Screen Printing FAQs
Q. What should I include in my first email?
A. Here is the information that we need:
- Quantity of shirts
- Brand of shirts
- Color of shirts
- # of ink colors
- Color of inks
- Deadline
- Artwork
- Good contact info
COST
Q. How can I figure out a rough quote for myself?
A. There are three main costs to your shirt order:
- Cost of shirts
- Cost of ink
- Screen cost
So to figure out a rough quote it would be (shirt cost + ink cost) x (quantity) + (screen fee) + (shipping, tax and other fees) = shirt order. Or you could just contact us and we could do all the math for you.
Q. How can I get a more detailed quote for my order?
A. Give us a call and we can quote an order on specific shirt brands and styles and give you more accurate information regarding ink and screen fees.
Q. How can I get my shirts cheaper?
A. The more shirts you order, the lower the cost of the ink fee and sometimes, the shirts. Each color requires an additional screen; so if you limit your colors, you’ll limit the screen fees as well.
Q. Do I have to pay full price if I print the same shirts later?
A. The screen fee is a one time charge. If you place an additional order (minimum quantity 35) for exactly the same print, you will not be charged the screen fee again. All other fees remain the same.
Q. Do I have to pay tax if I plan to resell the shirts?
A. If you can provide a copy of your current Washington State Reseller's Permit then we can skip the tax. However, we need the copy at the time of payment in order to process it correctly.
Q. How much are your ink fees?
A. The ink fees vary depending on how many shirts you order. You can check out pricing on the Pricing tab.
Q. How much are your design services?
A. Our design services are roughly $40/hour.
Q. What payment types do you accept?
A. We accept cash, cashier’s check, visa, mastercard and american express.
Q. Do you require a deposit before my order can be started?
A. We ask for a 50% deposit for new customers. Depending on the size of the order, we may require a larger deposit.
ARTWORK
Q. What file format is best?
A. It is best to send us the artwork by email in either a .pdf or .jpeg that is at least 300 dpi. It's also best to send the artwork near the size you would like it printed.
Q. How do I know what size the artwork should be?
A. The artwork needs to be based on the smallest sized shirt that you are ordering. When screen printing, the artwork stays the same dimensions no matter the size of the shirt.
Q. Can you use a picture from my website on my shirt?
A. Pictures from websites are usually 72 dpi. This is not high enough quality to be screenprinted.
Q. Can you print tags on the inside collar of my shirts?
A. Yes, but it'll cost ya!
Q. Can I see a proof of one print before you print the whole batch?
A. We do not provide preproduction prints. The screen printing setup process is much too time consuming to set everything and wait for you to approve a printed proof because it takes up a spot on the presses. Once everything is set up we can't change much anyway, so it's best to iron out all of those details before we begin production.
SHIRTS
Q. What brands of shirts can I use?
A. Our distributors are SAN MAR, IMPRINTS and ALPHA SHIRTS out of Seattle where we can get Hanes, Gildan, Jerzees, Port and Co., Precious Cargo, District Threads and many more! We also order directly from American Apparel out of Los Angeles. Check out our catalog page for just a few of the options that we offer
Q. What colors do you offer?
A. Hundreds... please don't make us list all of them.
Q. Do you offer organic shirt options?
A. Heck ya! We have several options of organic and sustainably made shirts.
Q. What kind of shirts do you use for Choke Shirt Co.?
A. We use American Apparel crewneck, vneck, organic, pullover hoodies and zippy hoodies.
INK
Q. What color inks do you offer?
A. We can hand mix almost any color for you. If it's a color that we have no idea how to get with the inks we have, we can special order it for you. Keep in mind that inks usually dry a little darker than they are after being mixed.
Q. What kind of ink do you use?
A. At this time we offer Plastisol (standard) screen printing inks. They are phthalate-free, high quality inks.
Q. What are your ink prices?
A. Our ink prices can be found HERE.
Q. How many inks can you print on to one shirt?
A. We can print up to 6 colors in one place on a shirt.
SERVICES
Q. Can you do vinyl heat transfers onto shirts?
A. Yep! Check out our sports page.
Q. Can you do full color shirts?
A. Nope.
Q. Can you print gradients?
A. Yep! It gets tricky though. Contact us for details.