Why I’ve Stuck With 4imprint for Our Company’s Promo Orders (Even After Testing Custom Ink)

I don’t think most promotional products vendors take small orders seriously. 4imprint does.

I’m an office administrator for a 120-person company. I manage all our branded merchandise ordering—roughly $35,000 annually across maybe 6 or 7 vendors. When I took over purchasing in 2021, I inherited a relationship with Custom Ink. They’re fine for one-off T‑shirts, but when I needed lanyards, lapel pins, notebooks, and tote bags—often in quantities under 500—they made me feel like a nuisance.

I’ve tested other suppliers (including a brief, painful stint with a “budget” online printer). Here’s my bottom line: for a B2B buyer managing recurring, mixed-volume orders—especially when you’re not spending $5,000 per line item—4imprint is the best fit I’ve found. Period.

What Custom Ink gets right—and what they miss for buyers like me

Custom Ink’s online design studio is genuinely good. I’ve used it for company event T‑shirts and hoodies. The mockup is instant, the colors are accurate, and the checkout is fast. For a one-off apparel order, that’s great.

But their promotional products catalog is thinner. Their lanyard selection? Limited. Lapel pins? They carry some, but the options and price breaks aren’t competitive for quantities under 1,000. I ordered 250 branded notebooks from them in 2022 (surprise, surprise: the “rush” option added 50% to the cost and still arrived late). Our VP of Marketing was not thrilled.

The bigger issue? When I called to ask about mixing product types on one order—say, combining 200 tote bags with 500 keychains—the sales rep told me I’d have to place two separate orders. Their system isn’t built for mixed-bag B2B buyers. (I’m not saying they’re bad—just that they’re built for a different customer.)

4imprint treats a $400 order like it matters—because to them, it does

My first 4imprint order was 100 custom lanyards. Total: about $380. I placed it online, got a confirmation email within an hour, and received a personal call from a rep named Jen the next day. She asked if the artwork was positioned correctly on the template—something no one at Custom Ink had ever done for me.

That might sound small, but when you’re managing 60–80 orders a year, those touches add up. Here’s what I’ve found consistent after two years of regular ordering:

• Order interface is built for real people. I can mix lanyards, journals, tote bags, and lapel pins in one cart. Upload one logo, review one proof, place one PO. (Even if QTY varies per item—they don’t force a single minimum.)
• Customer service is responsive—not scripted. When I needed 500 custom lapel pins in 8 business days, Jen gave me a realistic timeline, then followed up twice to keep me updated. It arrived on day 7 (thankfully, because my CEO’s all-hands was that Friday).
• They don’t penalize low-quantity items. Their small order fee is minimal—and frankly, more transparent than most. Compare that to Custom Ink’s “setup fee” structure, which can double the unit price on a 100-piece lanyard order.

What about price? Comparing the quotes

I pulled a specific comparison earlier this year. Here are numbers from my actual Q3 2024 order (prices as of October 2024; verify current rates):

Item: 250 custom journals, 7" x 9", one-color foil logo, 64 pages.
4imprint quote: $6.42 per unit (no setup fee)
Custom Ink quote: $7.85 per unit (plus $25 setup)

On a 250-run, that’s a 35% difference—per order. For a company ordering 6–8 promo lines a month, that matters.
Now, Custom Ink sometimes beats 4imprint on T‑shirt pricing if you’re ordering over 100. But that’s not my typical use case.

(One thing I’ve learned the hard way: always check unit price vs. total cost. In my first year, I made the classic rookie mistake of comparing per-unit prices without including shipping, setup, or revision charges. Cost me a $212 difference on one order of 500 tote bags—ouch.)

The notebook play—and why I’m careful with new suppliers

Someone on the industry forums asked “how long is the notebook play?” Meaning, how long does the whole process take from concept to delivery? For 4imprint, ordering 250 standard-size spiral notebooks: I usually allow 3 weeks from PO to delivery for non-rush. (Their quoted lead time is 10–12 business days, but I always pad it by a few days in case of proof review back-and-forth.)

On a recent 4imprint order of 500 custom journals, I requested a proof on a Tuesday, got it Wednesday, approved Thursday, and the order shipped 10 business days later. That’s decent—not lightning, but consistent.

Compare to Custom Ink’s notebook category: limited paper options, plain covers, and their system couldn’t handle a foil-stamped logo at all. I didn’t even test them for that line. (I’ve learned: when a vendor’s website doesn’t list a product clearly, the service will likely be worse than the product.)

Anticipating the pushback—and why I still choose 4imprint

I know some of you will say: “But 4imprint isn’t the cheapest for high-volume orders.” True. If you’re ordering 50,000 stress balls, you can probably negotiate a better per-unit price with a specialized distributor. I’ve never argued that.

But for B2B buyers managing moderate volumes—under 5,000 units, multiple product types, recurring orders—4imprint’s combination of catalog breadth, order interface, and customer service beats any other vendor I’ve used. And I’ve tried five in the last three years.

Also: their returns policy is shockingly forgiving. I once ordered 300 lanyards with the wrong clip type (my fault; the spec sheet was unclear). They sent me the correct ones, prepaid return shipping, no restocking fee. That kind of policy saves me from making myself look bad to my CFO.

Bottom line (and why this matters more than you think)

When I started in purchasing, I assumed “bigger vendor = better prices + better service.” Wrong. For small-to-mid-size orders, some vendors treat you like a nuisance. 4imprint treats you like a repeat customer—even on your first $200 order.

That matters because reputations are built one order at a time. And frankly, as an admin buyer who answers to both operations and finance, I can’t afford a vendor who makes me chase down status updates or resubmit artwork because their system didn’t handle it properly.

I’ve placed 30+ orders with 4imprint over two years. Not one has arrived late or incorrect. That’s my benchmark. Yours may be different—but if you’re reading this because you’re tired of being treated like a small client, give them a try. Order 100 custom keychains and see what happens.

(Standard disclaimer: prices and policies change. Verify current rates at 4imprint.com. This reflects my experience as of January 2025.)