Charge Ahead – Mobile Power Banks

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One of the most popular products this year is mobile device chargers or power banks. It seem almost every supplier in our industry has added a variety of chargers, all with different price points and mAh levels.

 

And what the heck is an mAh?

 

Milliampere hours, or mAh, is the standard measurement of battery capacity. The more mAh a battery has, the longer it will run. Likewise, the higher the mAh number on the portable charger, the more it will be able to charge.

 

So what is a good mAh amount for a charger? Well, it all depends on what you need or want to charge. Here’s some mAh levels for some common devices:

mobile phone

samsung phone

 

iPhone 5S: 1570
Galaxy S3: 2100
Galaxy Note: 2500
iPad Air: 8820
iPad 3: 11,560

 

With this in mind, now look at the mAh level on the charger:

 

2200 mAh: Can fully charge an iPhone or a Galaxy S3
4400 mAh: Can fully charge the above and a Galaxy Note, with charge left over
5200 mAh: Fully charges all the above and about 60% of an iPad 3
11,000 mAh: Fully charge most all devices, or charge more than one device at a time.

 

So, which device is right for you? It depends on how you want to use it. Do you just need enough power to charge your device for a couple hours before you can get to an electrical source? Do you need to be able to charge multiple devices at the same time or before recharging the power bank? Do you want the device to display the amount of charging capacity left? Do you need multiple inputs?

 

Once you narrow down how you will use your power bank, then it’s just a matter of selecting the charger to fit your needs.

 

When it comes to electronics, we like to stick with suppliers who will back up their product. We also will only suggest items which have been certified for safety.

Embroider It Right

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We work with a lot of embroidery orders, and getting the art right can sometimes be a bit tricky. Artwork for embroidery tends to have more restrictions than other types of imprints, so care to detail is a must.

Here’s a quick overview of the basic requirements for embroidery:

  • Start with a good, clean vector file whenever possible.
    • Vector files are artwork which was created in Illustrator or Corel
  • The smallest text should be a minimum of 1/4″ tall
    • Text may need to be stretched to reach this minimum height, or stacked and enlarged
  • Keep graphics simple, not a lot of fine detail
    • Fine detail is difficult to reproduce, so keep lines at least 2pts wide
  • Do not use gradients whenever possible
    • Gradients cannot be reproduced as smoothly as they appear on the computer
If you are unsure if your artwork will work for embroidery, just shoot it over to us and we’ll review it. We’ve worked with hundreds of artwork files for embroidery and will be able to let you know if your artwork will reproduce well, or if it needs to be altered for best stitching results.