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Submitting Your Artwork

Branding Irons Unlimited accepts artwork via E-mail, fax and mail.
Virtually any artwork received can be utilized.

If you don’t find the tips on this page useful, don’t worry. Most of the information on this page is intended for graphic designers. Give us a call and we’ll do our best to answer any questions or, if you prefer, ask a sales representative about available assistance that can be provided by our experienced Graphic Design Department.

If you do not have an existing logo or a specific design but have something in mind, you can take advantage of our Clip Art Gallery, Font Gallery and/or our Graphic Design Department.

To submit your artwork, click here.

Quality Assured
Branding Irons Unlimited (BIU) is dedicated to engraving all branding dies with highly defined contours.

Things to Keep in Mind
An essential element for creating a branding die with highly defined contours is the use of artwork with clearly defined details. If we find that submitted artwork can be “fine tuned” to improve the clarity of the branded mark, we will make recommendations.

For dies that require text or clip art, you may find the Tips for Choosing Fonts and Tips for Choosing Clip Art helpful.

The BIU Graphic Design Department is available to assist upon request.

Preferred Raster (Picture) Formats	Preferred Vector (Mathematical) Formats
.jpg .psd .png .tif .gif .bmp .wmf	.eps .pdf .ai -- Adobe Illustrator CS2 or earlier. .cdr -- Corel Draw 12 or earlier. .dxf .dwg (AutoCAD 2002)

Vector vs. Raster
Vector graphic art is the use of geometric basics such as points, lines, curves and polygons to create an image, as opposed to raster graphic art, which are images created from a collection of pixels (dots).

Branding Irons Unlimited accepts both formats. However, when available, art in vector format is preferred. Vector format reduces the time it takes to prepare artwork for engraving.

When only a raster image is available, a high resolution (of 300dpi or greater) along with the largest possible height and width are preferred.

Tips for Submitting Raster Format Files

Select the highest quality image you have. If your artwork is low-resolution, saving it in a higher resolution will not improve image quality.
Try to provide the image in a single color with white. Multi-colored images can be misinterpreted.
Check to see if the image has clearly defined edges. Shadows, gradients and varying color tones increase artwork preparation time.

Tips for Vector Format Files
Artwork prepared in programs such as Illustrator for professional printing may not be suitable for computerized engraving (CAD/CAM). In other words, what you see on your computer screen is not always what you get.

Below are some ways to help you determine if your vector artwork is “good-to-go” for computerized engraving. You will also find some tips to help create a high quality branding die.

Print out your artwork in the same size you wish your branded marks to be. If your artwork includes narrow white areas, you may want to widen those areas. If your file includes text and/or numbers that are fairly small, take a look at the character openings (such as loops). If you think they may not be large enough, you can consider increasing the character size(s) and/or replace using a different font to achieve a clearer branded mark. This will ultimately improve the clarity of the branded mark.
Open your file in a program such as Adobe Illustrator and check to see if your file is free of any raster (picture) images. An easy way to spot raster art is by zooming in to see if any portion of the file becomes pixilated (looks “out of focus” with jagged lines).
When submitting Vector artwork from a MAC (such as Illustrator), we will not be able to read the fonts. Be sure to convert the Font to Outlines or Curves.
If your artwork is in multiple colors, change it to just one color, in addition to white.
Viewing your Illustrator artwork in outline mode (ctrl-Y or apple-Y) will display the paths the engraving machine will trace. Some Illustrator features may not be ideal for engraving.
Check to see if vectors are present around the filled areas of the image. They should surround the filled areas only. Vectors that go through the center of a filled area or across filled areas should be deleted.
Zooming in will enable you to discover double or multiple lines (including curves and dots) where only a single line, a curve or a dot is needed. Keep in mind that all lines, curves and dots will become the actual engraving path made by the cutters. Engraving paths can be compared to tracing lines. Therefore, if some lines, curves or dots in your artwork are not part of your design or logo, they should be deleted.

Tips for Choosing Fonts
When larger Branding Dies need to include text, most any font can be chosen. However, for smaller dies that require text, avoiding bold fonts is a good idea. When choosing a font(s) for small dies, pay attention to the spaces and openings (loops) within each letter. Fonts with letters and numbers that have better separation, i.e. larger openings and spaces within the character itself, are more suitable for producing high quality branding dies.

When submitting Vector artwork from a MAC (such as Illustrator), we will not be able to read the fonts. Be sure and convert the Font to Outlines or Curves.

Tips for Choosing Clip Art
The BIU Clip Art Gallery displays a library of artwork which can be used to create the branding die of your choice. The clip art is ready to go and can be sized to fit virtually any die face.

The clip art displayed in the gallery is shown as outlines. It can be used either "as-is" or filled. For a fairly small die, highly detailed clip art may need modification to improve the clarity of the branded mark.

The ISI Graphic Design department is available to cut, modify or multiply any clip art per customer requested specifications.

Proof
After an order is placed, the Graphic Design Department prepares an actual size proof for the customer's review. This gives our customers the opportunity to adjust the final design to the desired look. Up to three proofs are offered at no charge.