Levin agreed, but took it a step further. "When you're showing the product to your client, order two samples, maybe even three," he said. "Say, 'Here are the samples, notice there is a slight variation from unit to unit, no two units are going to be exactly the same.'"
HIGHLY DECORATED
Still, it doesn't matter how well an imprint holds up if it doesn't look good to begin with, and achieving a high-quality imprint means choosing the right decoration process for a particular stress reducer. Of the two widely-used methods—pad printing and screen printing (silk-screening)—the latter is generally considered preferable. "As a rule, a silk-screened logo will have greater longevity because it requires a thicker coat of ink than pad printing," said Paula Shulman, vice president of sales for Prime Line, Bridgeport, Conn. "When stress relievers age, what appears to be cracking is actually the spongy material absorbing the ink," she continued. "Since silk-screening provides greater ink coverage, this process tends to stand up better to absorption and will look better over time than pad printing."