| Less formal than a shirt and easier for staff to care | | | | type of work and expected wear, an embroidered |
| for (less ironing), Embroidered Polo Shirts are ideal for | | | | Polo Shirt which uses fabric in the 200 to 250gsm |
| Staff Uniform. Polo Shirts embroidered with your | | | | weight range, will suffice in most instances. |
| company logo are a great way to help promote your | | | | A Matter of Style |
| business, unify your staff and present a professional | | | | Most Polo Shirts utilise a Pique knit fabric and feature |
| image to your clients but how do you ensure you | | | | a two or three button opening (placket) at the neck, |
| get it right? | | | | a rib knit collar and short sleeves but there are |
| Embroidered Polo Shirts are available in different | | | | additional choices such as Jersey or Interlock knit, rib |
| fabrics, styles and colours. First of all, you need to | | | | knit or jacquard knit collars or cuffs, an extended |
| choose the right fabric for your Polo Shirts, one that | | | | back panel (to keep the lower back warm) and side |
| suits the working environment. | | | | vents (for ease of movement). Whilst this list is not |
| All in the Fibre | | | | exhaustive, the final choice will depend on working |
| Traditionally, Polo Shirts have been manufactured | | | | considerations, the look required and of course, the |
| from 100% Cotton, a natural fibre that has been | | | | budget available. |
| used by mankind for thousands of years. Cotton is | | | | Colours from A to Z |
| kind to the skin and absorbs moisture, so it can help | | | | In order to promote your company or brand it |
| keep the wearer cool in hot climates. Unfortunately, | | | | makes sense to choose a fabric colour that 'tones in' |
| whilst Cotton has its advantages, it also has certain | | | | with your corporate logo and thankfully these days, |
| drawbacks regarding its use in staff uniform - it | | | | Polo Shirts are available off-the-shelf in a wide range |
| doesn't wear well, wrinkles easily and requires more | | | | of colours from Apple Green to Zinc Grey. |
| care than synthetic fibres. | | | | If your logo colours are particularly unusual and there |
| Polyester, a synthetic fibre, developed in the early | | | | isn't a matching (or complimentary) colour of Polo |
| 1940's, has a number of attributes that make it ideal | | | | Shirt available off-the-shelf then there are still a |
| for staff uniform: It's strong, durable, dries quickly | | | | couple of options to consider: |
| and is wrinkle resistant but in its standard form is not | | | | One is to choose a plain colour of Polo, such as Black, |
| as comfortable on the skin as Cotton. Consequently, | | | | Navy or White - selecting a colour of garment on |
| Polyester is often blended with Cotton, to create a | | | | which your corporate logo colours will look good |
| fabric that combines the best of both fibres: Cotton | | | | when embroidered. This can sometimes be preferable |
| for wearer comfort and breathability and Polyester | | | | to buying an off-the-shelf garment in an unusual |
| for strength, durability and ease of care. | | | | shade because fashions change and just because |
| As a result, Polyester/Cotton is currently the most | | | | your company's shade of lime green is in vogue |
| commonly used fabric for staff uniform Polos | | | | today this may not be the case in two years time. |
| however in recent years technical Polyester fibres | | | | Manufacturers of off-the-shelf 'stock' garments tend |
| (such as Coolmax), that were first developed for use | | | | to change their ranges from time to time and may |
| in high-end sportswear, have begun to be used for | | | | choose to drop a colour if it is no longer considered |
| staff uniform Polos. | | | | popular. Ask your supplier and they should be able to |
| Technical Polyester fibres were specifically engineered | | | | tell you which colours are likely to remain available or |
| to wick moisture from the skin in order to keep | | | | which are in doubt. |
| athletes cool and performing at their peak: Strong, | | | | The second option, if you have a sufficiently large |
| yet soft to the touch, quick to dry and easy to care | | | | requirement, is to have a Polo Shirt manufactured for |
| for, they represent the current state of the art in | | | | your staff uniform in a bespoke colour. Manufacturing |
| fibre design. Fabrics made from these fibres are | | | | a bespoke embroidered Polo Shirt, opens up a wealth |
| already being used in areas as diverse as the military | | | | of possibilities regarding colour matching to your main |
| and Formula 1 racing and in the next ten years it's | | | | corporate colour, embroidery branding, trims & |
| likely we will see them being put to even wider use, | | | | detailing but this option is usually only viable from 300 |
| in fact there are already Polo Shirts available for staff | | | | to 500 pieces for a single colour garment or 1,000 |
| uniform and sales are beginning to increase. | | | | pieces upwards for more complex designs. |
| For general use, Polyester/Cotton remains the right | | | | Nevertheless, if you have the quantity, the lead time |
| fabric for most staff uniform Polos and a 50/50 | | | | and are not on too tight a budget then this is |
| mixture of fibres provides the best balance between | | | | definitely the way to create a unique look for your |
| comfort and wear. | | | | embroidered Polo Shirts. |
| A Weighty Issue | | | | Smart Threads |
| The weight of the fabric is also an important | | | | We've spoken about the basis for your embroidered |
| consideration and the right choice will result in an | | | | Polo Shirt and how to choose the right garment but |
| embroidered Polo Shirt that is suitable for the | | | | what of the embroidery itself and why should we |
| working environment, comfortable for the wearer | | | | use embroidery instead of print? |
| and durable enough to offer real value for money for | | | | Although embroidery began as a handicraft, |
| the company. | | | | commercial embroidery now utilises complex |
| Leaving aside the technical Polyester Polos, which are | | | | machines to stitch the design directly onto the |
| inherently lightweight, Polyester/Cotton Polo Shirts | | | | garment or garment panel. An embroidered logo may |
| tend to start from around 160 to 170gsm (GSM | | | | contain thousands (sometimes even tens of |
| stands for grams per square metre, a unit of | | | | thousands) of stitches of coloured thread to replicate |
| measurement now commonly used in the textile | | | | your company logo. |
| industry). Whilst these lightweight Poly/Cotton Polos | | | | Nowadays, embroidery is achieved by digitising the |
| are cheap to buy, they tend to feel flimsy and with | | | | design - the process of digitising converts your logo |
| regard to an embroidered Polo Shirt, they do not | | | | from a.JPG or Bitmap image into a set of computer |
| provide a stable enough fabric on which to embroider. | | | | instructions that tell the embroidery machine where |
| Lightweight Polo shirts can be used for budget | | | | to stitch, how much to stitch and what thread |
| promotional give-aways but rarely do they offer real | | | | colours to use. |
| value for money as an item of staff uniform. | | | | Due to its unique appearance and method of |
| The middle ground for Poly/Cotton Polo shirts, in | | | | manufacture, embroidery conveys a sense of quality |
| terms of weight and performance, is usually for | | | | and unlike screen or transfer printing, the individual |
| fabrics somewhere in the region of 180 to 210gsm. | | | | threads of embroidery provide an almost 3D effect |
| At this weight the fabric provides a reasonable | | | | that reacts to every change in light. |
| balance between comfort, durability and price. As a | | | | Embroidering a Polo Shirt does however require some |
| result, Polo shirts in this weight range are regularly | | | | extra consideration. Pique knit fabric (the most |
| used for workwear in the manufacturing & | | | | common knit for Polo Shirts) can be difficult to |
| industrial sectors. | | | | embroider with fine designs, as the open 'holes' in the |
| Heavyweight Polo shirts typically use fabric weighing | | | | fabric cause the design to pull out of shape. |
| from 220 up to 280gsm. Embroidered Polo shirts | | | | Therefore it's important that your supplier digitises |
| which use fabric of this weight are not only stronger | | | | the embroidery design specifically for the fabric being |
| and more durable than their lightweight counterparts | | | | embroidered - a good supplier will do this as a matter |
| but also provide further improvements in wearer | | | | of course. |
| comfort, quality and image as well. Consequently, | | | | So there you have it: A good quality Embroidered |
| heavyweight Polo Shirts are often used for customer | | | | Polo Shirt need not be vastly expensive and with the |
| facing staff or in more prestigious or quality oriented | | | | right choices and the right supplier you should be |
| working environments. | | | | assured of a good result for your company, your |
| Bearing in mind the temperature of the workplace, | | | | staff and your budget. |