Local Print Shop, Online Printer or Merchandise Specialist: Who to Use
There are four kinds of business selling branded merchandise in the UK, they are good at different things, and the right one depends entirely on what you are ordering.
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View allThere are four kinds of business selling branded merchandise in the UK, they are good at different things, and the right one depends entirely on what you are ordering.
This guide sets out what each type actually does, where each one is the better choice, and how to tell which you are talking to. We supply branded merchandise ourselves, so we have an interest here. We have tried to write the version we would want to read if we were buying.
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First, the distinction that confuses everybody
A printer owns printing equipment and decorates things. Screen printing, embroidery, litho, signage, garment printing. What they can produce is set by the machines in the building. If you ask for something outside that, they will either decline or quietly place the order with somebody else.
A distributor sources products from manufacturers and has them decorated. They do not necessarily own the machines. What they own is the range, the supplier relationships, the compliance paperwork and the responsibility for the order arriving.
Most promotional merchandise companies are distributors. Most local print shops are printers. Some businesses are both, decorating in-house what they can and sourcing the rest.
Neither is better than the other and the words are not marketing. They describe two genuinely different businesses, and knowing which one you are speaking to tells you what to expect. A printer will give you a fast, direct answer about the things they print and a vaguer one about everything else. A distributor will answer across a much wider range and will be one step removed from the machine doing the work.
The four types, and what each is for
The local print shop
A business near you, usually printing garments, signage and paper, often with a counter you can walk into.
Where they win. Small quantities, quickly, with a person you can look at. Same-day or next-day work on a simple job. Seeing and handling the product before you commit. A relationship with somebody who will answer the phone and knows your name. For a local sports team, a small charity or a one-off run of workwear, this is frequently the best answer and it will beat anything an online supplier can do.
Where they run out. Range. A print shop can only offer what it can decorate, so a mixed order across several product types either becomes several conversations or gets sub-contracted. Pricing at volume is rarely competitive with a distributor buying nationally. And if the job needs a product they do not stock, the sourcing risk moves to you.
The online promotional merchandise supplier, or distributor
A business with a broad catalogue sourced from many manufacturers, selling nationally.
Where they win. Range, and everything that follows from it. A mixed order arriving together, on one invoice. Pricing that improves with quantity because the buying is national. Product knowledge across categories rather than within one. Sourcing and compliance handled, which matters more than it sounds on anything electrical, edible or worn by children. Published pricing, minimums and delivery dates you can check before you speak to anyone.
Where they run out. They are not local, so there is usually no counter to walk into and no handling the product before you order, unless you ask for a sample. Minimums are set per product rather than negotiated. And on a single very small order of one simple item, a local shop will often be quicker and cheaper.
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The single-product specialist
A business that sells one thing. Lanyards. USB drives. Notebooks. Wristbands.
Where they win. Depth on their one product, which is real and worth paying for on a large order of exactly that item. Sharper pricing at volume than a generalist can usually manage. Sometimes a lower minimum, because it is the only thing they set up for.
Where they run out. The moment you need a second product. An event kit bought from four specialists is four orders, four artwork approvals, four delivery dates and four people to chase when one of them slips. If you are ordering ten thousand of one item, go to the specialist. If you are ordering a conference kit, do not.
The self-serve online platform
An upload-your-logo website with no human in the process.
Where they win. Very small quantities, immediately, cheaply. One mug, ten business cards, a handful of t-shirts. If you know exactly what you want and your artwork is good, this is the fastest route there is.
Where they run out. Nobody looks at your artwork before it prints. A logo that is too low resolution, the wrong colour mode or too fine for the branding method will go through exactly as supplied, and the result is yours. The branding methods available are limited to what can be automated. And there is nobody to ring when the deadline moves.
So which one should you use
| If this is your situation | Go to |
|---|---|
| Twenty t-shirts for a local team, this week, and you want to see them first | A local print shop |
| Ten thousand of one single item, lowest possible unit price | A single-product specialist |
| A mixed order across several product types, arriving together on one invoice | An online promotional merchandise supplier |
| One mug, or five of something, right now, and your artwork is already good | A self-serve online platform |
| Anything electrical, edible, or intended for children | A supplier who can produce the compliance paperwork, whichever type they are |
| A product that does not exist in any catalogue yet | A distributor who will manage a manufacturer for you |
| A deadline you cannot move | Whoever will put a guaranteed date in writing |
That table is the honest version. There are orders where we are the wrong call, and a supplier who tells you that before you order is more useful than one who finds out afterwards.
How to tell which one you are talking to
Four questions, and the answers tell you more than the website does.
"Do you print this in-house or source it?" Neither answer is wrong. A vague answer is.
"What is the minimum on this product, and what is the delivery date?" A supplier who can answer both without going away to check is a supplier who deals in that product regularly.
"Can I see a proof before it goes to print, and can I change it?" Any supplier worth using will say yes. The follow-up worth asking is how long the proof takes and whether changes cost anything.
"What happens if it is late?" This is the question that separates suppliers, and most people never ask it. A guaranteed date with a stated consequence is a different commitment from an estimate.
What we do, and where we do not fit
We are a distributor. We source across a wide range of products and have them branded, and we publish the price, the minimum order and a guaranteed delivery date on every product page before you speak to anybody. You get a free Visual Proof within 20 minutes of sending your artwork, and you can change it as many times as you need before you approve it.
That set-up suits mixed orders, orders where the deadline matters, and buyers who want to check the numbers before starting a conversation.
It is not the right fit for a run of five, or for a job where you need to hold the product in your hand tomorrow morning. If that is what you need, a local print shop will serve you better, and we would rather say so now.
If you are not sure which you need, tell us what the order is and we will tell you honestly whether it is us. Our guide to how to brief a promotional products supplier covers what to have ready once you have chosen, and our buying guide on budgets, quantities and lead times covers how the pricing works whoever you use.