Freshers giveaway ideas students will actually carry

Walk out of any freshers fair and you'll see the same thing: students juggling pens, flyers, lanyards, sweets and a slice of free pizza, all falling out of their hands. The first stall that gave them a bag to put it all in has already won.

After that, the bag keeps working. New students are carrying things all the time: a first proper food shop, library books, a laptop, washing to the laundrette, kit to training. A pen lasts a week. A decent bag lasts the year and carries your name round campus, into lectures and across town. Few giveaways reach that many people for that long.

Students' unions and universities

A welcome bag for every new student is the classic. Pack it with the planner, a campus map, the welcome week timetable and a few sponsor goodies. You'll need a lot of bags, so a light 150gsm tote in a bright colour is the sensible choice. Our Recycled Cotton Tote Bag is our lowest-price bag and comes in twelve colours. Make it a bag students want to use in second year too, with the union's name bold on the front rather than a crowded panel of logos.

Societies and sports clubs

A club bag at the stall makes people stop, and a member carrying it round campus recruits for you all year. For sports clubs, a drawstring bag is more useful than a tote: it holds boots or a towel and goes on the back. Put the club name big and the crest small. If you only print one thing, print the name.

Local businesses

The café by the library, the gym, the bike shop, the takeaway. Students are new to the city and haven't picked their favourites yet. Here's an idea that works well: print an offer on the back of the bag, such as "show this bag for 10% off until Christmas". The bag becomes a loyalty card, and every student who uses it walks back into your shop carrying your name.

Often, yes. Our standard turnaround is 7 to 10 working days from the moment you approve your proof. If your fair is more than two weeks away and your artwork is ready, there's time to order a standard bag.

If it's closer than that, look at our express range. Those bags are kept in stock in Leeds and can be printed from the next working day, up to 500 of each bag per order. Orders after 1pm count from the next working day, so send it in the morning.

Three things speed everything up: a vector file of your logo (PDF, AI or EPS), a clear idea of your ink colours, and someone who can approve the proof the same day it arrives. We check every file for free and email a proof before anything is printed.

If freshers has already gone, January is your second chance. Many universities run a refreshers fair, and it's usually quieter, so your stall stands out more.