PROFESSIONAL QUALITY PATCHES

 

At OMLpatches.com, we take the extra time to make high quality patches.  Every patch is a custom patch, so we take the time to design each patch, one at a time when we are fulfilling your order.  

Patches are made of 5 major components:  the design, thread, velcro, backing material and a merrowed edge.  At OMLpatches, we don't cut corners - we use the best commercial quality thread for each patch.  We use REAL Velcro Brand Velcro - not some cheap knock off that will not hold your patches on your gear or uniform.  We also use real original RIPSTOP material for our patches - yes, we can get much cheaper materials to use that basically look the same, but the cheaper mateirals are just that - cheap.  So why use anything off brand or a knock off, and expect high quality professional patch?  We use the best materials to make the best patches.

1.  The design.  If you don't have experienced digitizers, you won't have a good patch.  The designs have to be created properly with an attention to detail.  You cannot click two buttons and have an awesome stitch design for a patch - it normally takes hours and hours to create the proper patch design.

2.  Thread.  Embroidered patches are only as good as their thread - the whole design is based on the thread.  We use the highest quality commercial thread for our patches.  Yes, we could use thread that is more expensive, but we prefer to use the high quality thread that will last for the long haul.  Our thread will keep its color and will not frey or shred in any way.  

3.  Velcro.  Velcro brand velcro - REAL velcro - is what holds the patch on to your uniform, gear or bags.  We have looked at the off brand velcro and we found quite a few errors in the velcro - there are places where the hooks are broken or deformed or missing.  There are also many errors even in the size of the velcro - it doesn't always keep its measurments - not a perfect 2 inches.  That makes a big difference in the final look of the patch.

4.  Backing Material.  Of course the backing material is one of the biggest things about the patch - if you don't use high quality material, you don't have good patches.  If a company uses the lower quality cheaper material, it takes away from the overall look of the patch - we have seen some really crappy patch material - it freys, and you can see the stitch holes!  At OMLpatches.com we use the best - RIPSTOP material and the highest quality twill material for the solid color backgrounds.

5.  Merrowed Edge.  Customers make this mistake often.  A patch is only a patch if it has a merrowed edge.  The merrowed edge is the thick outer edge of the patch.  Not all patches can be merrowed but the basic shape patches should be.  And it should be part of the patch cost - you should not have to pay extra for a merrowed edge - the merrowed edge is what makes a professional patch.  It takes a special machine to do the merrowed edge, and it should be on all patches.

Colors:  Do you know the correct subdued thread colors on OD?  We do.  We know the right colors for every subdued patch.  We have heard horror stories about someone running out of OD thread and substituting lime green.  Yes, I said lime green.  They didn't understand why that was unacceptable.  Wow.  We have been doing subdued military patches for years, we know the correct colors.  We use the same threads that we used in the beginning - all tested and approved by military and police to be the correct shade and color.  We do things right!

 

High quality materials and digitizing skills makes a high quality patch - we make the best patches and we make patches that will last through the years.    

 

  

We are going to answer this question by example.  Here is a picture from a customer - he wants another one of these patches.  I was shocked when he sent me the picture of the patch.  I was trying to be very polite, but the Master Patchologist in me couldn't even process what I was seeing.  We gathered all the digitizers to show them what must never happen - cutting corners and crappy patches.  We take the time and effort to make the best patches, we have the skill to create the patch design, and we use the highest quality materials.  No cut corners, no cheaper materials, no super fast ways to cut production time.  We take our time and we produce the best patches. 

Here is the patch that he sent us:

I bet you have at least one of these patches in your collection. 

1.  That is not a merrowed edge - you can see the material after the stitching - its not even cut out properly.

2.  Lettering - wow...does that look like an 8?  they used the wrong font for the size - they needed to use a different font with a different underlay.

3. Again with the lettering - it doesn't have any definition the lettering and it has a jagged edge.

4.  You can see the multicam material through the stitching - there is no solid definition on the thread - they have cut down the stitch count to produce the patch at a cheaper price.  Its probably under 1,000 stitches, and ours is more than 6,000 just for the design.  They have an outline for the engineer castle, but they used so little stitches on it that the stitches have pulled away from the outline.  

5.  The patch is not square....its curved and the castle goes out of registration on the bottom - it matches on the right side and is way off on the left side at the bottom.  That means they didn't use the proper backing.  

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture of why this patch is not a professional quality.  Its not very clear, not professionally digitized, lettering is not clear and the multicam material is freying and will come apart eventually.  You can also see the sew marks where they have sewn on the velcro.  I would imagine that this patch will fall apart before long.  If you take it off of the soft side of the velcro a few times, the velcro will come off.  

So the digitizers and the Master Pathologists decided that we should do the patch for him, free of charge and correct all of the errors and make an awesome professional patch that he could be proud of.

Here are the results of that effort.  This is a digital image of the stitch file - not the patch stitched out - even the digital image is much much better than the patch he showed us. 

The lettering is clear, the shape of the castle is clear and has lots more detail...all in all the patch looks great!  

Thanks to all of the digitizers for putting in the effort for this patch!

Here is the final patch.   You can clearly see the difference quality makes!