You have a lot of options when it comes to finding professional t-shirt printers that can provide printing services for your custom apparel job. We understand there are lots of competitors that are able to perform the same services we do, but having the capability to produce and deliver under demanding circumstances makes the difference between offering a printing service and offering a partnership.
If you’re in promotions, event planning, or own a clothing brand, a large part of your business relies on printed apparel. Being able to depend on your printer as part of your team is a valuable asset. Creating a relationship with the right printer can have a big impact on your ability to do your job effectively and reduce worry and stress under tight deadlines.
Even if you don’t depend on printed apparel as part of your job, it’s great to have a dependable resource for occasions that call for custom garments from special corporate events right down to birthday parties. And having a printer that’s been in the business for decades offers a measure of reassurance that isn’t always apparent with any old printer you find on the Internet.
We’ve tested lots of our competitors on the sly to see what kind of quality they deliver. We’ve received product and service that has caused us to be respectfully impressed. On the other hand we’ve also had experiences that left us in utter shock that any company would deliver such a poor product and user experience. It can be a crap shoot when searching for a t-shirt printer that can check off all of the boxes.
Because we have our own experience and have tested others, we’ve compiled a list of qualities you should look for when looking for a screen printer partner. We want you achieve your goals whether bulk scale and professional or for personal single t-shirt orders.
Dependability- Lots of screen printers are very dependable both large and small. However we’ve heard plenty of stories from customers that became our customers after being turned away at the last minute or money being taken and the job never delivered. Some shops are simply poorly run. They may not be able to handle large quantities or tight deadlines. Or they may not have the processes in place to run a smooth operation. While they may have a creative staff and offer a friendly smile, if they fall apart at the last minute and leave you hanging because they lose track and don’t have the skill of time management, it does little good for your needs.
Quality- When you receive a product, the garments you receive should reflect the product you agreed upon and the promise the printer made about their capabilities. A sale should never be just about getting the sale and then delivering a shoddy product to fulfill the order. If you are price conscience, you should be able to discuss the best options available for your budget and the customer service person should be able to describe the pros and cons of your options to create expectations.
Quality extends to the capability of your printer too. There are techniques that should be used that will impact the feel of your screen print. Not all prints are the same. Poor methods can make it feel like you’re wearing an uncomfortable badge on your t-shirt if an excess of ink is used to compensate for poor craftsmanship.
Attention to detail is a must as a simple piece of lint on a printer’s screen can cause the same flaw to be duplicated across your entire bulk t-shirt order.
Consistency-If you reorder the same design on t-shirts monthly, quarterly, or yearly, consistency is going to be quite important to you. While maroon just looks like maroon when you look at a shirt on its own, if you put it next to another shirt that was printed with a slight variation, it becomes very visible. Imagine trying to create uniformity in a business with staff wearing slightly different hues of your corporate colors. Consistency is executed by using precise techniques, keeping detailed records of orders, and having a system in place to recreate art, reorder product, and reprint using the same method. Expertise goes well beyond being a good record keeper though. An expert screen printer will even take the temperature of the room into consideration when printing a reorder to ensure consistency.
Details-We’ve learned that even little details really matter. For a t-shirt printer that allows users to design and place orders online on their own, the need for clarification in some instances can’t be ignored. We don’t just accept orders at face value and leave the blame in the hands of the consumer if they didn’t spell something right or chose a color combination that won’t produce a legible print. In these cases we reach out to our customer to either ask the questions or provide helpful suggestions to ensure our customers will be thrilled with the product they receive.
More than anything else we understand how the product your receive makes you feel. We want to be part of a positive experience all the way around and make you proud that you chose to work with us over anyone else. That’s how any business maintains relationships and grows their business. We want you to feel like you have a partner in the t-shirt printing business even if you only need our services from time-to-time.