| So you are venturing into a custom t shirt project. | | | | up fee is dispersed among a large number of shirts, |
| Whether you need 50 shirts for a school organization | | | | which gives you a much better price per shirt. |
| or 2,000 for a charity run - you may have some | | | | 2. What are the Art Requirements? |
| questions about the t shirt printing process and what | | | | Screen printers need vector art that can be |
| steps you need to take. We are going to answer the | | | | separated by color and adjusted for size. This is |
| essential questions and walk you through the key | | | | achieved by using programs like Adobe Illustrator, |
| factors that go into a quote, artwork requirements | | | | which end in a ".ai" file type. These files have a |
| and the basic time line. Let's get started! | | | | mathematical base, which allows you to increase it to |
| 1. What does the Printer Need to Know About My | | | | the size of a billboard without losing any quality of |
| Project? | | | | the image. |
| * What color shirt do you need? Typically dark shirts | | | | 3. How Quick Can a Screen Printer Finish My Shirts? |
| like black, navy or red cost more than a white or | | | | Most screen printing shops need 5 to 7 days to |
| pastel shirt. | | | | process an order once the art is done. They need |
| * How many locations? Just the front, maybe the | | | | this much time because the machines are scheduled a |
| back, you could even add a sleeve. More locations | | | | week in advanced and they also have to order the |
| require more screens, which increases the price. | | | | blank shirts from manufacturers. There are a lot of |
| * How many ink colors? Each color of ink needs a | | | | clients to puzzle within the schedule, so the more |
| separate screen. So every color you add increases | | | | time you give your screen printer the better. |
| the set up fees | | | | I hope this gives you a much better understanding of |
| * How many shirts? If you have a small order the | | | | the screen printing process. Now you know what |
| fixed setup fee is being distributed among a small | | | | questions the printer is going to ask you - you are |
| number or shirts. Therefore, your price per shirt is | | | | now 100% prepared. |
| relatively high. If you have a large order the fixed set | | | | |