With the advent of better and cheaper printing technologies, personalized gifts have become more affordable and versatile than ever before. There are literally hundreds of different options available to you, ensuring you'll be able to pick something catered specifically for the special person.
Personalized gifts fall into two main categories, text and photography, and a number of other specific choices. Let's take a look at each of these categories, and what some of the possibilities are within them.
Text - Almost anything you can think of can be branded with custom text these days. Whether you want that text to be a person's name, or a special greeting or inspirational phrase meant just for them, a simple search will turn up a wide range of providers. Some of the many popular items which can be customized into personalized gifts include:
- Travel Mugs Available in many sizes, plastic or metal, with different caps, a travel mug makes a suitable gift for a student or worker, or anyone else on the go.
- Tote Bags Great for carrying around books, customized tote bags (with an inspiration quote about education, for example) can make wonderful personalized gifts for students. Branded laptop cases or attachés make great gifts for business people.
- Awards Etched crystal or traditional plaque, for a surprisingly reasonable price you can have a customized award made. These are suitable not only for improving office morale, but also as kind gestures to family members and loved ones ("World's Best Grandma" or "A+ Student").
- T-Shirts An old favorite, modern one-print t-shirts are of a high-quality that far exceeds anything in the past. Any phrase or quote you want can be place on a shirt using state-of-the-art technology, ensuring it won't wash away or be destroyed by excessive washing.
- Other Virtually anything you can conceive of can now be branded with custom text and turned into a personalized gift. Flash drives, gift cards, watches, mouse pads, luggage, pens, hats, notebooks, tool sets, compasses, and a list of products so long it would fill pages. In the last few years it has become affordable and efficient to print single copies of products that in the past would have required minimum orders in the hundreds or thousands, allowing the world of branded merchandise to become ripe for personalized gifts.
Photo - More exciting, and much more personal, than simple text is the ability to add photos to a number of fun and interesting products. Whether it is a photograph of a friend's child, or a group shot of your company picnic, personalized photo gifts capture a moment in time and transform it into a high-class present. Some of the items which work best with photographs are:
- Puzzles Great for children and adults, it is a simple matter with most photo processors now to have a photograph converted into a puzzle. You choose the size and number of pieces, and your snapshot is transformed into a game that can be enjoyed over and over again.
- Clocks A photograph can be used as the background of a wall clock, for a useful and entertaining gift. Pricing can vary greatly, depending on the quality of clock chosen.
- Mouse Pads Wonderful for computer enthusiasts, a picture of your choice can be turned into a mouse pad (either plastic or foam) with very little hassle. A few photo labs now offer this feature, and a number of online branding sources have the option available.
- Greeting Cards Great as a stand-alone gift, or to accompany another gift, customized greeting cards can include whatever artwork and text you feel like providing. A splendid alternative to generic cards.
Other - Aside from branding opportunities offered with photographs and text, a number of retailers allow you to create custom assortments of their products. This can be a wonderful way of showing a personal interest when picking out a gift, while still using existing product lines. Many chocolate companies and flower shops offer this service, and often bundle it with a small bit of branding — marking the truffle box with, "Steve's Special Truffle Set" for example.
On the whole, this is a wonderful age for customized gifts. Technology has advanced sufficiently that more products are being offered on a daily basis, and all at prices almost anyone can afford.