Your opinion about logos.

[Wayside2020]

Hi Peter,
As most have said laser etched. Like Lie Nielsen does on his saws. Logo works well for him. I‘m sure someone like Lasercraft in Hinckley could help.

 

[JBaz]

This is an innovative product that you are taking to market. As such your best sales tool is people using it and other people seeing it in use. For that to work you will need the prospective customer to know where to get one, as you can't rely on the user remembering where they got it!

Hence branding the product is essential and the more permanent the marking the better.

If you have a web site, it would be good to get that on the product somehow.

Reviews are good, (back to somebody using the product and saying how good it is) but more important is getting the reviews seen. Hence YouTube etc "influencers".

Also, if your product is good it will be copied. Unless you are going to take the time and expense to patent the product (unlikely) and the cost of suing those who infringe the patent (more expense) then having your logo on "the original" is essential.

Good luck. Hope you make a fortune!

 

[pils]

Been in branding/design for thirty years and it doesn't matter. IF you WANT to put a logo on the scribe then all the previous answers are correct in advising etching etc.
OR
put it in a gorgeous cardboard/wood box with a printed/fired logo.
With gorgeously designed instructions or message that makes people put it all back in the box and keep it.
IMHOpinion
The point is when someone has bought it and it's excellent THEY'LL KNOW it's excellent with or without a logo and will be very pleased when someone else picks it up and says "Who's this made by?"

 

[Peterm1000]

Been in branding/design for thirty years and it doesn't matter. IF you WANT to put a logo on the scribe then all the previous answers are correct in advising etching etc.
OR
put it in a gorgeous cardboard/wood box with a printed/fired logo.
With gorgeously designed instructions or message that makes people put it all back in the box and keep it.
IMHOpinion
The point is when someone has bought it and it's excellent THEY'LL KNOW it's excellent with or without a logo and will be very pleased when someone else picks it up and says "Who's this made by?"

That's a really interesting view from someone with experience - if branding wasn't important, why does every professionally made product we own have a brand on it and why do companies spend so much effort protecting that brand? How have you forged a 30 year career in branding if a brand isn't important?

As I sit writing this, literally everything I can see that is some kind of tool has a brand on it somewhere. Even a 10p biro has a brand on it. My kids will only buy things with certain brands on them and will knowingly pay a lot more for a worse produce if that brand happens to be a piece of fruit with a bite taken out of it.

And if it isn't branded when they are asked that question, they will say "Sorry - I can't remember and I can't google it because there's no kind of indication on it whatsoever". Am I the only person who forgets where they bought this or that widget? I bought some castors a few years ago that were great. They have no markings on them. I need some more, but can't for the life of me remember where I bought them. The same with sanding sheets (once out the box, who knows who made them?).

 

[MARK.B.]

Reviews are or can be important when deciding to buy a product or not but i'm wary of those posted by some sites,because frankly you have no idea if the review is genuine or not. I would much rather see a review on a site like this where members have used the product and give fair critiqe both good and bad.

 

[D_W]

I'd rather have no logo than laser etch. Laser etch looks cheap to me. It's just a cheap way to avoid actually stamping a name into a tool.

 

[novocaine]

for this branding I'd probably look at something like an electrolytic marker or etcher.
basicially it's a power source and a block of metal wrapped in a wad of soaked fabric, along with a resist of some sort.
you place the resist on the work, hold the block of metal on with a the power running though, remove the block, remove the resist and move on to the next one. normally takes about a minute to do a good deepish etch.
you can get reusable resists made.

this is a posh one. but you get the idea.

ME3000S Standard Marking Machine: Marking Machines: : Electrochemical Etching: Universal Marking Systems (UMS)

The ME3000S is suitable for applications where the information to be marked does not change often as marking settings cannot be stored. It does have a timer to enable consistent marks to be produced on each component. See the ME3000T for additional features and versatility.

www.ums.co.uk

you can make your own easy enough and there are plenty of videos to that end out there.

 

[TheTiddles]

I'd rather have no logo than laser etch. Laser etch looks cheap to me. It's just a cheap way to avoid actually stamping a name into a tool.

This is really wrong. Lasers aren’t exactly cheap and there’s no residual stress left behind in the part to propagate cracks from, not that it’s too likely on something like this. There’s a good reason for not stamping parts.

Chemical etching is the old-fashioned way of achieving the same thing as a laser etch and it can be done on a small scale for a few pounds, plenty of examples online how to do it.

Making the design distinctive is another common method of avoiding labels/badges

 

[shed9]

It’s also a cost issue, will having a fancy logo on the tool justify the extra cost. I think this tool is geared more to the professional fitter who is probably more interested in how it performs.

If your market is professional then fit, finish and presentation is key. I would say that tool is crying out to be properly anodised and that could essentially and actually be your logo, i.e. the colour of your tools. Something like a RAL purple would set it aside and make the tool easily identifiable whilst improving the look and finish of it. Make sure the packaging is done properly with all the right text and marketing bumpf that you need to get across but done right you don't need any text or logo on the product (maybe at most, etch resist the TP company tag but no more and more fit for purpose in the future).

 

[D_W]

This is really wrong. Lasers aren’t exactly cheap and there’s no residual stress left behind in the part to propagate cracks from, not that it’s too likely on something like this. There’s a good reason for not stamping parts.

Chemical etching is the old-fashioned way of achieving the same thing as a laser etch and it can be done on a small scale for a few pounds, plenty of examples online how to do it.

Making the design distinctive is another common method of avoiding labels/badges

I don't mean the equipment is cheap, I mean it makes a mark that looks modern, common and cheap.

I realize it's the standard now, but when tooling went from stamps to laser, it just takes a big visual step down.

 

[akirk]

That's a really interesting view from someone with experience - if branding wasn't important, why does every professionally made product we own have a brand on it and why do companies spend so much effort protecting that brand? How have you forged a 30 year career in branding if a brand isn't important?

As I sit writing this, literally everything I can see that is some kind of tool has a brand on it somewhere. Even a 10p biro has a brand on it. My kids will only buy things with certain brands on them and will knowingly pay a lot more for a worse produce if that brand happens to be a piece of fruit with a bite taken out of it.

And if it isn't branded when they are asked that question, they will say "Sorry - I can't remember and I can't google it because there's no kind of indication on it whatsoever". Am I the only person who forgets where they bought this or that widget? I bought some castors a few years ago that were great. They have no markings on them. I need some more, but can't for the life of me remember where I bought them. The same with sanding sheets (once out the box, who knows who made them?).

I have an alternative view from the post you replied to... I have owned a design and website business for nearly 2 decades and been in the industry for over 30 years and would argue that branding is very important - we live in a branded world and anything without a brand instantly subconsciously is seen as a cheap derivative knockoff from China...

The brand doesn't instantly say what level of quality the item / brand is - that comes from all the other attributes (level of service / design / functionality / price / brand logo / etc.) but the user and market start to associate that brand with that quality level - until a point comes where the brand or logo will give the impression of that level of quality on its own because the brand is well established - at that point the market will assume that a keyring sold by Bentley is high quality because that it the brand impression...

but ultimately brand is very important - it doesn't need to be complex or expensive - just a brand right for the company / item.

 

[jcassidy]

Reviews are way more important to me than branding. But they'd want to be demonstrably trustworthy. Unlike Tripadvisor and Amazon... I'd trust a review on a forum like this more, 'cos I can check if the reviewer is kosher or not.

That said, I'd rather see an etched or stamped logo, than a sticker. I think your sticker is too busy for an etching, "Tooley Park" etched or stamped would suffice to bring up your shop. Use your stickers on the packaging.

For £25 or £32, I'd definitely feel better with a few reviews to read.

Hope this helps.
John.

 

[TheTiddles]

The local village Facebook group had a rant recently as someone had recommended trades that were no use, had been convicted of fly tipping etc... All of which I found interesting... why would you presume Karen on Facebook knows if Bob the plumber is actually any good or not?

If you needed to call a plumber out I’m guessing it was either a catastrophe or you don’t know anything about plumbing to start with, in which case your opinion is valueless anyway.

Same for tool reviews, we’ve had people here complain about planes they’d clucked up themselves due to lack of knowledge. Pictures of damaged goods are one thing, but opinions on use are another

 

[artie]

I think reviews are important.
I am fortunate that my reviews are all 5 star and all genuine, not that the customer necessarily knows that.
I have been told repeatedly that the reviews were what drove them to me.
On the other hand, when I am the customer, I don't obsess about the reviews, but take them into consideration.

Also imo, a bad review well handled can be very beneficial.

 

[Cabinetman]

Not totally to do with this really but it’s an interesting example. Two businesses, one selling free range eggs and another one giving flying lessons, one sign advertises in shiny aluminium letters with floodlights, The other is written in chalk on an old bit of board. Both totally applicable but completely inexchangeable. Ian

 

[pils]

That's a really interesting view from someone with experience - if branding wasn't important, why does every professionally made product we own have a brand on it and why do companies spend so much effort protecting that brand? How have you forged a 30 year career in branding if a brand isn't important?

As I sit writing this, literally everything I can see that is some kind of tool has a brand on it somewhere. Even a 10p biro has a brand on it. My kids will only buy things with certain brands on them and will knowingly pay a lot more for a worse produce if that brand happens to be a piece of fruit with a bite taken out of it.

And if it isn't branded when they are asked that question, they will say "Sorry - I can't remember and I can't google it because there's no kind of indication on it whatsoever". Am I the only person who forgets where they bought this or that widget? I bought some castors a few years ago that were great. They have no markings on them. I need some more, but can't for the life of me remember where I bought them. The same with sanding sheets (once out the box, who knows who made them?).

There are different types of 'brand'. This (not 'yours' sorry) falls into the category of 'gorgeous product' so imho that 'gorgeousness' should be continued into the care taken to create packaging and 'conversation' with the 'client'. Brand, again in this case, follows or is created by this. A 'brand' as described in your reply above (no offence at all just factual) is literally the modern version of the burnt on cattle mark. 'brand' is the product/service/voice/care/attention to detail/function/form etc THEN a 'burn mark' represents all of that through the myriad madness of marketing avenues. Again IMHO. :] with only the very best intentions :]

 

[philip sewell]

Thanks again for everyone’s input on this.

I’m not really sure how to proceed at the moment but I’ve got some ideas now.

I’ll look into etching to see how much that might cost per scribe.

I like the idea of a stamp as after the initial outlay and set up (some kind of jig in a press to get consistent results) I don’t have to involve a third party.

You would think the designing and developing of an idea would be the tricky part but it’s really the selling which is the most difficult.

Philip.

 

[Droogs]

Bang on Philip, as with any business getting the customers is the hardest part of all

 

[Peterm1000]

There are different types of 'brand'. This (not 'yours' sorry) falls into the category of 'gorgeous product' so imho that 'gorgeousness' should be continued into the care taken to create packaging and 'conversation' with the 'client'. Brand, again in this case, follows or is created by this. A 'brand' as described in your reply above (no offence at all just factual) is literally the modern version of the burnt on cattle mark. 'brand' is the product/service/voice/care/attention to detail/function/form etc THEN a 'burn mark' represents all of that through the myriad madness of marketing avenues. Again IMHO. :] with only the very best intentions :]

I completely agree on the packaging comment. If you are building a premium product (which this is - because a pencil and block of wood can be used to replace it) then really the packaging should follow suit. But I still can't think of a single premium brand that doesn't display its brand somewhere on the items they produce - even if it is the modern version of the cattle mark. Surely that should tell us that it is important to brand something - even if it is as basic as "where do I buy another?"

 

[doctor Bob]

I think this forum over engineers everything.
No business would ever start and costs incurred would be horendous if all advice was followed.

I was laughing with my business partner the other day about how we started, how little work we had, how we had no equipment, no plan, no money, the conclusion was thank god we didn't ask for advice otherwise we would never have started.

There is a big difference between wanting to be a "Brand" and having a "good honest business".