What Custom Logo Options Do Eyewear Factories Offer?
JM OPTICAL BUYER’S GUIDE · CUSTOM LOGO & DECORATION
A practical B2B sourcing guide by JM Optical (Shanghai JM Optical Co., Ltd.).
Quick answer: An eyewear factory can apply your logo by pad printing, silk screen, laser engraving, hot stamping or heat transfer, metal plaque / UP Tag, enamel or leather inlay, plus custom-printed packaging. Send a vector file (AI or PDF) and a Pantone reference. At JM Optical, custom OEM starts at 300 pcs per style (≥100 pcs per colour), samples take 7–14 days, and production runs 60–90 days after sample approval; ready stock with a simple printed logo starts at 12 pcs per colour.
📌 This guide complements our 11-part series “How to Find Right Eyewear Manufacturers from China.” For the commercial numbers, see Part 5 — MOQ, pricing & payment terms, Part 6 — eyewear frame materials, Part 7 — CE, FDA & ISO and Part 8 — sampling & testing.
1. Logo & Decoration Options at a Glance
| Method | Best on | What you send | Effect on MOQ | Effect on lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pad printing (silicone pad) | Acetate, metal, TR90; flat or slightly curved temples | Vector logo (AI/PDF) + Pantone | No change: 300 pcs / style | Included in 60–90 days |
| Silk screen | Flat acetate fronts and temples | Vector + colour spec | No change: 300 pcs / style | Included in 60–90 days |
| Laser engraving | Metal temples, acetate | Vector + engraving depth | No change: 300 pcs / style | Included in 60–90 days |
| Hot stamping / heat transfer | Acetate, temple tips, gift boxes | Vector + foil colour | No change: 300 pcs / style | Included in 60–90 days |
| Metal plaque / bespoke hinge badge | Acetate fronts, metal temples | Vector + 3D drawing | Tooling required; higher per-colour minimum | Tooling counted in the 30–75 day development sample |
| UP Tag (ultra-thin metal inlay) | Acetate fronts, subtle logo patterns | Vector artwork | Tooling required | Tooling counted in the 30–75 day development sample |
| Enamel, stones, leather inlay | Premium acetate & metal | Artwork + placement drawing | Hand-finished, quoted per style | Included in the 60–90 day OEM window |
| Custom-printed box / manual / case | Packaging | Artwork + dieline | Print run minimum 300–500 units | Runs in parallel with production |
Pad printing, silk screen and laser engraving do not change the 300 pcs/style OEM baseline. A bespoke metal plaque, a custom acetate lamination or a custom-printed gift box does — because each adds its own tooling or print run.
2. How to Brief Your Logo
A clean brief prevents most first-sample rejections. Send: the vector artwork (AI, PDF or SVG, with fonts outlined), the Pantone or CMYK reference, the placement (outer temple, inner temple, front corner, nose bridge, lens corner, case), the size in millimetres, and — for multi-colour work — the number of print passes. Ask for a strike-off / pre-production sample showing the logo on the actual frame colour before mass production.
Then specify the test. For printed logos, ask for an abrasion / rub test and a tape adhesion check; for plated or inlaid metal parts, a salt-spray report; for TR90, confirm plasma or corona pre-treatment, because its low surface energy is the usual cause of paint peeling. A logo that looks perfect on day one but wears off in a retail window is a returns problem, not a design problem.
3. Decoration Beyond the Logo — What Our Sample Room Does
Eyewear is a fashion accessory, and a small surface often carries the whole design. A few techniques we use on our own models:
- Decoration on the temple — improved enamel combined with a specially structured metal temple. The metal is bevelled from the middle towards both sides, and the two decorated parts align perfectly across the bevel from wide to narrow. Coloured shimmering powder can be set inside the enamel.
- Decoration on the front — enamel and gold-tone parts follow the corner curve, matched with glittery stones. Seen through transparent acetate with a natural pattern, the effect is deliberately layered.
- Mixed-material decoration — acetate and metal meet at the eyebrow line, with sparkling stones embedded in a slim gold-coloured metal strip next to a glitter acetate section.
- UP Tag — an ultra-thin metal material and technique applied to an acetate frame. It can hold very subtle, complicated patterns with a crisp finish, which makes it suitable for special logos or signature designs.
- Enamel on metal — a more economical way to keep a 3D enamel effect. The pattern sits proud of the surface and can be matched to any frame colour.
- Leather decoration — differently coloured and finished leather shapes embedded in metal temples, fitted so they cannot work loose.
These are decoration techniques, not separate products: they can be combined with standard logo printing on the same frame. Because they are hand-finished, they are quoted per style rather than by a fixed price list.
4. MOQ, Sampling and Lead Time
| Order type | Minimum | Lead time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready stock + simple printed logo | 12 pcs / colour | 7 days | Mix colours freely; no tooling cost |
| Custom OEM with logo | 300 pcs / style, ≥100 pcs / colour | 60–90 days after sample approval | Your shape, colour, logo and packaging |
| Injection-moulded (TR90 / PC) | 600 pcs / style, ≥200 pcs / colour | 60–90 days | Mould cost applies |
| Sample — existing style with your logo | US$30–300 per style | 7–14 days | Fee usually credited against a bulk order |
| Sample — new plaque / tooling / development | Per style | 30–75 days | CAD, tooling, hand sample, revisions |
Custom packaging has its own print-run minimum (typically 300–500 units for a printed gift box, manual or case insert), so it should be ordered in parallel with the frames rather than after sample approval.
5. FAQ
Q: What custom logo options do eyewear factories offer?
A: Pad printing, silk screen printing, laser engraving, hot stamping / heat transfer, metal plaques and hinge badges, ultra-thin metal inlay (UP Tag), enamel and stone or leather decoration, plus custom-printed boxes and cases. The right method depends on the frame material, the surface curvature and whether the logo must survive heavy handling.
Q: Does adding a custom logo change the MOQ?
A: Standard printing and laser engraving do not — our OEM baseline stays at 300 pcs per style (≥100 pcs per colour). Bespoke metal plaques, custom acetate laminations and printed packaging add their own tooling or print-run minimums (typically 300–500 units for packaging).
Q: What files should I send for a custom eyewear logo?
A: Vector artwork (AI, PDF or SVG with fonts outlined), a Pantone colour reference, the placement and size in millimetres, and the number of print passes for multi-colour work. Always approve a strike-off on the actual frame colour before production.
Q: How long does a custom-logo eyewear order take?
A: 7–14 days for a sample of an existing style with your logo, 30–75 days if new tooling or a development sample is needed, then 60–90 days of mass production after sample approval. Ready stock with a simple printed logo ships in 7 days.
Q: How do I make sure the logo will not peel or fade?
A: Ask for a rub / abrasion test and tape adhesion check on the pre-production sample; specify IP plating and a salt-spray report for metal parts; and confirm plasma or corona pre-treatment before painting on TR90. These are the three failure points we see most often.
6. About JM Optical
JM Optical (Shanghai JM Optical Co., Ltd.) is a China-based eyewear manufacturer and exporter with nearly 20 years of experience. Design and development are based in Shanghai; production runs at our Wenzhou factory, making acetate optical frames, metal and titanium frames, sunglasses, reading glasses, blue-light-blocking eyewear and AI smart glasses for B2B buyers across Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. We hold an ISO 9001 quality system, and CE / FCC test documentation is available for applicable models.
MOQ: 12 pcs per colour (ready stock) | 300 pcs per style (OEM/ODM) Lead time: 7 days (ready stock) | 60–90 days (OEM, after sample approval) Contact: jim@shjmoptical.com | WhatsApp +86-137-6415-0962 | https://shjmoptical.com/
Related reading from the same series: Part 3 — evaluating a supplier: red flags & green flags, Part 5 — real MOQ, pricing & payment terms, Part 6 — how to choose eyewear frame materials, Part 7 — CE, FDA and ISO standards, Part 8 — sampling and testing.
Related buyer guides: Once the decoration method is chosen, see how pad printing runs on our Wenzhou line and how the rest of a private-label brand is rolled out — packaging, POS kits and colour standards — in Part 9 of our sourcing series.