What type of badge should I order?

Tolley Badges produce a wide variety of badge production. Each different badge production has their own strengths and weaknesses. The question is what badge production would work best for your design, budget and use?
In this week’s post we explore the difference between the main production methods and how to decide what badge to have your your design.

Here is a mixture of different productions for badges/patches. embroidered, woven, metal, button and wired.

Minimum order quantity
Each production has a minimum order quantity. In turn the more you order the cheaper per unit price gets.
Woven – 100 badges
Embroidered – 50 badges
Metal – 100 badges
Button – 1000 badges but can mix and match designs to equal 1000
Wired – 20 badges

Turnaround time
Different processes result in varied turnaround times. The completion of an order can fluctuate depending on the time of year. Certain times of years can be busier than others. Please contact us to double check  our turnaround times.
As a ‘rule of thumb’, Woven and Embroidered production tends to be the quickest production time. Metal and Button badges are the next quickest turnaround time and Wire/hand embroidered production takes the longest time to produce.

Design Detail
Tolley badges strives themselves in providing the highest of services. We are more than happy to help our customers anyway we can. If you have a production preference our in-house design team will do their utmost to adjust your design to be suitable for your chosen badge production.

Wired/Hand embroidered badge designs are simplified the most. Simplifications required are due to the thickness of the threads and needles furthermore they are also produced by hand so small detail is difficult to produce.

Machine embroidered badges are easier to produce smaller detail compared to hand embroidered but there are still limitations to the production of small detail. Machine embroidered stitching has a minimum thickness of 0.359mm , this is roughly double the thickness of a drawn line. Furthermore designs have to take into consideration that some gaps between stitches might join.

The best definition in cloth badge production are Woven badges. If you wish to show much more detail there is also an option of printed badges which would give the highest amount of detail. Please note for metal badge production that all design detail needs to be outlined with a metal border, this means that the enamel does not run. 

Left: Directional stitching is clearly shown on the squirrel’s fur on a embroidered badge. Right: Woven badges cannot portray a textured feel as the design is all woven onto one layer.

The difference in the look and feel of Woven and embroidered badges
Embroidered badges are made with the design being stitched onto a backing twill. The design then tends to give the badge a slight 3D look and feel . Woven badge designs are all  woven onto one layer. This weave gives the badge a flat smooth feel to the badge.
Colours tend to be slightly brighter with embroidered badges as threads have a slight shine to them. Woven threads have a more of a matte look to them.

A few examples of printed button badges. These can be as vibrant and as detailed as you wish.

Button Badges
Button badges are the cheapest production for high quantity orders. The design is printed and then sealed with a plastic lid on the top. Designs can be as detailed and as bright as you like.

Just a small example of metal and enamel badges.

Metal Badges
There are a wide variety of processes and finishes available for metal badges. If you are looking for something special metal badges are the process for you. Designs can be portrayed through the display of colourful enamel work or they can be shown through a 3D etched processed much like the Honda badge displayed on the photo attached. If the design detail is very small then we would suggest having a printed metal badge (instead of enamel metal badge).

All of these processes can make perfect badges for any occasion. Fundraising badges, celebration badges, charity badges, logo badges, club badges or much much more. Whatever your needs Tolley Badges strive to help our customers using our expertise of over 50 years to help produce the best possible badge for your needs.

If you need any more information please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our product pages as follows.
Embroidered Badges page
Woven Badges page
Metal Badges page
Button Badges page
Hand embroidered / Wired Badges page