Promotional umbrellas can deliver a strong marketing message and make for perfect promotional gifts or corporate items. Aside from the print and design on the umbrella, the very fact of what they are makes a statement. Umbrellas represent protection and tradition. They offer a strong, solid image when used as a promotional giveaway for your company. They mark your business as one that cares enough to give quality, useful gifts to the customers that it values. There are, however, some considerations to take into account when designing the look of your promotional umbrellas.

Colors
The colors that you choose for your promotional umbrellas say a lot about your company. Bright, cheery colors present a far different image than staid, classic black, gray or forest green. Choosing contrasting colors or alternating panels of color can make your umbrella more visible on the street, and more valuable to those who want to sport your colors. Depending on the promotional umbrellas that you choose, your colors may be limited to a standard range. This could work fine for your company if your logo or trademark is a single color, or if your company colors happens to be one of the standard colors offered. Some companies can exactly match the colors that you supply using the Pantone color scale, and some umbrellas, like the Holyland Storm Proof Dye Sublimation Umbrellaoffer you a virtually unlimited range of colors and designs. In most cases, though, you’ll be limited to a range of about twenty colors.

Print Area
While the umbrella has a large surface area, the print area on promotional umbrellas varies. You can choose to print on one or more of the umbrella panels, and there may be limitations to the size that you can print and the special effects that you can choose. There are some manufacturers that offer umbrellas that can be printed over their entire canopy, which can be very effective, if expensive.

What to Print
The most common choices of printing on promotional umbrellas are the company logo. Using your company logo on promotional umbrellas offers a number of advantages. Chances are that you’ll already have camera ready artwork for your logo, which will save you on design costs, and your logo likely has only one or two colors, which will keep your costs low. If your brand name or logo is well-known in your area, then simply printing the logo on the umbrella panel is an easy, effective way of boosting your brand exposure.

If your company is not well-known, however, the logo alone may not identify your company to the man on the street. If your intent is to increase brand awareness, you may consider using more than just your logo. Bespoke designs can be created that will emphasize your company and be extremely eye-catching.

In addition, many promotional umbrellas offer additional areas for customizing or printing. Check with your supplier to find out if it’s possible to print your company name or logo on the handle, the shaft, the tie strings, or on the pouch for a telescoping umbrella.