“The time
between the initiation and completion of a production process.”
Our standard lead times are seven to ten business days from payment (deposit
or in full) and final design approval. For repeat jobs, our lead time
tends to be several days quicker, and for complicated jobs with many
colors, gradients, or quantities the time can trend a little longer.
Please be aware that we do not run production during holiday breaks,
increasing the lead time. Rush service is available for a sliding
scale fee upon management approval. Please be aware that lead time
does not include transit time for shipping.
"Good
bookkeeping – makes for a good friendship."
For orders
under $1,000, we require payment be made in full at the time of placing
the order. Orders over $1,000 have the option on approval to pay a 50%
deposit, with the remaining balance due at pickup. All rush orders
are required to make payment in full when placing the order
regardless of the invoice amount. We accept cash, local and business
checks, ACH payments, and credit card payments. Credit card payments
on bulk orders will incur a convenience fee.
“Every
artist was first an amateur.”
For t-shirt art, it is important
to recognize the difference between raster and vector art, and how it
will impact your cost and quality of your shirt project. Raster art
is made up of little pixels, while vector art is made up of lines and
points. Most of the graphics you see on the internet are raster
images, and do not translate well to a shirt design because they are
too small. When they are blown up to an image that is useful for a
tshirt, the edges are rough and blurry. A vector image can be blown
up to the size of a hot-air balloon and not loose any definition or
sharpness. Vector images are normally in an AI, EPS, or PDF format.
We can translate most any design to be printed, but it may require
billable art editing. If you prefer that we create your design from
scratch, our knowledgeable and intuitive staff are here to assist.
“Measure
twice, cut once.”
Every order requires art and placement
approval of a digital rendition of how the completed shirt will
appear, called a mockup. It will show a size and placement
approximation of the artwork appearing on the shirt, which the client
must approve prior to the lead time clock beginning to tick. Since
the shirts vary in size and the art size remains the same, it is
important to note that the mockup is a generalized tool for how the
finished product will appear, and not a measurement instrument. If
you do not give specific requirements for placement, we will use our
standard placement guidelines to align the image to the garment.
“Life is
like a box of crayons.”
We use a standard palette of colors
that are created by the ink manufacturer, along with specialty inks
such as metallics and glitter. If you have an exact color we need to
replicate, please include the Pantone number with your quote request.
We can have any color computer mixed for a small fee.
“The human
body is not a square canvas.”
We use standard placements for
requested locations and adjust based on specific art dimensions.
Unless specifically requested, we use these standard procedures to
align the image on the shirt. A number of factors can create
variation of around an inch in any direction, including but not
limited to: variation in garment manufacture, variation in actual
shirt size, variation in fabric within the order, or variation in
operator placement. In general, a left chest image is no large than
4” and is offset 1-2” from center to the edge of the art.
Full front prints are normally placed about 2” from the seam,
and back prints are around 3” from the seam. If your art is
very narrow or very tall, these dimensions may vary in order to keep
the art centered to the body. Please note that circular or irregular
curvy designs are more aesthetically pleasing than a squared-off
design for t-shirt artwork.
“It isn’t
what goes wrong, it is how you respond to it.”
Due to their
variation and volume, we do not stock blank garments. Occasionally,
our distributors may be out of stock of certain items, and we cannot
account for delays in lead time for this reason. If this occurs, we
will contact the client as soon as possible to review other options.
Also, there can be variations or flaws in the color or construction
of the garment that we as the decorator cannot be accountable for. In
such cases we can advocate to the supplier and manufacturer, but we
cannot offer a refund on decorated garments. If we can catch the
defect ahead of time, we offer the client the opportunity to exchange
the garments at the possible extension of lead time. This is handled
on a case by case basis.
“To err is
human.”
While we do our utmost to incur as little loss as
possible, the nature of the process is prone to a certain percentage
of error. Our policy is up to 2% per print location of the order may
have variation or small defects in the print. If an exact number of
product is required at the end of a production run, an overage is
required when ordering to account for spoilage. When printing
garments in non-standard positions such as but not limited to over
zippers or seams, irregularities in the print will not be considered
a defect. Due to the unpredictable nature of discharge printing and
its chemical interaction with various dyes, we cannot be held liable
for inconsistencies and falls outside the normal spoilage policy and
no refunds can be made for this service. This includes variations in
the brightness or hue of the print. If an order is determined to be
outside the agreed upon specifications, we do not offer refunds but
will reprint the order to the correct specs. If the garments are
customer supplied, we will reprint only on additional garments that
are supplied by the customer and cannot be liable for replacing the
original garments. If you feel the job has been printed incorrectly,
you must notify us with a week of job completion, and shirts must be
returned for examination within two weeks of job completion.
“The best
laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
We understand that
sometimes orders must be cancelled. The amount we can refund is
dependent on what your order status is. If the shirts have been
ordered, then the amount refunded is less a 20% restock fee and
shipping and handling back to our distributor. If the order has
already proceeded to the print setup stage, then we cannot extend a
refund.
“I can
tell that we are gonna be friends.”
We place a very high value
on our relationship with our clients. The terms stated are guidelines
to outline and protect both our interests and that of our clients. If
we can bend the rules a bit to satisfy, we will do our best to make
sure that we create an enduring partnership and be the team you can
trust for all your decorating needs. However, we do reserve the right
to refuse service for any reason if we feel this courtesy is not
being returned.