Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

It’s a saying so well-known that it borders on cliché, but like most such phrases there is a core of truth to it. It’s often more economic and more effective to convey an idea through the visual medium than through a whole lot of words.

Say, for example, you’re trying to describe to a customer how their true blue logo will look on that Ice Blue V.I.T.^TM Fleece Crew they’re looking at. “It can go just there on the chest…or maybe there? No, a little bit higher, and off to the left. And the colors are going to look great together, trust me on this.”

Or you could just show them.

SanMar’s new virtual sample tool was built for exactly this purpose. Instead of trying to describe how the final product will look, you can use the latest feature of Design Studio to create realistic digital samples with logos specific to each of your customers. There’s no words to describe how impressed they’ll be when they see exactly what you’re capable of before anything is decorated.

The new virtual sample tool features:

• A user-friendly interface
  • Smooth drag-and-drop capabilities
  • Intuitive sizing and placement options
• Easy-to-duplicate samples
  • Create samples for multiple colors in one style
  • Customize placement on each color as needed
• Simple sharing options
  • Share samples via a unique URL link
  • Download samples in multiple formats

Every product currently in the extensive SanMar catalog is included, and will be updated regularly as new products are introduced. For each product photo the tool will recommend a logo placement space, but you can click on the logo and drag it wherever you’d like on the product. You’ll also be able to adjust the size, color and rotation of each logo and save your changes for future use.

If you’d like to see how the new tool works, we’ve created a short video to walk you through the basics.

The best part is that you can get started right now. The new virtual sample tool is live and available using your SanMar customer login. Just go to Design Studio and look for the “Build Samples” button in the middle of the page.

Even someone who loves the written word as much as I do has to admit that it’s often much easier to show rather than tell. That old saying might sound like a cliché, but even if those thousand words are pure poetry, that picture’s going to do the job more clearly every time.

How are you planning to use the Virtual Sample Tool? Let us know, and join the conversation with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.