How Logos Are Printed on Corporate Gifts in Pakistan: Screen Printing vs Laser Engraving vs Embroidery vs UV

There are five main ways a logo gets onto a corporate gift in Pakistan: screen printing, laser engraving, sublimation, UV printing and embroidery. Which one your order uses depends on the material of the item, how many pieces you’re ordering, and whether your logo is a single colour or a full-colour design. Pick wrong and the logo fades, chips or peels; pick right and it outlives the product. Here is how each method works, what it suits, and what we need from you to run it.

Screen printing: the bulk workhorse

Ink is pushed through a fine mesh screen onto the surface, one screen per colour. It’s the standard for paper bags, plastic pens, bottles and most flat or gently curved surfaces.

The economics matter more than the chemistry: making the screen is a one-time setup cost, and after that each print costs very little. That’s why screen printing gets cheaper per piece the more you order — and why it’s the default for runs of 100 pieces and up. The trade-off is colour: each additional colour needs its own screen, so a one-colour logo is the economical version. Fine gradients and photo-style artwork are not what this method is for.

Laser engraving: permanent, premium, no ink at all

A laser burns the logo into the surface, exposing the base material underneath. On a metal pen, keychain, card holder or USB, the result is a clean silver-toned mark that cannot fade, scratch off or wash away — it’s part of the metal.

Engraving is the method we recommend for executive gifts. It reads as premium precisely because it’s subtle: no ink colour, just the mark. The limits are the flip side of that — it only shows one tone, and it needs a material that burns cleanly, so it’s for metal, wood, leather and some coated surfaces, not paper or fabric.

Sublimation: full colour for mugs

Sublimation turns ink into gas under heat so it bonds into a polymer coating rather than sitting on top of it. It’s how sublimation mugs get edge-to-edge, full-colour prints that survive daily washing.

If your logo has gradients, multiple colours or sits inside a full-width design, this is the method. The catch: it only works on items with the right coating — which is why full-colour mugs are everywhere but full-colour metal pens are not.

UV printing: full colour on almost anything

UV printing lays down ink and cures it instantly with ultraviolet light. It handles full-colour artwork on flat, hard surfaces — powerbanks, notebooks, USB drives, diary covers — where sublimation can’t go. Per-piece cost is higher than screen printing, but there’s no per-colour setup, so it makes sense for smaller runs with complex logos, or items where you want colour without a coating requirement.

Embroidery: for anything made of fabric

Caps, shirts, hoodies and tote bags get embroidered, not printed. The logo is stitched in thread, which survives washing far better than any print on fabric and looks more expensive than it costs. Artwork gets converted to a stitch file once, then runs on the machine per piece. Very fine text is the enemy here — below a certain size, letters turn to thread mush, so simple bold logos embroider best.

What about the gift boxes themselves?

Our rigid matte grey corporate gift boxes are usually branded with foil stamping or a printed sleeve rather than the methods above — a metallic or single-colour logo pressed into the lid. If your gift is a curated box, the box lid and the items inside can carry the logo in different ways, and we’ll match them for you.

Which method should you pick?

You mostly don’t have to — the item decides. Metal wants engraving, fabric wants embroidery, mugs want sublimation, paper bags want screen printing. Where you do have a real choice (a notebook can be screen printed, UV printed or foiled), the deciding factors are quantity and logo complexity: big run + simple logo = screen printing, small run + colourful logo = UV. Send us the item and the logo and our custom branding team will quote the method that fits.

FAQs

Which logo printing method lasts the longest?

Laser engraving. The logo is burned into the material itself, so it can’t fade, peel or wash off. Embroidery is the most durable option for fabric.

What’s the cheapest way to brand gifts in bulk?

Screen printing with a one-colour logo. The screen is a one-time cost, so per-piece price keeps dropping as quantity rises.

Can you print a full-colour logo?

Yes — sublimation on mugs and UV printing on hard flat items both handle full colour, gradients included. Screen printing and engraving are best for one- or two-colour logos.

What file format do you need for my logo?

A vector file (AI, EPS, PDF or SVG) is ideal because it scales cleanly to any size. A high-resolution PNG works for most jobs if a vector isn’t available.

Is there a minimum quantity for logo branding?

Most branded orders start around 25 pieces, but it’s a starting point, not a wall — tell us what you need and we’ll quote it. Branded orders delivered outside Karachi take 7–14 business days.