Textile, we’re all about fun and safety, but no one wants to wear a safety vest and cover that great looking jersey. So please consider adding reflective materials to your designs. Our Rankin Techs know just how to do it and maximize your bragging rights for making such a stylish choice and wisdom for keeping you and your team-mates safe.

Because cycling is demanding, bike jersey manufacturers have taken time to create unique apparel for your needs; Snug fit to reduce chaffing; Longer tails to cover you while positioned-forward (nobody wants carpenter’s-crack on a bike), specialized pockets on your jersey-back and material to wick away the moisture. But all of those “specialties” have to be planned for when your team is out shopping for new sponsorships. And you better believe that the Rankin Techs are ready. We can apply graphics to almost any material. Below are a few pointers on what kind to consider before your team purchases:

Merino wool has become popular and has a rich-feel. It takes color beautifully but keep in mind this is one of the most expensive materials available and its relative weight compared to lycra and polyester is heavy. This is a hand-wash only item.

Sport wool (a combination of wool and polypropylene) shares much of the same characteristics of Merino but is normally less form-fitting). This is a hand-wash only item.

Polyester is no longer just for “leisure suits”. Modern materials are nearly indistinguishable from lycra or microfiber and many carry anti-bacterial qualities (which is nice to consider while you’re in the saddle for a sweaty-century). These materials are excellent at wicking away moisture and will fight both sweat and rain to help keep you dry. They’re also our personal favorites for holding outstanding, brilliant graphics.

If you need specs to share with your sponsors on providing the best files for reproduction, please contact us at 203-743-1317. We’ll be happy to send you a list to share.

Rankin Textile performs custom color matches and can advise you on the best fabrics and colors for your needs. Specialty threads, Metallics, 3-D Embroidery and custom fills are all available when working with Rankin Textile. If you’d prefer to do the designing yourself, go to Rankin’s Custom Design Lab and get started. You can begin with a “Blank Canvas” or use “Design Templates”. Start an account with Rankin and our system will save your artwork for future use.

Remember, there’s NEVER a set-up charge and shipping on orders over $99 is FREE!