Screen printing vs UV printing vs laser engraving: which suits your logo?

The one that matches your logo's colours and the life the item will lead. Three questions settle it in most cases:

• How many colours? One or two solid colours suit screen printing. Gradients, photos and many colours suit UV printing.
• How many pieces? Screen printing starts at 100. UV printing and laser engraving have no minimum.
• How hard will it be used? If it goes in the dishwasher or gets handled every day for years, choose screen printing or laser engraving.

Still unsure? Send us the logo and a photo of the item. Because we run all three methods, we have no reason to steer you towards one.

When your logo is one or two solid colours and you need 100 pieces or more. Screen printing pushes ink through a fine mesh screen, one colour at a time, and lays down a thick, solid layer that you can match to your brand colour.

It is what we use on mugs, bottles and bags, and it holds up: screen print is dishwasher safe. It is also how we brand the reusable bottles that Sprudel supplies to hotels, including Address Hotels and Palace Hotels.

The minimum order is 100 pieces, and 100 pieces are usually ready in 1 to 2 days, depending on the number of colours and print positions.

When your logo has more colour than a screen can sensibly carry: gradients, photographs, fine detail or a full-colour design. UV printing lays the ink straight onto the item and cures it instantly under UV light, so the whole design goes down in a single pass.

We UV print on acrylic, glass, wood, metal, bottles and pens. There is no minimum, which makes it the method for a short run or a single piece. 100 pieces are usually ready in 1 to 2 days.

When the mark has to last as long as the item itself. A laser marks the surface of the material, so there is no ink to fade, scratch off or wash away, and engraving is dishwasher safe.

We engrave metal, pens, bottles, plaques, wood and leather. The trade-off: engraving shows in the tone of the material rather than in your brand colour, so it suits a logo that reads well in one colour. It gives the quiet, premium look people expect on a steel bottle, a pen or an award.

There is no minimum, and 100 pieces are usually ready in 1 to 2 days.

Laser engraving, because there is no ink on the surface to wear away. Screen print holds up well too: like engraving, it is dishwasher safe.

If your items will go through a dishwasher, such as mugs and bottles for an office kitchen, choose screen printing or laser engraving.

Because each colour is a separate screen and a separate pass on every piece. A two-colour logo means two screens to prepare and two passes per item, so the price rises with each colour and each print position.

If your logo has many colours, ask us to price it both ways: in full colour with UV printing, and as a one-colour version in screen print. We will quote both.

100 pieces for screen printing. UV printing and laser engraving have no minimum, so you can order one piece or a thousand.

We do not send free samples, but you can see and hold printed and engraved gifts before you order: bottles, pens, notebooks and badges are on display at our Al Qusais branch.

100 pieces are usually branded in 1 to 2 days with any of the three methods. When we supply the items as well as brand them, branded gift orders typically take 3 to 5 days.

Send your logo and we quote within hours. Once you approve the quote, we send a free design mockup, so you see exactly where the logo sits before anything is printed.

Yes. Bring your own bottles, mugs, bags or pens and we will print or engrave them. If you still need the items, we supply them too: browse the drinkware in our gift catalogue, or see everything we brand on our corporate gifts page.