Function. The "Talking Footstep" (die-cut or debossed outsole) will make an impression of your logo in the sand. Good designs work surprisingly well, leaving the beach with hundreds of readable impressions of your logo. Your design should be big and bold.
How it's Done. The cutting is done with a steel rule die, which has a knife blade similar to a cookie cutter. This blade must be hand-bent around each character or piece or art, making small detail very expensive, and in some cases technically impossible. While some small detail is technically possible, it adds considerable expense and does not function well in the sand. We strongly recommend eliminating small detail from your design.
Die Charges.Absolute minumum order for talking sole is 100 pairs. No die charge with simple designs (the equivalent of up to 6 basic letters of text). If you want more than 6 letters we charge $50.00 per additional letter. We print the same design on each sole. If you want a different design on each sole you get 6 letters for one sole and $50.00 for each additonal letter.
Line Thickness. Characters should be at least one inch tall, and all line thicknesses at least 3/16".
"Bridging" Your design must stay in one piece after it is cut. If there are parts of the design that would "fall out" after the cutting (for example the middle of an "O"), then we will "bridge" those parts. Imagine how a stencil looks and you will have the idea. Also, look at the examples on our website at www.footprintsusa.net
Mirroring. Finally, it is likely you will want to "mirror" your design in the bottom of the outsole so that when you step in the sand the image left there can be read correctly. We will mirror your artwork on the proof unless specified otherwise.
Emailing Artwork: Email your artwork to: artwork@lynmar.com. We prefer Adobe Illustrator .ai or eps files with artwork in vector format and all fonts converted to curves. If you do not have vector files send us the best image you have and we will have your artwork converted to vector for a $10.00 fee.
