Bespoke USB sticks are extremely popular these days. Not to be confused with standard shaped USB flash drives, Bespoke USB memory sticks can be made into any shape imaginable, from your logo to a replica of your product.

Any shape is possible, including 2-D and 3-D drives, in any colour imaginable. The only restriction is that the drive has to be big enough to hold the flash memory module and the standard USB connector that allows it to be connected to your computer. Fortunately, the custom drive company you hire can help you with the design to ensure that these constraints are taken into account.

While there are plenty of companies out there these days that will print your logo on a standard flash drive or memory stick, there are far fewer who will do custom design and production. That’s because custom drives require a larger skill set, including the ability to work with suppliers to integrate the electronics and the custom casing into a dependable yet affordable product.

If you want your company to really stand out in a market that is often flooded with generic flash drives, you might want to consider going with a custom flash drive product. While it will take some extra effort on your part to articulate your idea and review designs, the results can be well worth it, even with the higher unit cost of a custom memory stick.

So how do you find a dependable supplier for your Bespoke USB drives?

First, it’s important to find a company that actively promotes custom drive designs on their website or in their catalogue. This will be the first sign that they have the experience and expertise to create a custom drive design for you. It’s not important that they actually manufacture these drives on-site. Most companies farm this process out to factories in the Far East these days. What is important is that they understand the design process and how to integrate the electronics into the design you have in mind. Offering your target audience a drive that will fall apart or fail isn’t smart marketing and going for the cheapest product out there is an invitation to these kinds of promotional item disasters.

As you work with your design team they’re bound to make some recommendations or changes to your design. Consider each of them, as they may either be necessary or add features you may not have thought of initially. This may include a loop for a lanyard or a locking top to protect the USB connector from becoming damaged. A great promotional item company will have this kind of working knowledge of the products and how to best execute your idea.

Before you get too far into the process, you will want to request some samples of their past custom drive work. This is the best indicator of the kind of quality they demand and their capabilities. If a company is cagey about showing you samples, you may want to look elsewhere because you just may be their first custom USB drive customer. Given the importance of promotional campaigns, you never want to be someone’s guinea pig.

Finally, you want to discuss the electronics that are used in the drives. The memory chips are graded A through D and you want to know what grade of chips are in your drive. It’s not to say that a B grade is bad, just that it didn’t live up to the quality assurance process of a Grade A chip. Usually, the lower the grade, the more likely a chip can fail, have slow read/write speeds or not be able to fully access the level of memory advertised. Get the best grade you can afford and if at all possible, get products with Grade A chips. You won’t regret it.

The best advice of all is to do your homework before you order a large batch of custom USB drives that may not meet your expectations. And if you have the luxury of a few extra dollars in your budget along with time, you may want to order up a small batch first before ordering thousands. A lot of custom memory stick and USB flash drive companies offer production rates as low as 100 units.