How do I find my nearest Distributor?
Please complete this form and we will send you details of your local Distributor.
How much is Origination and Carriage?
Origination costs vary from product to product depending on the printing process used. Carriage is based upon weight and your local Gift Distributor can give you a quote on both origination and freight costs as soon as they know your choice of product and the quantity you would like to order.
Does the unit price include printing?
Yes, the unit price includes a one colour print to the barrel unless otherwise stated. There are a few products that are suitable only for laser engraving or can not be printed and these are displayed with PLEASE NOTE PRICES QUOTED ARE FOR PLAIN STOCK in the Notes section found between the Print Area and Options information in the Product Family view.
How do I find out how many pens are contained in a carton?
Please refer to the Notes section found between the Print Area and Options Information in the Product Family view.
How do I find out what the minimum order quantity is for a product?
Please refer to the Notes section found between the Print Area and Options Information in the Product Family view.
How do I find out what the print area is for a product?
Please refer to the Print Area section in the Product Family view.
I have chosen a pen - do you have suggestions for a suitable presentation box?
Please refer to the Options section in the Product Family view.
My courier is going to collect - what size is the carton and what does it weigh?
Please refer to the Notes section found between the Print Area and Options Information in the Product Family view.
Can I have a pen matched to a specific pantone colour?
Yes, there are several models in our range that can be matched to a specific pantone reference. Rubber grips on both the LPC 064 Special Range and the X-Nine Fantasia Grip Range can be matched together with the barrel of the Futura Special Range and the components of both the X-Five Swing Special Colour and the Allegra Swing Special Colour Ranges.
Can I have four-colour process printing applied to a pen?
Yes, we are able to reproduce photographic artwork onto the entire barrel of the Futura Digital Ballpen. Alternatively, take a look at the Graphica Lithowrap which has a high-quality lithowrap and imprintable clip.
Read more about them in our 4-Colour Process Pens section.
Can I have peripheral printing on my pen?
Yes, the Futura and the Futura Fantasia Ballpens are suitable for peripheral printing. Please refer to our Extensive Colour Range section for details of the Futura Fantasia and here for information about the Futura Standard Ballpen. Please note that the prices shown are based on a one-colour screenprint to the barrel. Please contact our Sales Office on +44 (0)1252 400270 and they will provide you with a quote for peripheral printing.
Can I make a virtual mock-up of my customised pen?
Yes you can make up your own virtual mock-up of the Kiki Fantasia, X-Three Fantasia, Mandi Fantasia and Allegra Fantasia Ballpens. Details and a full tutorial can be found here.
How do I know whether my pantone choice is suitable for my pen?
To avoid disappointment, read here about how pantone colours behave and advice on choosing the right pantone swatch..
Where can I buy a pantone book?
They are available from your local Gift Distributor.
How can I find out more about the printing processes you use?
Information about pen manufacturing and printing techniques we use for personalisation can be found here.
Why don't metallic inks last as long as solid colour inks when printed onto a pen?
Metallic inks (gold and silver) have a reduced life due to their formulation. If you took a drop of ink and viewed it under an extremely powerful microscope you would see that its composition is made up of the pigment (hundreds of particles of metallic powder) held in a suspension of resin.
The particles of the metallic pigment are larger than those found in solid colour inks. Their increased size makes them stand proud of the ink surface and are therefore more exposed to general wear-and-tear. Their resistance to abrasion is much less than solid colour pigment which is more deeply embedded into the ink's surface area.
Another important factor with regard to the metallic pigments are their composition. Silver pigment is made primarily from aluminium and gold pigment from brass. Neither of these elements are resistant to saline solution (perspiration) so, in addition to the abrasion problem, you also have their inability to defend a chemical attack.
For this reason, we can not guarantee adhesion and would suggest that you have an over-varnish applied to protect metallic colours. This service is available on most products at additional cost. Please speak to your customer service representative who will be able to advise you.
I chose a vibrant red to print onto a black bodied pen. Why does it look dull?
The most accurate colour matches can only be achieved when Pantone references are printed onto a white surface as they rely on surface reflection.
As a general rule, orders for bright colours to be printed onto dark surfaces will be the least accurate, eg. white printed onto black will appear light grey and all basic Pantone colours and all central Pantone colours will appear very dull when printed onto black or coloured surfaces. This guide shows how a number of popular pantone colours might appear when printed onto coloured pens. The colours shown should not be taken as precise colour matches as the visual guide is purely to illustrate how the colours are affected when printed onto coloured substrates.
Taking all this into consideration, how can you determine how accurate a requested colour match will be on a coloured substrate? Put simply, there is no absolutely perfect method available to give you a definitive answer. However, you can get a pretty good idea if you remember the following.
Firstly, the best pantone book to use is the "Colour Formula Guide". This shows you the mixing ratios that lithographic printers use to make their colour matches. Although, screen and tampo printers do not use these guides for mixing inks as their base mixing colours are different, the formulae themselves are very revealing. With the exception of Grey, metallic and fluorescent colours, the formulae guide works on central colours. That is, each page in the formulae guide has a central colour and you can determine which colour on the page that is because the formula listed for that colour does not contain black or white. This central colour is the starting off point for colour matchers and the other colours on each page use this basic mix to create all the other colours on that page by simply adding either black or white to it. Usually increasing amounts of white going up the page and increasing amounts of black down the page. As black and white are the only two pigments that a colour matcher can use to increase the opacity of an ink and as we said earlier, these central colours contain no black or white, then it follows that the most translucent colour on each page is the central colour. This is the colour on each page that will give the worst colour match when you are printing onto a non-white substrate. The colours furthest away from the central colour on each page will usually provide the best colour match because the opaque pigments, white and black, will help obliterate the colour of the substrate beneath.
There are many other considerations regarding colour matches, but if you remember the information above, you should be able to guide your customer away from requesting impossible matches on a coloured substrate.
Surface colour always influences the printed colour and it is advisable to order a printed proof if the colour match is critical. If a printed proof is not ordered, we will assume that our best attempt to match the colour reference requested is acceptable to you, given the constraints or limitations of the ink system in use and the nature and colour of the surface being printed.
