If you’re familiar with custom coins or have done any amount of research on the topic then you probably already know what custom coins are best used for. Today I wanted to take a deeper look at some less publicized or at least less used available features.
First I wanted to start with a price comparison between custom made coins and custom tee shirts. I think a lot of people begin shopping for custom coins and may believe they are expensive when compared to other custom promotional products. I’m here to diffuse that myth or at least add some personal insight to the debate.
During a recent meeting with a custom coin client of mine I asked him where he bought his shirts. To clarify I meant where does he buy his custom tee shirts but he knew what I was asking him. He said he used a local business to create his shirts, he buys in bulk and usually gets them from between $6 and $10 per shirt.
Wow, really? That’s much more costly than custom coins are. Unless you’re creating a very large coin, a very small quantity of coins or creating a coin with all the bells and whistles (a lot of additional special features) then you will never encroach the $6 per coin barrier and certainly not the $10 per coin barrier.
This is a perfect segue into an infrequently used custom coin feature which is photographic printing. The pros of photographic printing are easy to see, literally. You get to do whatever you want to a photo and use it.
Absolute Design Freedom
What this means is that outer glows, inner glows, drops shadows, gradients or just about any other photo effect that can be rendered using Adobe Photoshop is available for use and will be on your finished coin.
The real presentation begins at 8:20
Photographic printing will not limit you to raised and recessed metal or require walls of metal to contain and separate paint colors. You don’t have to worry about 3D or being able to use the color transition in your logo. All effects are available to you.
The biggest con of photographic printing or argument against it would probably be that it doesn’t feel like a coin. Granted, depending on how it’s used your coin may feel less like a traditional coin. While this is true there are certain occurrences where the use of photographic printing may just be the answer you’re looking for.
Those of you sitting on the cost fence may find photographic printing to be that thing that pushes you away from custom coins because of the additional fees and requirements when using photographic printing, such as the photographic printing set-up charges and required epoxy to the protect the image.
Just remember if you’re looking for a way to get really specific and specialized photo transitions (fading from one photo another), gradients (color transitions – fading from one color to another) or extensive shadows or glows which cannot be accomplished on a traditional custom coin then photographic printing may just be the answer you’re looking for.