Frequently Asked Questions about Design Creationz in General
Q: Do you have any minimums?
A: No you can order any quantity you like are pricing model gradually decreases in cost to 25 shirts. For larger orders discounted pricing will apply accordingly. Please call for specific details
Q: What is your “No hidden Charges” policy?
A: “No Hidden Charges” means exactly that – no “hidden” charges or fees will be tacked onto the price we quote you. Often, screenprinting companies will give you a quote that seems low on a per shirt basis, but they then tack on charges for any number of things. You may get one price for the garment, another for the printing, with additional charges for artwork, set-up, screens, etc. When all this is added together, your final bill is much higher, and what seemed a good deal is anything but.
When we quote a price, we include all costs, charges and fees associated with the order in one simple strait forward price. We include all of the following:
• Garment
• Printing
• Artwork
• Screens
• Set-up
Here’s an example of our “No Hidden Charges” police vs. a competitor’s confusing quote:
We do however charge extra for certain services that are not common to every order:
• Color changes on press (i.e. some shirts print red ink some print blue)
• Rush orders where we have less than 3 days to complete the order
• Expedited shipping (i.e. 2nd Day Air, Next Day Air)
We will always include any charges up front on your quote if we know they will apply.
Q: Your price is higher / lower than _____. Why?
A: A great many factors can make our price higher or lower than a price you receive from another screen printing company. We use a tried and proven method of calculating our prices that gives the customer a great value while allowing us to maintain our company. Very often, when our price differs significantly from a competitor, we are not quoting on the same thing. Make sure that both parties are giving you the same garment and the same printing. If their price is still significantly lower you want to pay close attention to the following:
• Make sure that they are offering the same brand and weight of shirt or one of equal quality. Not all screen printers will automatically give you the best garment for your money. Some may even use “seconds”.
• Make sure that they have included all charges in the quote. Often, you will be hit with a confusing array of charges that must be added on before you get a final price.
• Ask for a sample of their work. This allows you to see the quality of their print and also tests their customer service commitment. Service, after all, is what sets a company apart.
• Ask for references. See if their clients are happy with the company.
• Make sure you are working with a reputable company. Someone printing in their garage may be cheaper, but they can’t offer the service or quality that we can.
Our price could be much lower for several reasons:
• The other company may have a sudo-monopoly in a small town.
• They could have much higher overhead in a big city.
• You might be working with a middle man that pays someone else to print the order and passes on the cost – plus mark-up – to you.
Q: How long will it take to get my order?
A: Your order will go through several stages during the production process. Each stage will take a varying amount of time to complete, and some requiring your input. The first stage is artwork preparation, which can usually be completed in a couple of days. We then ask for your approval of the design and make any needed modifications. Once the design for your order is approved, we will generally print your shirts within 3-5 business days. If you are picking up the order at our offices, we can usually have the shirts ready for you within a week. If we need to ship the order to you, it usually takes a few days for UPS ground shipping depending on how far you are from us. Shipping across several states can take 4 days. Normally, from the time we start the artwork, you should receive your order within two weeks.
Q: Why must I approve the design?
A: We require every customer to approve all designs before they are printed because we want them to be completely satisfied with their final product. We make every effort to create your custom design correctly the first time, but we want you to make any changes you feel are necessary before we begin printing your order. Please make sure that you check every detail of your design – especially spelling – before you approve it. Once the design is approved we can not be responsible for errors on the final product that were on the approved artwork.
Q: Can I return an item?
A: Because the shirts we print are generally custom made for each order, we do not accept returns unless we make a mistake on the order. If we do make a mistake, we will gladly re-print your order or discount your invoice.
Q: What is your payment policy?
A: We ask that half of the invoice total be paid before we begin any printing. The remaining balance is due when you receive the order. We accept cash, checks, credit cards, and PayPal. We also will accept purchase orders from schools and other public organizations. We reserve the right to wait until personal checks clear the banking system before we begin production.
Q: Can you provide me with references?
A: Absolutely. We will gladly provide you with contact information of customers who have ordered from us in the past. Just call or email us.
Q: Can I re-order more of the same shirts?
A: You can add to your order up to 2 business days before we begin printing. Just call or email us and we will provide you with the approximate date that your shirts will be printed.
Q: Will you provide me a sample shirt?
A: We are happy to provide you with a sample shirt from an order we previously printed. We will try to send you a shirt that matches the specifications of the order you are planning to place. For example, if your artwork will be printed in 4-color process, we’ll send you a shirt that we printed using 4-color process.
If you would like to see your design on a shirt we can do that in two ways:
• If your shirt is white in color, we can apply your design as a full size digital transfer. This will show how your design will look but it is not screen printed. Your actual print will vary slightly in color and texture. We charge $25 for this service.
• We can also set-up and screen print a sample for you. We will use the same shirt, separations and ink colors as your full order. We charge $25 per color printed for this service ( e.g. 5 color front print and 1 color back print sample will cost $150 ).
Q: How do I check the status of my order?
A: You can call or email us and we will be glad to update you on our progress. If your order has already shipped, you’ll receive an email with the tracking number(s) for your package(s). If email is unavailable, please call and we will track the package(s) for you and let you know the details.
Frequently Asked Questions about Artwork
Q: How do you design a custom piece of artwork?
A: Generally, the creation of custom designs follow one of two paths depending on whether we are working with spot-color or some form of “process” design.
For spot-color :
1. We start with criteria and suggestions from the customer
2. The artist sketches the design and then inks it ( much like a comic book )
3. It is then scanned into the computer and transformed into a vector image
4. The artist then colors the design and adds text and special effects
5. We then produce a proof for customer approval
6. If needed, we make corrections or enhancements and proof again
7. Once finalized, the design is separated for printing
For 4-color process or simulated process:
1. Again, we start with criteria and suggestions from the customer
2. The artist may then scan photos or other art into the computer
or the design may be created entirely digitally
3. Any text or effects are added
4. We then produce a proof for the customer
5. If needed, we make adjustments or corrections and proof again
6. Once finalized, the image is processed by special software
7. The design is checked and then separated for printing
Q: How long does it take to design custom artwork?
A: Our artists are very skilled and can produce a custom design relatively quickly. A simple spot-color design can be complete within a few days. It really depends on how many we have to do and how complicated they are.
Q: What do you charge for a custom logo?
A: We do not charge for custom artwork that we are going to print on t-shirts or other garments. However, we retain all rights to the artwork we produce. If you would like limited reproduction rights ( e.g. for fliers, a web site, entry forms, etc. ) we grant that for free.
If you need a custom logo for your business or organization to use with full rights we charge $25-$75 per hour with a minimum of $300.
Q: How should I send you artwork or logos?
A: You can send us artwork via:
• Postal Mail
• UPS / Fed Ex
• Email
• FTP to our web server
For Digital Files
• Email attachments up to 15MB
• CD-R / CD-RW disks
• SD cards / Memory stick / most other porable memory cards
• Jump drive or other USB storage device
Q: What file type can I send you?
A: We have the following software and can accept any format that can be opened or imported by these programs:
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• CorelDraw
• Any EPS or Tif file
We would prefer Photoshop .psd or Illustrator .eps formats for vector files.
Tips for vector files:
• VERY IMPORTANT: Convert all fonts in your design to curves or outlines
• Bitmaps embedded in a vector file are still bitmaps and are hard to use for spot-color
Tips for bitmaps:
• Resolution must be at least 200 dpi at the final printing size
• Do not flatten images in case we need to edit the file
• Bitmaps are best for designs printed in 4-color or simulated process
If you are not using one of the titles above, many other packages can save or export to the encapsulated postscript format (.eps). If your software can only save in a proprietary format we will not be able to open your file.
Q: What’s the difference between vector and bitmap files?
A: Vector graphics are made up of many individual objects. These objects are defined mathematically as a series of control points joined by lines or curves. Each object is self-contained, with properties such as color, shape, outline, size, and position on the screen. As an example, to draw a red square with a black outline, the software only has to know the position of the 4 corner control points, draw black lines between them, then fill the enclosed space with red. Since each object is self-contained, you can move and change its properties over and over again while maintaining its original clarity and crispness. Vector-based drawings are also resolution independent. This means that they appear at the maximum resolution of the output device, such as your printer or monitor. The image will not loose its proportion or definition when it is scaled up or down.
Bitmap, or raster, graphics are actually a “pixel map” that describes how to display an image pixel by pixel on the screen. Bitmaps are very resolution dependent, meaning that if the image is stored at 300 dots per inch (dpi) then every square inch of the picture will have 300 dots or pixels. Each pixel needs color and shading information stored for it. This makes for very large files at high resolutions. Bitmaps also do not scale up very well. If the image starts out being 1″x1″ and 72 dpi (common dpi for web graphics) and you need to enlarge it to 10″x10″ it still only has 72 dots. Now you can see the individual pixels quite clearly and the image looks very jagged. The computer can compensate for this and guess where more dots are needed but the image will be blurry because the “guess” is not perfect.
Let’s compare a vector-based image with a bitmap image. Below is a vector based image that has been scaled up. Notice how clean this looks?
This is an example of scaling up a raster based image. Notice the blurriness or pixelization.
Remember that vector graphics are created as collections of objects and bitmap images are made of individual pixels arranged in patterns. Of the two formats, bitmap images are better for photographs because they tend to offer greater subtleties for shading and texture but require more memory and take longer to print. Vector images are best for drawings that need sharper lines, more detail, and easy modification. Vector images require far less memory and computing resources.
Q: Do you use Mac or Windows computers?
A: We use both. We have computers that are running Windows XP, and OSX (and Fedora Linux too!)
Q: Can you match an exact PMS color?
A: We do not offer exact matches of PMS colors. However, we can get very close and never have had a complaint when a match was attempted.
Q: What kinds of artwork can be used for screenprinting?
A: Almost any type of flat artwork “can” be used to create a screen printing design. Some good examples are: drawings, sketches, paintings, photos, digital files, logo slicks, even other t-shirts. Generally, if you can scan the image into the computer or redraw it by hand, we can use it.
It is very important that you start with a good size and clear piece. For instance, it is impossible to create a 12″ wide design directly from a logo on a business card. The small size does not provide enough information for the computer to enlarge the logo to the proper size and still look crisp and clear. Therefore, we would suggest the following guidelines:
• Logos-Black & white with no shading
• Same size or larger than final printed size
• Vector digital files preferred
• Sketches & Drawings-Same size or larger than final printed size
• Most will have to be redrawn unless they are black & white
• Photos-Larger photos are better
• Real photos are much better than printed photos
• Only applicable to 4-color or grayscale designs
• Digital photos need to be high resolution or “best” quality
• Digital Files-Vector images are best for spot color designs
• Most bitmaps cannot be used for spot color
• 200 dpi minimum at full print size for bitmaps
And some pieces that shouldn’t be considered usable:
• Business card size logos
• Letterhead
• Photocopies
• Anything from a newspaper or other poorly printed source
• Graphics from web sites