Running an apparel decorating business can sometimes feel like a juggling act. Knowing how to use the right tools will lead you to success and reduce your stress! When it comes to graphic design, many apparel decorators don’t know where to start. and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Design software is expensive and takes time to learn, and it’s hard to commit when you’re busy with orders. Our job here at STAHLS’ is to help take the stress off you and make sure you business is successful at every stage. So, if you’re not a designer, don’t worry because the STAHLS’ Vinyl Designer is the perfect tool for you.
The convenient online designer features a vast library of stock and customizable templates, clipart, and fonts. You can create virtual proofs for your customers, import and export files, and even cut your designs on a vinyl cutter or upload for us to create custom transfers! And it’s completely free!
With the STAHLS’ Vinyl Designer, you can say yes to more orders, offer more creative designs, and tap into new markets. School and sports are the perfect place to start, and the back-to-school season will be here before you know it. It’s time to start thinking about fall sports. You can create personalized jerseys, fanwear, and spirit wear for the upcoming football season. Easily mix and match customizable templates from the online library to design your own logo specific to a team or school.
It’s so easy to make a unique team logo from a few stock templates. Still not sure? Let’s create a custom design right now!
To begin, log into your STAHLS’ account and click on the Vinyl Designer link in the upper right-hand corner of the website. Once logged in you’ll be able to open the designer by clicking +ADD. For future visits, this is where you can also import files or load saved files.
Start by clicking +ADD, then choose the Template icon on the left side of the designer menu. All templates are located within the drop-down menu and filtered by category.
We chose three templates from the Sports and Hobbies category. Once you have a few templates of your own selected, it’s time to create a personalized team logo.
Decide what elements you’d like to use from each design. When you select an area of the design, it will highlight with a dotted green line. Simply choose the elements you’d like to remove and click Delete.
We’ll take the football laces and script text from example 1, the team font and number from example 2, and the background varsity block lettering from example 3.
Combine the design elements by clicking and dragging together. You can resize any portion by clicking and dragging the green arrows once highlighted.
If the design element you’re dragging isn’t properly in the foreground/background, right click and select “To Back” (or “To Front”) accordingly.
After everything is lined up, you can adjust the size of each specific design element by clicking on the green arrows in the corners or middle edge once highlighted.
Once everything is to size, you have a brand new custom logo easily made from three existing templates! But we’re not done yet, let’s take this designer customization to the next level!
When the design elements are combined and sized, you can start customizing the text and colors. To edit, double click the highlighted text, then replace with a new team name.
After you’ve personalized the text, double click the color square to open the customizable color palette. This allows you to tailor the logo to any team’s colors. Simply toggle the color spectrum or enter a specific Hex code to find the right color for your team.
Follow the same process for each element of the design to fully customize your new logo’s colors. When you’re finished, be sure to save your layouts within the designer to easily access them for reorders. You can even change your custom templates to personalize for different teams!
With the Vinyl Designer, you can also save newly created templates on backgrounds for quick and easy mock-ups to show your customers.
Using the STAHLS’ Vinyl Designer, we changed three stock templates into one personalized team logo in just a few short steps. You can export this finished design to send a virtual proof to your customer, or you can cut in-house using your vinyl cutter or print/cut machine. You can also upload the design to STAHLS’ for custom heat transfers, decals, or helmet stickers! If you want to learn more about what you can do with this awesome tool, check out the Getting Started with the Vinyl Designer Heat Press for Profit video.
That’s not all! You can offer fully finished uniform orders, including both front and back team personalization. The STAHLS’ Vinyl Designer makes player names and numbers a breeze. Use the roster text layouts to personalize one or two-color jersey backs for multiple teams or orders on the fly!
Ready to learn more? Check out this in-depth video to see how easy it is to create custom logos and T-shirt graphics for FREE using the Vinyl Designer!
