Playmats are awesome! But did you know, stitching edges can affect your playmats beauty!?
Above we show the 4 edges we offer. From top to bottom is:
-Cloth Playmat EXTENDED STITCH, 1.5 MM Thickness
-Polyester Black Stitch, 2.5 MM Thickness
-Polyester EXTENDED STITCH 2.5 MM Thickness
-Polyester NO STITCH 2.5 MM Thickness
Now, let's talk about the advantages vs. disadvantages of each.
Cloth playmat Extended Stitch: Extended stitch means the art will run through the stitching and transfer through it. This playmat is our newest installation and is a beautiful soft cloth, 1.5 MM thickness, with stitching that allows the image to transfer through it to the edge.
Advantages: 1) Beautiful soft to touch surface, 2) Due to lighter transfer, white lines are less likely 3) Stitching helps prevent fraying
Disadvantage: 1) Our cloth playmats are full color however, the image fades 15-20% so make sure your image would look good slightly faded. For those who know computer image software, turn your opacity to 80%. We can also run an estimate view if you ask us!
Polyester Black Stitch: Black stitching is a perfect choice for those who want a stitching and DARK EDGING PLAYMATS (Dark blacks, dark blues, dark purples, dark greens) along the outside 1 inch of the image. If you want reduced white lines along the stitching, this is the choice.
Advantages: 1) Works well with dark color playmat images along the edges. Dark colors within that edge will be perfectly fine! 2) The black border always gives a nice finish frame look 3) Stitching helps prevent fraying
Disadvantages: 1) Will not transfer the image through the stitching
Polyester EXTENDED STITCH: Everyone's favorite choice. The ability to transfer the image all the way through the edging, but do be careful. Dark edge playmats generally will have a white line along the stitching in some areas, mostly corners. Why is this? Well, due to thickness of the mat, uneven leveling during the transfer can sometimes not allow the gas to pass onto the stitching line. Dark colors always have a problem with this. Most are OK and know this but if you are unfamiliar with it, do realise there is a chance of white lines along the stitching.
Advantages: 1) Beautiful image from beginning to end. 2) Stitching helps prevents fraying
Disadvantages: 1) Can show white lines with playmats that have dark edges.
Polyester NO STITCH: A popular choice among gaming companies. This is a standard choice for most gaming companies because it's easier to not show flows. In reality, 0 chance of white lines along stitching.
Advantages: 1) Beautiful image from beginning to end. 2) NO white lines along stitching edge since there is no stitching
Disadvantages: 1) No stitching may cause a fraying of the polyester cloth earlier than desired however, this requires a ton of use.
We do hope the above guide will help you decide on the right choice playmat, whether it be one of our playmats or even a custom one you want done. This guide will help you consider really which playmat you want to attempt with the edging and if it will be a good fit for what you are looking for!