Merch Lab: how we test, and why nothing is published yet

Most supplier marketing shows you their best case. This page is reserved for the opposite: controlled, repeatable tests where we change one thing and photograph the result — published only when the experiment has actually run.

There is nothing here yet. That’s deliberate.

Why the Lab is empty

The product photos on this site are real, but they weren’t taken as experiments: different designs, different times, different suppliers. Honest observation, not controlled comparison — you’ll find that kind of observation throughout our product guides. What this page will hold is stricter: same artwork, one variable changed, photographed side by side. We won’t publish anything here until we can produce exactly that.

The fastest way to fill this page badly would be to dress up old photos as a “test.” We’d rather have an honest empty page.

The methodology every Lab entry will follow

1. One variable. Same artwork file, same size, same press settings where applicable — one change per test: the finish, the material, the thickness, the attachment.
2. A control. Every comparison includes the baseline version, photographed in the same session, under the same light.
3. Standardized photos. Macro of print detail, raking light for edges and domes, against white and against a busy surface (because products live on real desks and fridges, not white backgrounds).
4. The spec, in full. What was ordered, from whom in the supply chain (at the level we can disclose), what it cost, how long it took. A test without its spec is a photo.
5. Findings and limits. What we observed, what we can’t conclude, and who might reasonably disagree. Where a result is specific to one artwork, we say so.
6. No grade inflation. If the cheap option wins, the cheap option wins.

Experiments queued (not started)

These are the tests we expect to run first, because buyers ask about them constantly:

• Epoxy dome vs flat, same artwork — depth, glare, edge behaviour, and a long-term yellowing check on a windowsill.
• Same artwork across sticker / keychain / magnet — what survives the size change and what doesn’t.
• Matte vs gloss laminate under raking light — the finish photos suppliers never show you.
• Fine line weight survival — how thin a printed line can go at charm sizes before it drops out.
• Flexible vs rigid magnet holding — paper, postcard stack, painted-steel surface.

None of these have run yet. When one does, it appears here with dates, photos and its spec — and nowhere else do we promise its conclusion in advance.