Artwork ... artwork, artwork !
A branded merchandise company such as Thrive Promotional Products, will often use the terms 'print ready' artwork and ‘vector’ artwork. Companies big and small often struggle to find the artwork files needed for promotional merchandise decoration.
A few handy hints:
I stress, I am not a graphic designer. Here are a few thoughts based on my 20+ years working with companies, government departments, not-for-profits and educational establishments on their promotional products and corporate gift projects.
We recommend preparing a Digital Brand Guideline Document.
It is a very handy tool. It doesn't have to be fancy, however, every organisation should have an easy to access digital document guide. It becomes a 'one stop shop' for all artwork information.
A brand guideline is about a brand’s look and how it is presented visually to ensure consistency.
Internally, it is a great decision to provide a reference location for this information, to assist planning. It is also as important, when working on creative and print projects involving suppliers and partners such as Thrive Promotional Products.
In large organisations, often a style or brand guideline contains pages of very detailed information about ‘the brand’ and what to do or not to do with artwork.
For most businesses, at the very least, we recommend:
a) Artwork files in Print Ready Vector Format
A vector is a high-quality artwork file created in specialist software such as Illustrator or Corel Draw and can be manipulated and resized without losing any clarity.
A Vector is not your average artwork file. It is actually a complicated set of mathematical commands. Who would have guessed!
Ensure your digital brand guideline document includes:
- The vector files (the tag endings are the identifier 'eps' or 'ai') – see also fonts , layouts and colours
- PDF versions (pdf versions are useful as everyone can open this file type)
- High resolution jpgs are also a good inclusion (these are sometimes suitable for digital print jobs but can be used in websites and social media)
Important Note: What is not Print Ready Artwork
Files such as png and jpg files are not print ready and cannot be 'saved as' a vector eps or ai.
b) Fonts
Within the digital guideline document, there should be details about the official fonts used within the brand.
When the vector files are drawn, at the time, the fonts should be converted to outlines to ensure the specific font used, can be identified. A graphic designer will understand this detail.
c) Layout Versions
All the logo layout versions used as standard, should be included e.g. horizontal, stacked, files with a tagline and without a tagline and a file with the logo inclusive of contact details
d) Brand Colours 
It is ideal to include all variations for different types of uses (websites, print, promotional products). Most of the time, for promotional products (my focus), is to use vector artwork and pantones.
* Mono - black logo on white background
** Pantone (PMS) colours is a universally recognised print colour code system across the world. For example 485C is a particular red and the same red across everyone that uses Pantone.
c) Fonts - the name of the fonts used in the logo
A very quick summary of print ready artwork.