Tips for choosing the correct Custom Printed USB Drive

Custom Printed USB Flash Drives can be a great way to deliver content to your customers but some basic slip ups can lead to great frustrations.

When your sourcing custom printed USB Drives it is important to speak with your vendor about the scope of your project. That can help to steer you in the correct direction.

Custom USB 2.0 Drives Have Slower Read/Write Speeds

Branded Flash Drives are a great way to build brand equity and provide value to your customers. USB 2.0 drives are great for data transfer and storage whenever speeds do not need to be blazing fast.

Custom USB 2.0 Flash Drive Use Cases

• Brochures
• Art Delivery
• Promotional Uses
• IFUs (instruction for use)
• Sales Collateral (PDF, Logos, Art, Press Releases, Embargo’d content)
• Educational or Training Materials
• More

Custom USB 3.0+ Drives Have Faster Read/Write Speeds

USB 3.0 Drives with custom printing are perfect for when you need faster performance. Slow speeds can cause issues like stuttering on high resolution video playback or lag issues when loading and running software. If you don’t know what you need, faster is always a safer bet. USB 3.0 drives are easily spotted by a blue connector socket.

Custom USB 3.0 + Flash Drive Use Cases

• Bootable Software
• Recovery Disks
• Embedded Software
• High Definition Video Playback
• Live Linux Distributions
• Tesla Sentry Cam
• Surveillance Storage
• More

These are not be all end all and whenever possible you should work with your vendor to produce first articles for testing. This is especially important if you are purchasing large quantities of custom printed USB drives as then generally cannot be returned once imprinted.

Speed, Formatting, & Chipset can all play important factors in making sure that your project goes off without a hitch. Call us today or email to speak with our experts about which USB drive is the right solution for you.

• Pick a USB Drive Form Factor – Shape & Size

• Determine USB Drive Capacity

Printed USB Drives are available in just about any size you might need. Common sizes are between 128mb all the way up to 256GB. Pricing will depend on the capacity as well as the quantity.

• Determine Flash Drive Required Speed

Some projects such as boot-able USB drives or those running directly from the drive itself will require higher data transfer speeds. We recommend at least USB 3 drives for any application that utilizes: boot-able files, executable files, high definition video playback directly from the drive (smart tvs/endcap displays/etc)

• USB Data Loading

Custom printed USB drives are not only a great opportunity to showcase your brand and build brand equity but they are a great way to deliver catalogs, sales brochures or update software anywhere where connectivity may be challenging. We can data load abroad or for more sensitive content we can sterilize and load domestically right here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our USB duplication service utilizes offline programming towers which are never connected to the internet and dump RAM between each data load.

• Payment Terms for Flash Drive Purchases

Since Custom USB Drives are no longer reusable once printed most vendors require upfront payment. This is important to keep in mind when sourcing your drives either domestically or abroad.

• Shipping

We ship directly to our customers utilizing FedEx Ground Shipping typically however since we do stock and print domestically often times we can expedite custom USB drive orders up to and including same day service (additional charges apply)

• Turnaround Time

It’s important to keep in mind that many vendors work directly with partners abroad and turnarounds may take up to 21 business days for some custom shaped drives. Plan ahead and give yourself plenty of time if you have important trade shows with firm deadlines. We can always provide Custom USB Drives on Manhattan style drives in a pinch if needs be.

These are some but not all of the things to consider when planning for your next custom printed flash drive or duplication project. Give us a call at 612-782-8200 or contact us and we would be happy to walk you through the in's and outs of getting the very best custom printed USB drives.