The Bag Logo Looks Off-Centre: What Should You Approve?
Separate an artwork change from a placement error. Build a clear logo approval record before asking the sample maker to move the print.
The logo looked centred on the drawing. On the finished tote, it seems too low or pulled to one side. Sending back “please centre it” may produce another sample with the same disagreement: your designer and the sample maker may be measuring different things.
Before moving the logo, put the approved artwork, placement drawing and sample together. Identify the exact mark being measured and the finished bag features used as reference points. Then decide whether the sample differs from the drawing or whether the drawing itself needs to change. Those are different instructions.
Find out which version reached the sample maker
Start with the file actually used for the sample. Ask for its filename and revision, rather than forwarding the newest logo and assuming it is the same one. A wordmark with a tagline and a wordmark without one have different visible boundaries. So do an emblem on its own and the complete brand lockup.
Check the selected bag variant as well. The artwork might be correct for one body color but wrong for another. A reversed mark, a different tagline or a second printed position should have its own entry in the approval record. Give each combination a short identifier that also appears in the quotation and order documents.
If the wrong artwork reached sampling, resolve that first. Measuring its placement in detail will not tell you whether the intended version looks right. Ask which parts can be reviewed on the current sample and which need the corrected artwork applied.
Draw a boundary around the visible mark
An artwork file can include empty space around its visible content. “Centre the file” and “centre the visible logo” are therefore not always the same request. Include an annotated copy showing the visible mark you intend to position, its orientation and the dimensions your team is approving.
Keep the source artwork separate from that annotated review copy. A photograph with arrows is useful for discussion, but it should not become the production artwork by accident. Label each attachment by purpose so the supplier can distinguish the file to reproduce from the sheet used to review it.
Use one unit throughout the placement sheet. Write down whether a distance ends at the top of the visible letters, the edge of an emblem or the boundary of the complete lockup. If the artwork changes, revisit those endpoints rather than reusing a measurement whose meaning has changed.
Compare the same view of the bag
Lay out the sample in the agreed review position and photograph it straight on. Record whether the bag is empty or filled and where the handles are resting. A tilted photograph or a handle covering part of the mark makes visual comparison harder.
Choose identifiable finished features for the placement drawing. For example, a team could agree to measure from a finished top edge to the top of the visible mark and from a defined panel centreline to the mark's centre. That is an illustrative method, not a universal placement rule. The supplier and buyer need to agree on points that can be located on this particular construction.
On a bag with an asymmetric pocket, the centre of the complete body and the centre of the exposed panel may differ. Decide which one serves the design. The tote bag references can help your team discuss the intended construction, but the approval drawing must describe the version being developed for your order.
Send a decision, not another ambiguous photo
Use the record below to separate what was requested from what was observed. Leave an unknown measurement open until someone checks it; do not estimate it from a perspective image.
| Approval field | What the buyer records |
|---|---|
| Bag and artwork | Style, color combination, artwork filename and revision |
| Visible mark | Which emblem, wording or complete lockup the dimensions describe |
| Reference points | Annotated finished edges or centreline, with units |
| Sample observation | Sample ID, measured result and straight-on photograph |
| Requested action | Correct to the current drawing or issue a revised placement |
| Open approval | Which item needs another proof or physical sample |
Consider a hypothetical tote with an emblem above a line of text. The sample maker centres the complete lockup; the buyer expected the emblem itself to sit on the panel centreline. Neither instruction can be inferred reliably from “centred logo.” Mark the intended centreline on the review copy and ask for a revised proof before another application is made.
If the sample matches the agreed drawing but your team dislikes the result, describe it as a design revision. If it does not match, show the discrepancy against the existing instruction. Ask the supplier to explain any effect on sample work, cost and timing before accepting the next step.
Keep placement approval separate from other checks
A placement proof answers where the mark goes. It does not, by itself, settle how the final application looks or behaves on the selected material. Record which sample demonstrates appearance and which questions remain for physical review. Agree any required performance verification separately; avoid treating a visual approval as a test result.
When placement is accepted, retain the approved drawing and sample references together. State the method of checking and any agreed variation in the project record, rather than borrowing a tolerance from another bag. Later changes to the panel, pocket or artwork should reopen the affected placement decision.
Add the final record to the bag tech pack. Use the sample review process to close any remaining construction or material decisions. If the revised branding changes the quoted scope, update the quotation comparison before approving the order.
For a Truedrape project, send the artwork revision and annotated placement question. A photograph showing the exact disagreement is a useful starting point; your team does not need to redesign the whole bag to explain it.
