WORKWEAR BRANDING GUIDE
How to choose the right finish for on site crews and office teams.
Branded jackets do two jobs at once. They keep your team warm and dry, and they put your company name in front of every customer, supplier and passer by who sees your crew at work, which is some of the best marketing you can buy. The question we get asked most often is a simple one. Should the jackets be printed or embroidered?
The honest answer is that it depends on who is wearing them and where. A groundworks crew standing in Irish rain all day has very different needs to a sales team meeting clients in a showroom. Get the decoration method right and the jacket lasts for years, keeps its branding sharp and does exactly what it is meant to do. Get it wrong and you can shorten the life of an expensive jacket, or leave your team looking less polished than they should.
Sits on the surface, so the waterproofing stays intact. Bright, bold and built for the weather.
A raised, textured, premium finish that reads as professional and lasts wash after wash.
Here is how we guide our customers through the choice.
Printed jackets: built for on site teams
If your team works outdoors, on construction sites, in civil engineering, utilities, groundworks or any trade exposed to the weather, printed jackets are usually the right call. The reason is technical, and it matters more than most people realise.
Waterproof and hi vis jackets rely on a membrane or a coating, and often on taped seams, to keep water out. Embroidery works by stitching thread through the fabric, which means putting hundreds or thousands of tiny needle holes into the garment. On a standard fleece or polo that is no problem. On a waterproof jacket, every one of those holes is a potential entry point for water, and it can compromise the waterproof rating the jacket was built to deliver. Some manufacturers will even treat embroidery as a reason to void the waterproof warranty.
A heat applied print sits on the surface of the fabric and bonds to it without piercing the waterproof layer. Your logo stays put, the jacket stays waterproof, and your crew stays dry. That is why we almost always recommend a printed finish for waterproof hi vis jackets, rain jackets and outdoor site wear.
Printed branding also copes well with the reality of site life. It is bright, bold and easy to read from a distance, which matters for visibility and for getting your brand noticed on a busy site. For large logos, or for designs with several colours or gradients, printing reproduces the artwork cleanly in a way stitching cannot.
Embroidered jackets: the professional finish for office and corporate teams
For office and corporate teams, sales staff, management, hospitality, client facing roles and anyone representing your brand indoors or in a smart setting, embroidery is usually the better choice. It simply looks more professional.
Embroidered thread gives a raised, textured, premium finish that reads as considered and permanent. It is the look people associate with established, trusted businesses, which is exactly the impression a corporate team wants to make. On softshell jackets, fleeces, gilets and bodywarmers, embroidery sits beautifully and turns an ordinary garment into proper branded uniform.
It is also extremely hard wearing. Stitched thread does not crack, peel or fade the way a poorly applied print eventually can, and it survives repeated washing without losing its shape. For a jacket that a staff member will wear day in, day out for years, that durability is a real advantage.
The waterproofing concern that rules out embroidery on site jackets rarely applies here. Softshells and fleeces are water resistant rather than fully waterproof, so they do not depend on an unbroken membrane, and the small needle holes make no practical difference. That frees you to choose embroidery for the look alone.
A quick way to decide
As a rough rule of thumb:
| Question | Printed | Embroidered |
|---|---|---|
| Is the jacket fully waterproof or hi vis? | YES | NO |
| Will it be worn outdoors on site every day? | YES | SOMETIMES |
| Is the priority a smart, corporate look? | NO | YES |
| Is it a softshell, fleece or gilet? | EITHER | YES |
| Does the logo have fine detail or many colours? | YES | DEPENDS |
Most companies end up using both. Site crews get printed waterproof jackets, and the office and management team get embroidered softshells. That keeps every part of the business protected, visible and on brand, without forcing one method onto a garment it does not suit.
The decoration methods we use
At Textile Print and Embroidery, we match the method to the garment and the job it has to do. The main options are:
If you are not sure which suits your jackets, that is exactly the kind of thing we help with every day. Send us the garment and the artwork and we will tell you honestly what will look best and last longest.
Frequently asked questions
Can you embroider a waterproof jacket?
Which lasts longer, printed or embroidered?
Can I have both on the same order?
What is the minimum order?
Kitting out a team in Ireland?
We have been decorating workwear and corporate clothing since 1994, and we brand jackets for site teams and office teams right across the country. Tell us the garment and the quantity and we will help you choose the right finish.
