How to prepare your logo for a branding iron
Any logo can become a branding iron, but heat changes it: lines spread as they burn, so hairlines close up, small letters blur and the holes in letters fill in. A logo brands well when its strokes are bold, there is open space between them and the smallest text is left out. Send whatever file you have; a vector is ideal, but a photograph works, because the logo is redrawn and mirrored for machining and you approve the exact face before anything is cut.
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What heat does to a logo
A branding iron does not print; it burns. Heat travels a little way sideways as it goes into a crust, a board or a hide, so every line comes out slightly wider than it was cut. On paper, a thin line and a gap of the same width look balanced. Burned, the line grows into the gap. That is how a logo that looks crisp on a menu turns into a dark patch on a bun.
The material decides how much detail survives. Bread is the least forgiving, because the crust is uneven and browns fast. Wood takes more, and brass, the metal used for wood and leather, holds finer detail than aluminium. Smooth, firm leather usually keeps small lettering best of the three.
Five changes that make a logo brand well
- Thicken thin strokes, so they still read once they have spread.
- Open up the space between strokes and inside letters such as a, e and o.
- Leave out the tagline and the fine print; at burger-bun size nobody can read them.
- Where the logo carries a detailed picture, use its outline or the initials instead.
- Keep a branding version of the logo, simpler than the one on your sign, and use it every time.
Choosing the size
The size is the longest side of the mark: up to about 50, 75 or 100 mm. Measure the surface first. A classic burger bun takes the 75 mm mark, sliders and coasters the 50 mm, and serving boards, crates and leather menus the 100 mm. A wide logo uses the full length; a round one sits in a circle of that diameter.
What to send, and what happens next
- Send any version of the logo. A vector file (SVG, AI, PDF or EPS) is ideal, but a PNG, a JPG or a phone photo of your menu is enough to start.
- We redraw it for machining at no cost, making the changes above where they are needed, and mirror it so that the mark reads the right way round.
- Within one business day you receive the exact face that will be cut, and approve it or ask for changes.
- Only then is the metal cut. Dispatch follows three to five working days later.