“Five Minutes on Golf Balls with Mark Tomlinson”

Q: Can I ask for the logo to be positioned exactly to the millimetre in line with the manufacturer’s marking on a golf ball?
A: No you cannot. Whilst the print position of the logos is accurate enough to be commercially acceptable please do understand that the positioning of the golf ball in the jig or holder, in preparation of application of the print, is done by human hand and is therefore reliant upon the operators accuracy of eye. Whilst accurate to an extent, cannot be relied upon for the accuracy requested on this occasion.
Q: What is the imprint quality?
A: Pad printing on to golf balls produces great quality imprint.
Q: What is the maximum colour of print on to golf balls?
A: Five Colours or Full Colour Process.
Q: What is the smallest text able to be printed on to golf balls?
A: This is dependent upon the text font or style that you require and so it is not possible to suggest a universal minimum font size. Pad printing is very sharp and small sizes of text can be printed.
As a starting point though, if you print out the logo to a maximum print size of 24mm diameter on your own good quality laser printer and the text is too small to read then it will not be any easier to read when it is printed on to a golf ball!
Q: Can you print full colour process on to golf balls?
A: Yes we can but I do not recommend this on most full colour logos. We always like to view the full colour logo before confirming that the commercially acceptable, desired results can be achieved. Basically full colour process logos are made up of a series of dots, combinations of which result in the appearance if tints and shading to make up the logo.
Due to the pad print process and the limited print area, when certain full colour process logos are printed, the resultant print can appear “dotty” and therefore apparently unacceptable to some customers. Text printed full colour is never as “sharp” as when it is printed in spot colour because it is made up of a series of dots as opposed to a solid print.
This can cause problems when for example a full colour logo has text within the logo – best option is to send the artwork to your supplier for checking prior to the order.
Q: Can you print more than one logo on golf balls?
A: Yes we can print in two positions on golf balls, this is traditionally called a two pole print.
Q: Can you print photos on golf balls?
A: This is the same answer as with full colour process printing. Usually the best way of doing this is to have the photo redrawn to a one colour version and then print it.
Q: Why do golf balls have a number on them?
A: All golf balls are numbered, usually 1, 2, 3 or 4. This is so that if two golfers playing golf together are using the same golf ball, then to enable them to identify which golf ball is which they would each play with a different number of golf ball for example.
Q: Could I have all my logo golf balls with the number 1 on them?
A: Unfortunately not – most manufacturers pack one sleeve of each number of golf ball per outer dozen pack so you will have one sleeve of number 1;s and one sleeve of number 2’s and so on.
Q: How are the balls packaged?
A: Logo golf balls are always packed into the manufacturer’s card sleeves of three golf balls. The outer boxes are mainly in dozen outers, so four sleeves of three balls in the outer. Certain budget golf balls are packed into fifteen ball packs.
Q: Why are some budget golf balls packed into 15’s?
A: This policy is “Retail Driven” and is unavoidable for ourselves. It enables manufacturers to “hit” certain price points on the high street and in golf shops.
Q: What quantity do you quote? And why?
A: We always quote per dozen golf balls because this is the most common pack size and therefore is easier for you, the customer to compare the costs of one golf ball type with another.