Top 10 Tips For Buying Promotional Flash Drives

The growth in the use of USB flash drives, memory sticks, thumb drives, pen drives (call them what you will) by the promotional sector continues unabated. Its no surprise really when you consider just how well printed or branded flash drives look, the fact that you can avoid costly print costs by pre-loading electronic copies of your sales material on the drives and the benefit the recipient gets by being able to use the flash drive to store their own documents on.

When looking to buy promotional flash drives there are a few things to look out for:

1. Make sure you choose the right style of flash drive: There are lots and lots of different standard designs of

Promotional Flash Drives

flash drives on the market with the twister flash drive as the most popular but this is not right for everyone because its relatively small and as a result complex or large logo’s don’t work well on it. To help you choose ask you supplier to work up various examples with your logo and ask them to send you samples of the short list if you have time. Most companies will do this free of charge. Material, shape and colour options are the fundamentals to consider.

2. Choose the right memory capacity: There is a balance between choosing flash memory capacity based on your budget versus a higher level of memory that makes the flash drive more appealing to the recipient. As you’d expect the smaller the memory capacity the cheaper the price of the flash drive. But, if you’re looking to pre-load and “lock” your company data onto the flash drives it’s important to make sure that there is sufficient space, not only for this data but also to ensure the drive is of value to the user. Its all about balance - there's no point paying for memory that you don't need for your own data but you want people to use the flash drives and promote your product or company effectively.

3. Choose the right logo to print onto the flash drive: If your company logo is complex, contains graduated colours and/or tints then it might not be suitable. Remember the space you are printing onto is relatively small and the printing options on some memory sticks are limited. Its not unusual for complex logo’s to be simplified before being printed onto a memory stick

4. Choose the right printing option: Typically flash drives are “spot printed” but they can also be laser engraved or embossed. Another option that’s growing in popularity is to use “Dome Stickers” – these top quality stickers enable complex logo’s to be printed and protected under a layer of resin and are ideal for logo’s with tints or graduated colours

5. Have your artwork available in the right format: If you want your printed flash drives to look good then its essential that you provide your artwork in the highest resolution in a format that does not compress the image data, e.g. Jpeg. Ideally you should supply your artwork in EPS or AI format.

6. Choose the right packaging: For many the right packaging option is no packaging but before you discount packaging on ethical or ecological grounds remember that promotional flash drives in gift boxes do look better and more professional. You don’t have to opt for a top end tin presentation box with foam inserts because printed cardboard boxes (manufactured from recycled cardboard) work just as well.

7. Choose the right accessories: Key rings, carabineers and lanyards are a great option to add value to your branded memory sticks by making it more functional and easier to carry.  The lanyard or carabineers can also be branded to increase your brand exposure.

8. Be clear on your timeframes: Its critical that you allow enough time when ordered printed flash drives. Whilst many companies will offer a “rush” service you will typically pay more for this and reduce your design options. The majority of flash drives are manufactured in the Far East and as such you need to allow around 10 days from approval of the proof to the delivery of your final product.

9. Cheapest isn’t always the right option: There are certain factors to be consider when comparing prices for

Promotional Flash Drives

branded USB flash drives. Make sure the prices you are being quoted are for new Grade A chips and not re-cycled or Grade B chips that have a much great failure rate, Secondly make sure all of the cost quoted is fully inclusive, e.g. does it include; print set up, print origination, pantone matching, data-loading, accessories delivery and finally what are the payment terms.

10. Select a Company with a proven track record: It’s incredibly important that you choose a reputable company that has an established reputation in the marketplace. There are far too many people trying to make a 'quick buck' from unsuspecting customers so don't be afraid to ask for testimonials from companies they have supplied to. Pre and post sales support from designated account managers will help to ensure that whole process runs smoothly and you are provided with the correct information from the outset. Remember that guarantees on products are worthless if the company is not around to honour them.