Selection Guide for Promotional Mouse Pads

BetterMousepads.com offers the largest selection of custom printed promotional mouse pads in the world. But with so many choices, you may wonder what is the right mouse pad for you. The answer depends on several factors, including budget, artwork, usage, environment, longevity, and personal preference. This guide will help you select the best choice for your needs. Of course, you can always contace one of our experienced and helpful sales associates for a personal one-on-one consultation.

Why Promotional Mouse Pads?

Why Advertise on Mouse Pads? Because your advertising is always on, 24/7, right at the point of user access to the computer and the Internet. No other advertising medium can get your ad as close to your target audience with the daily exposure you need. Custom imprinted mouse pads continue to be one of the most successful promotional products, influencing millions of computer and Internet users everywhere, everyday. Even in this age of optical mice, mouse pads provide users with the benefits of a decorative workspace on the desktop and the "mousing feel" that computer users expect and enjoy.

How to Select Promotional Mouse Pads?

To select promotional mouse pads, consider your budget, audience, and branding goals, choosing between cost-effective fabric (dye-sublimated, great for graphics) or premium hard-top pads (textured for precision), ensuring material safety, customizing with your logo/message, and selecting shapes/sizes (standard, custom, or photo frame) that best showcase your brand while offering practical comfort and durability for users. Selecting promotional mouse pads requires considering your target audience, budget, and branding goals to choose the right material, size, and design for maximum impact and utility.

Key Selection Factors

Target Audience & Use Case: Consider who the recipients are and how they will use the mouse pad.
• Corporate Professionals: Prefer sleek, professional, or ergonomic designs (like leatherette or memory foam with wrist rests) that blend into an office environment.
• Gamers/Tech Enthusiasts: Opt for larger, extended, or hard-surface mouse pads (like the large fabric ones with stitched edges) that offer precision and space for both a mouse and keyboard.
• Eco-conscious Consumers: Choose options made from sustainable materials like cork, recycled rubber, or post-consumer recycled paper.
• Frequent Travelers: Select ultra-thin, lightweight, and flexible pads that are easy to pack and transport.
• New Employees: Welcome new team members with an onboarding kit of mouse pads and imprinted tech accessories.
• Trade Show Giveaway: Give a promotional gift that will be used every day and promoting your brand all day long.

Material & Durability: The material affects both feel and lifespan.
• Soft Top (Fabric/Polyester): Common, affordable, offers good control, and can be dye-sublimated for full-color, high-resolution graphics. They may need more frequent cleaning and can fray if not stitched.
• Hard Top (Plastic/Vynex): Provides a fast, smooth, and consistent surface for the mouse, is very durable, and easier to clean. Printing on hard surfaces results in brighter, more vivid colors.
• Base: A non-slip base, typically heavy-duty natural rubber or foam, is essential for stability on the desk.
• Stitched Edges: Prevent fraying and wear, making the product last longer, which is a good value for your brand.
Size & Shape: Ensure the pad fits the user's workspace while maximizing branding opportunities.
• Standard Sizes: Options like 7.5"x8" or 8"x9.5" are common for typical office use.
• Custom Shapes: Can be an eye-catching way to represent your brand (e.g., house-shaped for a real estate company).

Branding & Printing:
• Imprint Area: The size should be sufficient to display intricate artwork or text clearly and effectively.
• High-Resolution Artwork: Provide your logo or design in a high-resolution format (like .eps or .ai) to ensure crisp, clear printing.
• Printing Method: Dye sublimation is great for full-color, photographic-quality images that won't fade or peel, while screen printing is cost-effective for simple, bold logos.
• Design: Use high-contrast colors and bold typography for readability.
Budget: Promotional mouse pads are generally a cost-effective advertising medium. Buying in bulk often lowers the per-unit price. The material, size, and added features will influence the final cost. Pricing will range from Ultra-Thin & Adhesive Mouse Pads on the lower end to Handsewn Leather Mouse Pads on the upper end.

Surface Options

Soft Top Mouse Pads

Fabric pads have a soft polyester surface. Printing is by dye sublimation. Fabric pads are among the least expensive mouse pad options. One advantage of fabric mouse pads is that they can be custom cut to almost any shape and size. Fabric Mouse Pads are ideal for cost-effective advertising programs. However, they have a more limited lifecycle than Hard Top Mouse Pads.

Options:

• Origin'L Fabric® - our most popular fabric surface
• SoftTouch® - a luxurious, plush fabric surface. Feels like peach fuzz
• Foam Backed Fabric Mouse Pad - fabric pads traditionally use a heavy duty rubber base, although we do offer a light-duty foam backed option
• Cork - Makes a great environmentally friendly promotional product made from natural, recyclable, renewable and biodegradable cork
• Neoprene - heavy-duty and water-proof
• Antimicrobial / Antibacterial - sanitary Anti-Microbial Mouse Pads help protect from unwanted microbes. Great for schools, hospitals, and all health care facilities
Hard Top Mouse Pads

Hard surface Mouse Pads have a textured polymer surface. The surface layer provides high-resolution color presentation which makes your artwork really "pop." The textured matte surface provides excellent mouse tracking capability. Hard surface Mouse Pads insure years of dependable use. The superior 4-color printing process allows greater resolution and clarity than soft top pads. Most hard surface mouse pads are printed to the underside of the clear plastic surface. However, our Economy Matte Hard Top Mouse Pads provide a more budget-friendly option with a razor sharp image printed on paper, sealing it between an ever sturdy rubber base and a hard, clear, lightly textured vinyl top. Hard Top Mouse Pads offer the largest number of backing options, including heavy duty rubber, medium duty rubber, light duty foam, thin vinyl, and repositionable lo-tac adhesive.

Options:

• Vynex® - a rigid textured vinyl creating an exceptional mousing surface.
• Economy Matte Hard Top Mouse Pad - high quality printing to paper and sealed between a rubber base and a textured vinyl surface
• Window/Photo Mouse Pads - Quicklook See-Thru™, Frame-It®, Frame-It® PLUS, Frame-It® LIFT, Frame-It® FLEX, Photo Window, and Pocket Mat mouse pads allow users to personalize their pads using their own photographs. Just insert any photograph under the mouse pad's cover
• Vinyl Mouse Pads - extremely versatile and can be molded into a variety of shapes and sizes
• Sealed Edge Mouse Pads - airtight and waterproof sealed edges
Leather Mouse Pads

For an elegant professional look on an executive desktop, you can't beat our Leather Mouse Pads. Imprinting options include screen printing and debossed. Built-in wrist pads are available as an option. Choose from black or brown leather. The new Eco-Soft™ Mouse Mat® is made with a luxurious soft material often mistaken for suede leather in look and feel.

Options:

• Flat Leather Mouse Pads
• Leather Mouse Pad with Wrist Pillow
• Eco-Soft™ Suede Leather Mouse Pad
• Leatherette Mouse Pad Combo with Wrist Pillow
• Vegan Leather Mouse Pads
Paper Mouse Pads

Paper Mouse Pads offer functionality and versatility not normally available for a mouse pad. Economy versions are printed on smooth paper, while specially textured surface options offer better feel. Environmental friendly pages contain 30% post-consumer recycled paper.

Options:
• MousePaper®: Note Paper Mouse Pads - Combines the function of a mouse pad and a scratchpad. Your marketing message is printed on each sheet
• MousePaper® Calendars - Triple Value Promotion. MousePaper® Calendars combine the promotional benefits of a calendar, note paper, and a mouse pad
Ergonomic Gel Mouse Pads

By using our ergonomic mouse pad products in conjunction with a comprehensive ergonomic approach to your workstation, you can minimize the harmful effects of tedious computer work. BetterMousepads.com offers the largest selection of ergonomic mouse pad options, including the Ergo Mat, Memory Foam Pads, Combo Pads, Lap Pads, Wrist Rests, and Gel Filled Mouse Pads & Wrist Rests.

Options:
• Combo Mouse Pads - Seamless Promotional Presentation. Graphics and messages "flow" across this single piece mouse pad and wrist support combination for a colorful, powerful promotional presentation. Combo Pads combine a custom printed high-quality fabric/rubber mouse pad with an ergonomic wrist rest. The pad is pre-formed to include the mouse pad and wrist rest all as one piece.
• Gel Mouse Pads and wrist rests with silicon gel-filled support offer comfort and functionality. The gel inside the pad molds to the shape of your wrist for maximum effectiveness. These ultra-comfortable pads combine a custom printed high-quality mouse pad with an ergonomic gel-filled wrist rest. Available in soft-top Lycra covered pads or translucent cover.

Base Options

Our most popular size is 7.5x8 inch with our standard 3/8 inch corner radius. Origin'L Fabric® is our most popular soft surface pad. Vynex® is our most popular hard surface pad. 1/8th inch is currently our most popular thickness for all surfaces.

Options:
• Heavy Duty Rubber - a durable natural open cell rubber base material and our most popular option. Available thicknesses are 1.5mm(~1/16"), 3mm(~1/8"), & 6mm(~1/4")
• Medium Duty Base - an economical closed cell latex-free natural rubber base material that is up to 55% lighter than our standard Heavy Duty Rubber base. Available thicknesses are 1.5mm(~1/16") & 2.5mm(~1/8")
• Foam - lightweight gray foam backing is an economical solution for mouse pads and countermats. Available thickness is 2.5mm(~1/8")
• Barely There™ - an economical thin, lightweight, non-slip base material. At only .020" thick, BarelyThere™ mouse pads are great for promotional mailings or inserts
• Peel & Place® - unique non-slip lo-tac adhesive base for hard top mouse pads. This repositionable pad is thin and lightweight, reducing overall cost
• ReTread™ Recycled Rubber - made from 100% post-consumer recycled material (reground tires saved from landfills). ~2mm thick
• Glue Dot - a screen printed non-skid backing available for thin hard top mouse pads
• Thickness Options: .15", .020", 1.5mm(~1/16"), 2.5mm(~1/8"), 4.5mm (~3/16") & 6mm(~1/4")
• Size Options: Standard sizes for mouse pads are 6"x8" • 7.5"x8" • 7.5"x8.5" • 8"x9.5" • 8" Round. More Stock Shapes are available. Custom shapes and sizes welcomed

Printing Options

• Offset Lithography: Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. Offset printing is the most common form of high-volume commercial printing, due to advantages in quality and efficiency in high-volume jobs.
• Dye Sublimation: Sublimation is a specialized process that prints special heat activated inks on an advanced "transfer" paper. The transfer is then registered to a fabric surfaced product. When heat and precise pressure are applied, the heat activated inks turn into a gas dye, which then sublimates into the fabric. Once the image is transferred, it is permanent and washable.
• Spot Color Printing: Using a limited number of color inks, or specific color inks in addition to the primary colors, is referred to as "spot color" printing. Generally, spot-color inks are specific formulations that are designed to print alone, rather than to blend with other inks on the paper to produce various hues and shades. A spot color is any color generated by an ink (pure or mixed) that is printed using a single run. All spot colors will be matched to the Pantone® COATED Process Imaging Guide.
• Four Color Process Printing: The technique used to print full-color images, such as color photographs, is called four-color-process printing (sometimes called full color printing). This printing process is composed of four primary colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and key (black) commonly referred to as CMYK, combined to produce millions of colors.
Explore this Mouse Pad Selection Guide to understand material properties, ideal applications, and design considerations for promotional products.

Contact our Custom Service Representative to help you make the ideal mouse pad choice, target your primary audience (e.g., corporate office, trade show giveaway, gaming community) and provide a discounted price quote.



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