T-Shirt Design FAQ

1. How much does it cost to have some shirts printed?
This depends on several factors. If I may ask you a few questions I will be able to give you a quote for your custom print job. As Screen Printers we should know all the factors that go into producing a custom t-shirt job and know that without getting all the details necessary you cannot give your customer an accurate quote.

2. Is the print going to stay on the shirt?
We guarantee that the print will stay on your shirts. The reason that a screen printed image doesn't stay on the garment is because the printer fail to properly monitor the final product as it rolled of out the dryer. A printed image most get to a temperature of 350 degrees all the through the image. If you have a thicker ink deposit on the shirt the shirt will require a longer time in the dryer. When a print cracks and peels on a shirt it was because the screen print was not allowed to fully cured. Each job has to be monitored separately to have the highest quality image possible.

3. Why can't you use this image that I supplied you with?
There are several answers to this question. Nowadays most people think they can pull an image off the web and you can somehow magical make it appear on a shirt. The first concern you need to have is if the image is copy righted or not. After you've made that determination you can then begin to explain that images that are on the World Wide Web are only good for the web. The reason being is that images on the web are more times then not only 72dpi. The lower the number of dpi. the lower quality the image is. As a screen printer we know that it is very difficult to draw from an image with low resolution and the detail in the image will suffers tremendously. Secondly, you may be faced with the issue where your customer brings you a jpeg image that has multiple colors in it and they think this is ready supplied art. Here you will have to explain to them the difference between vector art and raster art. Of course as a screen printer we all know that vector art is our friend.

4. When can I get my shirts?
Here again the answer will very depending on the circumstance in your shop. There is a standard out there of 14 days. Customers don't like to wait for their garments. The best rule of thumb is to tell your customers that your normal turn around time is 10-14 days or whatever time that you have determined that best fits your shop and then explain to them that you always try as hard as you can to get your orders in and out as quickly as possible. No matter what, do not make promises to your customers that you know you cannot keep. Nothing will chase away a customer faster then that will.

5. Can I bring my own shirts in or do you supply them?
In our shop we try to discourage customers from bringing in the own garments. For the longest time though we didn't really care where the printing came from. It was like bring your shirts we don't care. The longer we've been in business the more I realize that people are very cheap. They want to get their shirts for almost nothing. You have to realize that you are in business for a reason. When a customer ask the question of supplying their own shirts a red flag should immediately go up. The way we discourage them is by telling them that they are paying retail somewhere else for their shirts the same way they will pay retail here. We also tell them that we will not be responsible for misprinted garments should it happen. When you allow customers to supply their own garments you are missing out on the profit markup on the garments.

6. Can I get a sample?
Be very careful here. Customer will tell you a few different things here. One we hear a lot is "If I can get a sample to show to some people then I will have a large order for you." You want to believe them but most of the time it just doesn't happen. The problem I believe is that customers just do not have the understanding of what goes into producing a screen printed design. You can print samples for your customers but I would encourage you to get a deposit. The best way I've found to handle this is to print extra piece from jobs that you are proud of. This way you will always have samples to show off when that big client walks in the door. You can simply explain to your customer that it is just to difficult to set up a job for one or two pieces but these sample show what kind of work you are capable of doing.

7. What if I need to order one more shirt?
We always explain to them that should they need additional shirts after their initial order they will pay more per piece if they are not ordering the same quantity. We also explain that they do not want to come back for just one piece because the price will be extremely high. Let them know that they should order a few extra piece if they anticipate needing more shirts once everyone sees the shirts. It's better to be upfront and honest with them right from the get go.

8. Do you have shirts that I can try on?
Since Custom Screen Printing is just what is says. Every order is different. You may want to keep one or two shirts of each size from your most popular selling garment in stock but to have a size for every imprintable garment available for sizing is just impractical. If you have a school that wants shirts for kids to try on then you'll probably want to oblige them. Schools will come back to you year after year if you show that you can take care of their needs. If a customer request shirts for sizing it is a good idea to get a deposit on the order first. They will want to take the shirts with them most of the time. If you have a deposit on their order you will have the cost covered if the customer decides not to return the shirts. This isn't anything other then good business.

9. What if I need my logo for other types of printing?
If a customer pays you to create a logo for them then you are obligated to giving them their logo for whatever they need it for. If they did not pay for the logo for some reason then you are by no means obligated to supplying them with a copy. You have to be upfront with them about this from the beginning though. Copy right laws state that the moment you create something that it belongs to you. You need to have a right of ownership transfer signed by your customer when they have paid for artwork.

10. Can you print this Harley Davidson logo on some shirts for me?
I use Harley Davidson as an example but any copy righted logo is illegal to print unless you have been granted the rights to do so. You might not think it's a big deal or that you'll get caught. If you do get caught they can come in and take everything you own. Do you want to take that chance? Besides that it's a matter of morals. These people have invested a lot to be were they are. Put yourself in their shoes. I always think of it like this: "What comes around goes around!"