Forums: Design:

Anyone ever had to get a logo printed on a golf ball. Everyone I have called can only do a 7/8" diameter. The icon I want to use is double that. Does anyone have any info on this? Is it even possible to print that large?

Thanks

It's very hard to print bigger than that, because you start to deal with about 120 degrees of curvature, which is beyond what most flex printing can do easily. (realistically 60 degrees is the limit, but you can run two passes on some presses, changing the flex orientation.)

you are the Man™

thanks RD!

It seems to me like someone would have created some sort of wrapping system to get images bigger than what is currently possible...

Ah well, back to the drawing board.....

Thanks again peeps!

You can do text only bigger, but as a stamped imprint. Doesn't really look good.

nah, its an icon for the 30 year anniversary for the company I work at...
text only is gonna work.

thanks though!

I have an old creative director i worked with who had a "golf ball test"

His rule was if a logo couldn't reasonably printed in one color on a golf ball and be legible and instantly identifiable, it didn't pass muster. Simple, clean, forgiving. No gradients, no gratuitous colors, shadows or details. Even when drastically reduced to under an inch across, and printed on a bumpy, difficult to print on surface... the golf ball.

And I could see his point. Given how many powerpoints, word docs, xeroxes, promotional pens, faxes, etc. a logo will be used... the less likely it will fall apart when produced poorly, the better. IBM. FedEx. UPS (old version). ATT. etc.

Doesn't work for every application and logo, certainly. But it's a rule worth considering.

RD,
I agree totally. We have them for the standard logo, the one I am working on is for the "30th anniv." It isnt even something that is finalized yet, I am presenting the samples on different types of marketing materials and I liked some designs so much, I wanted to see if it was even possible.

Thanks!

it should be possible with a jet(dot) printer similar to what is used for production line work.
Those type of printers are setup along a moving production line and spray the article as it moves past the print head which is setup alongside the line.
I've seen them used on boxes, pipe, shrink-wrapped items, etc
I guess it depends on how complex the logo is as to how easy it would be to print?