FAQ

aka… Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the standard turnaround time? Upon final approval of art, the standard turnaround is approximately 10 business days. This may vary of course depending on production, but a good average. If you know you have an event coming up, please allot 3-4 weeks. This includes art, production and shipping.

2. What is an ideal file type for art? We prefer vectored art in an .ai or .eps file. A “vector” file is an image composed of paths created in Adobe Illustator, CorelDraw or Freehand. We also accept “rasterized” files, but prefer the file is sized to actual print size and at a resolution of 300 DPI. Note, we accept anything and can recreate if it if necessary, but art charges of $25 per hour will apply.

3. I ordered 96 shirts and received only 94 pcs? As much as we like to think otherwise, screen printing is an imperfect business and uses humans, processes and machines to achieve a desired end product. Since there are many ways things can go wrong, this unfortunately sometimes happens. We strive to perfect the trade, but holes in garments, breaking of screens, misprints, etc can prevent us from achieving our goals of grandeur. If you would like perfect numbers, our best suggestion is to add a couple of shirts. Your invoice will indicate what has shipped and what you are billed for.

4. I realized I misspelled something on the back of the shirt? I feel your pain on this and it happens, but you are responsible for the final spell check and once art is approved it is what will be printed. More often than not, we design exactly what is given to us and if something is misspelled, for example a name such as “Riccckie Ricardo”, we do not know if that is correct or not and may ask, but presume you gave it to us the way you wanted it spelled. Look it over, look it over again and then ask someone.

5. I need one more shirt because a person didn’t turn in their information to me in time? We try to accommodate this when possible, but if the print is on press there is little we can do. If we catch it before it goes to press, it may just delay your print date. If it’s already printed then a minimum may be required at a higher cost to accommodate the reprint.

6. Why does an actual printed tee shirt look different than the virtual proof or paper printed proof? The primary reason is that we’re printing on garments. It’s a fibrous surface that uses limited colors to achieve a desired design. When printing on paper, the colors are unlimited and the printing surface is perfect every time. We strive to give you a screen print that looks as close to a virtual or printed proof, but it may vary slightly.

7. When should I expect to see an art approval? We send PDF art approvals. Our goal is to send it five days before your ship date, but rush orders will likely have proofs sent last minute (24 to 48 hours before production). WARNING: Our art department is very busy and can rarely make exceptions. If you need art proofs faster than five days before your print date, then please contact our sales manager.

8. Can you print on moisture wicking material? Yes. Moisture wicking shirts are a tricky business and there are some variables that make the print a little more complicated such as; stretch in garment, dye migration, shirt color, etc… Please mention to your sales person if you’re considering moisture wicking tees.

9. My imprint looks slightly crooked or bowed. Is that a misprint? While crooked printing due to operator error is never acceptable in our shop, there are a few instances when imprints appear slightly crooked or warped. This happens even when the shirts are loaded perfectly straight.

Due to the nature of printing on textiles, the canvas (a.k.a. tee shirt) can warp slightly, although the “print” is straight. We also have processes that help align prints, but the manufacturing process for garments are an “imperfect” business as well and sometimes the print is straight and the garment is not.

10. Do I have to have an “underbase”? It all depends on the shirt color, art and desired look you wish to receive in your screen print. Our art and sales department will give you our best recommendation and we can determine the best approach from there.

11. If I choose to use you for custom art work, is it mine? Yes, once the art is created we can supply you with a high-resolution image, .png and .pdf.

12. Are the setup fees one time? We’ve gone back and forth with this and decided that they are not a one-time setup fee. Why? Because we want fresh new designs and don’t feel that many customers would print the same design over and over again when they can get a new one with reasonable art and setup charges. Our screen charges are $20 per color/per placement/ per location and art charges are only $25.00 per hour.

13. How long does it take to ship the shirts to me? We use our friendly people at UPS and their shipping times vary based on location.  We can provide the ship times during the order detail.

PRIVACY POLICY – We do not share your personal data with third parties for any purposes. Your information is only used by Imagination Athletics and our SMS service providers to send you requested updates and communications regarding orders.