FAQ (frequently asked questions)

• Do you offer government pricing?
• Is there anyway I can reduce the cost of my order?
• How fast can I get my order?
• Do you ship internationally?
• Can I pick up my order to avoid shipping costs?
• Will you ship my order to multiple locations?
• What is your refund policy? What is your return policy?
• In which file format should I send my design?
• What is Silkscreening/Screen Printing?
• What is a print Flash?
• What is an underlay?
• Why do you charge more for darker colored shirts?
• Which fonts are available for embroidery text?

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Do you offer government pricing?

We understand that state and local governments have unique fiscal concerns. That is why we offer special services to our government customers:

• Discounted pricing
• Purchase Order billing
• Written and/or phone quotes with no hidden costs

These procurement policies apply to all state and local governments, as well as organizations supported in majority by government funding.

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Is there anyway I can reduce the cost of my order?

Yes. There are many factors that go into the cost of a custom screenprint/embroidery order. Some things to consider:

• On larger orders, the cost of the apparel product can make a large impact. Inquire with us if there's a product similiar to the one you've chosen that is less expensive.
• White or natural products are often less expensive than color products. Lighter colors are often less expensive than darker colors.
• Sizes larger than XL are often more expensive.
• Printing some colors on a dark shirt can lead to the dark fabric of the shirt showing through the ink. To prevent this, we either add a flash, or an underlay. While a flash doesn't add much to your cost per shirt, an underlay adds another color (white) to your order (i.e. flash is less expensive, underlay is more expensive).
• Each printing/embroidery location on your product adds to the price.
• Each color in your design adds to the price. Full color designs (e.g. design includes a photograph) and designs with gradients can be expensive and may not print as well as you’re hoping.
• A typical order will take 2 to 3 weeks, from the time of placing your order to arrival at the order's destination. If you need your order in under 3 weeks, rush charges may apply. This can increase your cost up to 100 percent! Plan ahead to avoid rush charges.

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How fast can I get my order?

The fastest we can print/embroider an order is 3 days. This will increase your costs significantly (up to 50 percent). An order that must be printed/embroidered in under 8 - 10 business days may require rush charges. This does not include shipping times, which can be performed by any UPS method available. To avoid rush charges, place your order 3 weeks in advance.

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Do you ship internationally?

No. We currently only ship in the United States.

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Can I pick up my order to avoid shipping costs?

Yes. If you'd like to avoid shipping costs and receive your order faster, and you can make it to Seattle Washington, contact us and we'll give you directions to our print shop.

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Will you ship my order to multiple locations?

Yes.

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What is your refund policy? What is your return policy?

We will not make you pay for our mistakes. This is one of the reasons we ask so many questions about your project up front. If it is determined that the order was not completed correctly, we'll issue a full or partial refund once we have received the products you send back. If you decide that you don't like the end product, but it was completed as requested, we will not issue a refund. However, we will work with you to redo your project to your satisfaction.

If you need to send a product back because of our error, we will cover the costs of shipment. Because these are usually custom projects, we have no use for the products after printing/embroidery and do not offer returns for any reason other than our mistakes.

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In which file format should I send my design?

We prefer to receive your design as vector Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, or Corel Draw .eps files. Other file formats can work (e.g. .tif, .jpg), but they must be atleast 300 pixels per inch (ppi) at the size the image will be printed. If you have a design that needs adjustment or re-working (e.g. color separation, tracing) in order to be used in printing or embroidery, our team can provide this service for a fee.

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What is Silkscreening/Screen Printing?

The basic process behind silkscreening (or screen printing) is the squeezing of ink through a sheer fabric (historically this was silk, now it is usually a synthetic). The fabric is affixed to a frame, which is placed over the material to receive the image. A design is cut into a sheet of plastic, which is then placed on top of the screen. Ink is run over the top, which flows through the design and screen, and onto the receiving material (in our case, usually apparel). For more information on the silkscreen process, see:

• Silkscreen at Wikipedia
• "What is a print?" at the Museum of Modern Art

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What is a print Flash?

A Flash Layer is a double printing of a color on your shirt. If you're printing light inks on dark shirts, we'll usually print that ink twice to ensure that the dark fabric doesn't show.

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What is an underlay?

An underlay is a layer of white ink that we place under your design when printing on color shirts (basically a primer coat). The underlay provides a consistent color foundation, which helps ensure your chosen colors print correctly. It also helps prevent the darker shirt colors from showing through the ink. This step is treated as adding a color to your project's design costs, but if there is white in your design, we can use that screen for the underlay (usually in conjunction with a flash print).

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Why do you charge more for darker colored shirts?

Darker colored shirts are more expensive for us to buy blank. Plus, they usually add to the cost of your screenprint project because of the necessity of adding a flash print or an underlay.

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Which fonts are available for embroidery text?

If you just know what you want your design to say, you can select any of the fonts shown here, and we can handle the rest. If you provide us with a vector graphic file of your text, then we can embroider anything you send us.

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