How to design engraved leather-look tags

What you can make

Leather-look tags, engraved with your name, logo or message: for handmade goods, gifts, bags and keyrings. Choose the leather colour and we engrave your design into it, with an optional border and holes for sewing or a ring.

One colour. An engraving is a single colour, set by the leather you choose. The designer shows your tag in that colour, so what you see is what you get.

Before you start

All you need is a web browser, on a computer or a phone. There is nothing to install.
You do not need an account to design or to order. You only need one to save a design and come back to it later.
Everything you add can be moved, changed or deleted until you approve your proof. Nothing is printed before that.

Starting your design

On the product page, press Start designing. You are asked How would you like to start?

Pick a ready-made design, if there are any for this product, and change it to suit you.
Design it myself opens an empty tag.
Our designers draw it for you: tell us what you want, attach your logo or examples if you have them, and we draw it. There is a design fee per design, shown on that card before you order, as its own line in your basket.
Email us your artwork later: order now and send us your finished file afterwards. Its card has a template for your exact size, and your order email says where to send the file.

Finding your way around

On a computer, your tag is in the middle. The list of pages runs down the side: Design, Text and the rest, ending with Size. The price is at the bottom of the side panel and updates as you go. Along the top are Save, Help (this guide, in a new tab), Menu, and the undo and redo arrows.

On a phone, your tag fills the screen.

The round + button adds things: Text, Picture, Graphics, Shape, Border, Holes and Templates.
The price at the top opens Size.
The bar at the bottom has Menu, Undo, Redo, Save and Finalise. Menu → Help: how to use this designer opens this guide.
When something is selected, a button above the canvas, such as Edit text, opens its settings.

Your design: the list of everything on it

Design shows Your design: every item on your tag, one per line. When it is empty, big buttons offer the ways to start.

Click a line, or the item itself, to select it.
The eye hides an item or shows it again. The arrows move it in front of, or behind, the others. The bin deletes it.
Below the list, Add more gives you the same buttons again.

Adding text

Open Text and type in the box that says Type your text.
Choose Straight text or Curved text, a font, bold or italic, and the alignment.
The sliders set the Size, the Curve (a dome, a cup, or flat), the Spacing between letters and the Line spacing.
Press Add. There is no colour to pick: everything on a leather tag is engraved in the colour of the leather you choose.

To change text later, click it on your tag. Its settings open again and every change shows straight away.

Pictures and QR codes

Upload takes SVG (vector) files only, such as a logo from your designer. A photo cannot be engraved, so the designer refuses it with Only SVG (vector) files can be uploaded for this product.

QR Code: type a web address in Link or text and press + Add QR code. It is engraved in the same colour as everything else.

Tip: scan the QR code with your phone before you order, to check it opens the right page. A QR code is never smaller than 10 mm, so phones can read it.

Graphics

Graphics is our library of ready-drawn pictures. Search it, or pick a category, and click one to add it. It is engraved in the material's colour.

Click a graphic on your tag to change it: Swap it for another, set its size and angle, flip it, or Duplicate it.

Shapes

Shapes draws a Rectangle, an Ellipse or a Polygon (choose how many Sides), with rounded Corners if you like.

Shapes are outlines only: set the Thickness of the line and press Add shape. everything on a leather tag is engraved in the colour of the leather you choose.

Border

Border engraves a frame around your tag (on a phone, it is in the + menu).

Choose None, Thin (0.7mm), Medium (1mm) or Thick (1.3mm).
Corners: Sharp, Rounded, Chamfered or Scalloped, with a slider for their size.
Gap from the cut line moves the border in from the edge. It is never closer than 1 mm, so the cut never touches it.

Size, leather, shape, holes and quantity

Size is this product’s own page (on a phone, tap the price at the top).

Width (mm) and Height (mm).
Material: each swatch shows the leather colour and the colour it engraves in. A colour we are out of says not available.
Shape: a rectangle, with a Corner radius slider for rounded corners.
Holes: None, Single or Corners, with the hole size and how far it sits from the edge. Use them to sew the tag on or to fit a ring.
Quantity: tags are cut from a sheet, so the quantity goes up a set number at a time. The page tells you how many fit at your size, and Reset to minimum takes you back to the smallest order.

Moving, resizing and layering

Move: drag the item.
Resize: drag a corner handle. Turn: drag the round handle.
Centre: on a computer, the bar under your tag has Centre ↕, Centre ↔ and Centre on tag for the selected item.
In front or behind: use the arrows on Design.
Undo and redo: the curved arrows at the top (on a computer, Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Shift+Z work too).
Fine work: zoom in with the + and − buttons, and use Pan to move around.

The edge warning

Your tag is cut along its outer line. Keep words, pictures and the border a few millimetres inside it, so nothing is cut through.

The designer checks for you. When something is too close, the side panel warns you, for example: 1 item may be trimmed — check Your design. On Design the item is marked, with a Fix it button that pulls it back into the safe area. With more than one, Fix all does them all. You can also just make the item a little smaller.

Checking it before you order

Preview shows your tag full-screen, as it will be printed. 3D mock-up shows the finished tag as an object: drag to spin it, scroll to zoom, and 📷 Save image to keep a picture. Neither changes anything.

Saving and coming back later

Save keeps your design under a name you choose. You need an account for this; if you are not signed in, the designer offers Register or log in, and it only takes a minute.

To open it again later: Menu → Open a saved design.

Approving your proof and ordering

Press Finalise design (Finalise on a phone).
Review your proof shows exactly what we will print, with the size, quantity and price. Tick Show cut line to see where it will be cut.
Read every word. Spelling, layout and pictures are your responsibility once you approve.
Tick the box to say you have read and agree, then press Finalize & Add to Cart.

Approving is final. We print exactly what the proof shows, so a mistake in an approved proof cannot be refunded. If anything is wrong, go back and fix it first.

At checkout you tick once more to confirm you have checked the spelling and layout, then pay securely through Payfast.

After you order

We start making your order once you have approved your proof and paid. How long it takes, and how it reaches you explains production times, Rush production, courier delivery and lockers.
Collecting from our Wilro Park collection point is free. We email you when your order is ready to collect.
Want to send us your own finished artwork instead? Choose Email us your artwork later where it is offered, or send us an enquiry.