Leading Canadian Sports Equipment Manufacturer - Vaughn Hockey - Choose CorelDraw Graphics Suite To Customise Their Products
Vaughn Hockey, with factories in Ontario and Michigan is one of the world's top manufacturers of ice hockey goaltending equipment.
The company serves all levels of hockey—from small town leagues to professionals around the world—including the best of the best in the NHL.
For decades, Vaughn Hockey has been recognized as a pioneer in goalie equipment,building a reputation for delivering cutting-edge designs on all its products.
“When it comes to goalie equipment, new technologies are always making it better, but we know the single biggest driver of sales year-over-year is the introduction of hot new designs,” says John Merucci, Head Graphic Designer, Vaughn Hockey. “To stay ahead of the competition, it's important that we provide our customers the look they want. The graphical aspect of our equipment appeals to our customers. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is key to making this happen!”
“We understand that we're set apart from other manufacturers because of the overall appearance of our equipment, not just the guts of what they're made of,” comments Merucci. “Each of our products needs to have its own identity, its own feel and its own structure. You can't keep putting the same thing out year after year, or you won't last long.”
To ensure that their products are unique, Merucci uses CorelDRAW Graphics Suite to turn a goalie pad into a customized work of art.
In addition to its yearly seasonal collections, Vaughn Hockey also offers a retail line of products that enables customers to submit their own custom designs for their equipment.
Upon receiving images and designs from the customer, Merucci and his team use CorelDRAW to bring their designs to life in record time.
“Some of our customers are very creative in what they send us, with designs that are very intricate,” Merucci states. “Once we get the design, CorelDRAW makes the process of customizing the hockey pad easy. ”The process of making unique equipment designs starts in CorelDRAW – whether the image was created in the software by Merruci and his team or sent in by a customer. “CorelDRAW gets the process started. For example, when customers send us their designs, we're able to accept almost any.
The Personalization Process
The process of making unique equipment designs starts in CorelDRAW – whether the image was created in the software by Merruci and his team or sent in by a customer. “CorelDRAW gets the process started. For example, when customers send us their designs, we're able to accept almost any file format. With CorelDRAW, I'm able to open them and start working immediately, ”says Merucci
Merucci says for his work, Corel Power TRACE™ is one of the most valuable new additions to CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. With Corel Power TRACE, his team is able to recreate a customer's graphic twice as fast as before, lifting the burden of having to hand draw each image. “If the customer sends us a rough sketch, I canuse the software to simply trace or re-draw the design, getting it ready for the next step in the process.
CorelDRAW – Vaughn Hockey's MVP
In an industry where success depends on delivering a customized and unique product fast, you have to get the design right the first time. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is the versatile tool that enables Vaughn Hockey to put designs on pads and pants that otherwise would be virtually impossible to accomplish undersuch tight time lines.
For Merucci and his team, the suite's speed, ease of use and flexibility score big points. “I've tried a lot of different programs, but I've never felt as comfortable with any other software,” Merucci says.
