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All Articles Custom Printed Badges Guide: Shapes, Sizes & Artwork Tips

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Custom Printed Badges Guide: Shapes, Sizes & Artwork Tips

3 mins

Top-down view of a selection of woven and printed badges arranged on a surface, featuring a mix of scouting-themed designs alongside various non-scouting logos, shapes, and colours.

At Scout Store, we now offer custom-printed and woven badges and patches to help mark life's special moments. Whether you’re marking a milestone event, a summer camp, a wedding, a family celebration or something else, we guarantee quality and care with every order. In this guide, we’ll explain the different badge options available so you can confidently choose the one that’s right for you.

Badge Shapes and Options

There are 5 badge shapes to choose from, which come in multiple sizes and finishes, including:

Shape	Sizes
Woven Circle Badges	5cm, 6cm, 7cm, 8cm
Printed Circle Badges	5cm, 6cm, 7cm, 8cm
Printed Square Badge	5cm, 6cm, 7cm, 8cm
Printed Rectangle Badge	5cm, 6cm, 7cm, 8cm
Printed Hexagon Badge	5cm, 6cm, 7cm, 8cm
Printed Triangle Badge	5cm, 6cm, 7cm, 8cm

Woven vs Printed Badges – What’s the difference?

Our custom badges are available in woven and printed finishes. Both look great, but they’re suited to different styles of artwork. See the table below for a quick comparison.

Badge Type	Finish	Sizes and Shapes	Best for	Price	Lead Time
Woven	Premium, traditional look with a slight texture and merrow border	Available as circles in 4 sizes (see above)	Vectorised designs with fewer colours and larger elements	From £3.25 per badge (The more you buy, the more you save)	5–6 weeks
Printed	Smooth, flat satin feel with merrow border	Available in multiple sizes and shapes (see above)	Detailed drawings and photos with lots of details, gradients and colours	From £3 per badge (The more you buy, the more you save)	4–5 weeks

How are woven and printed badges made?

Woven badges are made by weaving coloured threads to create your design, giving them a slightly textured, traditional feel.

Printed badges are made using heat transfer printing, where the design is printed directly onto the badge surface. This results in a smooth, flat satin finish that is ideal for detailed work.

Both woven and printed badges are finished with a single colour merrow (overlocked) border. This helps prevent fraying and adds stability, making sewing easier.

Do woven and printed badges look different?

Woven and printed badges differ in texture and finish.

Woven badges  have a slightly raised, stitched appearance.
Printed badges look smooth and crisp, with a photo-like finish.

The image below shows the difference between woven and printed badges side by side, so you can see how each finish looks in real life.

Diagram comparing woven and printed badge finishes, showing woven badges with textured thread detail and stitched edges, alongside printed badges with smooth surfaces, sharper image detail, and flatter finish.

Not sure whether to pick woven or printed?

If you’re deciding between woven vs printed badges, the choice usually comes down to your artwork.

Printed badges are best for designs with fine details, thin lines, gradients or photographs. They’re ideal for hand‑drawn illustrations and complex image.
Woven badges offer a more traditional, premium feel. They work best for simple, bold, vectorised designs with clear shapes and strong colours - like classic blanket badges.

Here are some examples of how print-ready files translate into real badges.

Diagram showing original digital artwork placed next to the finished badges in both woven and printed styles, illustrating how colours, details, and textures translate from screen design into physical badge form.

Are there any colour or artwork limitations?

With our printed badges, there is no limit on the number of colours used within the design. For our woven badges, you can choose up to 10 colours, including shades. Complex designs may need to be simplified for woven badges – if this is needed, we’ll let you know before production begins.

Which formats do you accept artwork in?

Infographic displaying accepted artwork file types for badge production, featuring icons and labels for PDF, EPS, AI, PNG, JPEG and SVG formats.

For both Woven and Printed badges artwork must be supplied as digital files. We accept vector files in PDF, EPS, AI or SVG formats, and images in PNG and JPEG formats.

How to Order Personalised Badges – Step by Step

Follow these simple steps to create your perfect badge: 

Prepare your artwork –  Save your badge design as either a vector file (PDF, AI, SVG, or EPS) or an image if it is a photograph (PNG or JPEG). If you’re unsure how, get in contact with Customer Services.
Select your badge options – Choose your shape, size, quantity and finish, then add them to your basket. The more you buy, the cheaper each unit will be.
Place your order – Proceed to checkout and make your payment.

Send your design file – Our Customer Services team will contact you for your artwork - please remember to check your design for spelling mistakes or errors!
Production begins – Your design will then go into production.
Delivery – You can expect your woven badges to arrive within 5-6 weeks of receipt of artwork, and your printed badges to arrive between 4-5 weeks of receipt of artwork.

Artwork and Printing Guidelines

Colour Accuracy - We will try to match the colours from your original design as closely as possible. If you require a specific colour match, please include a Pantone colour reference in your artwork.
Text Legibility -  For best results, we recommend leaving a space between text and the border. Please also ensure there is sufficient contrast in the text colour to make sure it is legible. A dark green text on a dark blue badge background is probably not the best choice! 
Borders - All customised and personalised badges come with a merrow border. Please include and specify a border colour inside your design file. If no border colour is specified, the border thread will be matched as closely as possible to the badge's background colour.
Photos - When you print a photo on a badge, the result will not be as detailed as a regular printed photograph on paper.  
Limitations - You need to own the rights to reproduce any images or logos, unless you’ve created them yourself.

Artwork Checklist – Avoid Common Mistakes

Before submitting your artwork, run through this quick checklist:

Spelling – Have you checked for typos and errors?
Contrast – Is your text easy to read against the background?
Image Quality – Is your photo sharp and detailed enough?

Permissions – Do you own or have rights to use all images and logos? If your photo includes people, check that you have their permission to print it.
Spacing – Is there enough space between text, design elements, and the badge border?

An example of some common design errors

Infographic highlighting common badge design errors, including overly narrow text that’s hard to read, insufficient border spacing, poor colour contrast in text, and grainy or low-resolution images that reduce final quality.

Custom and Personalised Badges - Frequently Asked Questions 

Which shape and size badge should I pick?

Larger sizes are ideal for detailed or bold designs, while smaller sizes suit simpler designs. Circles and Squares are the most popular shapes to choose, and have more of a traditional feel. You could even bring unique flair to your design with our Hexagon, Triangle and Rectangle badges.

Should I choose a woven or printed badge?

Woven badges are best for simple, bold designs with fewer colours, or if you want a more traditional feel to your badges. Printed badges, on the other hand, are best for showing off complex or hand‑drawn designs, photos, or designs with lots of different colours.

What if I miss a spelling mistake or error in my submitted design?

Please check your designs for errors and spelling mistakes before submitting your artwork. Once your artwork has been submitted, you won’t be able to make any further changes.

Can I use any images or logos in my badge design?

Please do not use any imagery or licensed logos that do not belong to you. For example, Disney, Hello Kitty, or imagery taken from search engines can’t be used without permission from the owner. 

What if the colour of my badge isn’t an exact match?

We will colour-match to the design as closely as possible; however, some colours may vary slightly from your design files. The best way to ensure a colour match is to provide a Pantone colour with your artwork.

How long will it take to deliver my badges?

We aim to deliver your order within 4 to 5 weeks from receipt of your badge artwork. 

I have ordered additional items alongside my custom badge order. When can I expect these?

Any non-personalised items will be dispatched separately and will not appear on the delivery note. 

Can I return my custom badge order?

Bespoke and personalised items cannot be returned unless they are faulty. 

Why has my design been rejected?

Inappropriate designs of any type will not be accepted. This includes bad language, racism, nudity, sexism, political views or prejudices of any kind. Please read our Terms and Conditions (Section 13) to find out more information.

What is a Vector file?

A Vector file usually consists of shapes, lines and text. It is a format that can be resized without significantly impacting the quality of your design. We accept vector files in PDF, AI, SVG and EPS formats, for both printed and woven badges. We cannot accept Microsoft Word files.

Do you offer a design service?

Unfortunately, Scout Store is currently unable to offer an artwork service to turn your ideas into print-ready files. 

If you have any other questions or need assistance with ordering your custom badges, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Personalised Badge Gallery