Custom Education Products for Teachers & Students Buyers Guide

The education industry presents a unique set of challenges and demands when it comes to buying custom apparel and accessories. You’ve got to walk the line between functional and stylish all while working within a strict budget. But don’t worry, we’ve put together this custom educational products and school supplies buying guide packed with your favorite brands to help you determine what products are best for your students and faculty.

What Are Some Promotional Products for Teachers and Schools?

The term “school supplies” is broad to the point of ambiguity. Students of different ages and education levels have different needs. Plus, school supplies can mean two different things to students and educators. To get the ball rolling we’ve put together some ideas for your school supplies and education products starter pack.

Custom Backpacks

Every student’s back-to-school shopping list should start with a high-quality backpack. How else are you going to get all your supplies back and forth between class? Those college textbooks can be heavy! While you’re at it, get your school’s logo embroidered on the front of the bag to rep your school wherever you go.

Notebooks & Journals with Your School Logo

Write this down… your students are going to need more notebooks than they think this semester. Make sure that every student is equipped with the tools they need to stay engaged and learn the material. Take it up a notch by adding your custom school or university logo.

Personalized Padfolios & Stationery

These have evolved from the clunky trapper keepers of old. Custom stationery and padfolios are the perfect way for students to keep their papers organized. Plus, adding a debossed school logo makes these leather padfolios something your students will value for years and can even use in their job interviews after they graduate!

Custom Pens & Pencils

How many times has a student shown up to your class without a pen or pencil? Probably too many times to count. Now you can always be prepared to lend a custom writing utensil with your college or high school logo, so every student will be able to complete their assignments.

Custom USB Flash Drives

These are especially popular giveaways in technical schools or within computer science majors. These printed USB flash drives enable your students to transport their files between their personal computers and the computers in the classroom or at the library.

Personalized Water Bottles

It’s hard to digest knowledge when you’re dehydrated! Supplying your student body with custom water bottles with your printed or engraved school logo ensures that they will never go thirsty in the classroom or have to leave in the middle of a lecture to use the drinking fountain. As an added environmental and PR bonus, it’s a great way for your college or high school to cut down plastic bottle consumption!

Custom Coffee Mugs

Maybe skip these if you’re shopping for elementary school kids… or give them to the teachers instead. These are a godsend for that 8:00 AM lecture or those long nights in the library. Adding your school logo is a great way to show why you’re so tired in the first place!

Custom T-Shirts

In terms of collegiate and academic apparel, custom printed t-shirts with a school logo are far and away the most popular for giveaways. You’ve got your classic “Class of ____” shirts, class reunion t-shirts, educational event shirts, school spirit tees, student organization shirts… you get the picture. Custom screen printed tees are the cheapest way to cover all your bases for scholastic apparel.

Custom Hats

Just because you can’t wear them in the classroom doesn’t mean custom hats aren’t great for schools and colleges. Personalized headwear with your embroidered school logo is perfect for gameday, school events, baseball teams, or just walking to class.

Embroidered Sweatshirts & Hoodies

We’d be remiss not to mention the custom hoodie, a true staple of any student’s wardrobe. These personalized hoodies and sweatshirts are usually applique embroidered with big block letters or a large school logo to give it that collegiate feel.

Applications for Custom Education Products

At this point maybe you’re thinking, “these would all be nice to have, but when would I really need custom education apparel and school supplies?” It's more than just pep rallies, we promise. In fact, there are probably a lot more applications for custom swag with your school logo than you might think.

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Where would we be without teachers? I think that we can all agree that teachers, professors, and educational employees deserve more recognition. An apple on the desk is nice, but a custom sweatshirt or polo adorned with their institution’s logo is even nicer. Check out our complete line of corporate gifts for custom selections on everything from jewelry to electronics to take it a step further.

Back to School Supplies

Between enrollment costs and textbooks, the beginning of the semester can be an expensive time of the year for students. Ease the financial burden by hooking them up with custom school supplies to ensure that they’re ready to learn. Oh, and don’t forget, teachers need school supplies too. Those classrooms don’t stock themselves!

Student Recruitment

Community colleges, public universities, private colleges, and private schools all face the challenge of attracting new students to their institution every year. What’s going to be the thing that separates your school from the pack in the minds of students and parents? Free stuff with your school logo certainly won’t hurt! Head over to our recruiting event and college giveaways collection for some ideas.

Alumni Gift Packages & Class Reunions

Custom school logo alumni gifts are a great way to give back to alumni (or to increase donations). Nothing makes you reminisce about your college years more than seeing your university logo hanging in your closet on custom apparel or sitting on your desk on custom accessories.

School Spirit

I said it’s more than just pep rallies, but they still count! In all seriousness though, providing your student body with apparel and school supplies with the school’s logo is a great way to generate a sense of community and your students will be thrilled to see their school logo associated with some of the top brands in the world.

Youth & High School Sports Teams

We just recently ventured into custom team jerseys! We also provide other team uniform pieces like basketball shorts, golf polos, baseball caps, and compression shirts. Overall, our focus is more off the field. School sports teams and coaches love to use us for their team warm ups, water bottles, and sports bags with their embroidered or printed team logo. Part of the reason for this is because we offer apparel and accessories from some of the top athletic sportswear brands like Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, and Puma.

Custom Education Promotional Items & School Supplies Customization Options

There are tons of ways that your corporate logo or custom design can be added to apparel and gifts. At Merchology we offer more than 10 product customization methods! Check out our comprehensive Custom Decoration Methods for our complete offerings or read up on some of our most commonly selected decoration types that educators use for their schools!

Pad Printing

Custom pad printing is the most widespread customization technique for accessories, promotional products, and school supplies. The main benefit of pad printing as a decoration type is that it can be done on just about any material. Pad printing is often used on custom notebooks, drinkware, and electronics. Learn how pad printing is done here.

 

Embroidery

 Custom embroidery is the most common apparel decoration method at Merchology. Custom embroidering is most commonly used for adding your corporate logo to hats, polos, sweatshirts & hoodies. Discover how the commercial embroidery process works here.

 

Screen Printing

Silkscreen printing is a personalization method that can be used to add your logo to just about any material or product if has a flat surface. Screen printing is most commonly used on custom t-shirts but is also often used for custom activewear, journals, and promotional pens. Learn how screen printing is performed in our step by step guide here.

 

Laser Engraving or Etching

Laser engraving is the customization technique of choice for metal and wooden products. Our most commonly chosen laser engraved products for students and teachers include custom stainless steel water bottles, tumblers, mugs, and pens. Fact of the day: laser etching can even be performed on apparel as well (see below)! Learn how the laser engraving is done here.

 

Next Steps

Congrats, you’re now armed with the knowledge to start shopping for your school’s custom gear and classroom supplies. Check out or complete retail brand offerings to get started! Don’t worry, there won’t be a test, but make sure to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. Finally, be sure to check out our Buyers Guides Page for more insights on how to pick the right merch for your business.