What to look for when ordering prints?

When ordering printing on T-shirts or other promotional gadgets, you are not just ordering the physical printing, but the entire consulting service associated with it.

That’s why it’s so important to choose the right company that will not only be able to take your order, but will fully understand what you need, and will even be able to anticipate your questions. Below you will find tips from which perspective you should compare printing companies’ offers.

A simple example: you need printing on a T-shirt

In such a theoretically simple situation, what should you actually determine?

printing technique – the most appropriate to the project, your expectations and the circulation
graphic adjustment of the project, depending on the selected technique
T-shirt on which the imprint is to be made.

In each of the above points, you can lose a lot of time, nerves and money on a lonely search. Or you can save yourself problems by using the experience and knowledge of people who deal with the subject professionally. They should point you to the most optimal solution for your specific needs.

Even consciously choosing a T-shirt can be quite a nut to crack. Why? Because every company has ready-made catalogs with dozens of different T-shirt models. And be smart here, when every one of them looks just as nice in Photoshopped photos. Sure, you can compare weights, but this is very often the least important element that does not indicate the quality of the T-shirt.

That’s why, in addition to paging through 1000-page (literally!) catalogs, we go to trade shows, order samples and wear them. To know what is recommendable and TRUSTED.

Why reinvent the wheel?

Price is an important factor in selection, but not the only one. For most customers, three factors are of primary importance:

quality
price
lead time

How to achieve the best combination of these three elements may or may not interest you. And rightly so, because you are paying for the end result in the form of a successful or unsuccessful product. You can learn the secret knowledge of printing, only why should you? Even if you learn everything about printing it still won’t change the process of fulfilling your order at the chosen printing house. Well, unless you want to work there 🙂

For example, if you are opening your clothing brand, doesn’t it make more sense to devote your valuable time to marketing and sales activities, and leave the rest to professionals in the industry? That’s what specialization is all about, which is more economically viable overall.

Compare facts, not appearances

There is no way to get the highest quality at the lowest price. Such an advertising slogan is simply misleading. You can buy bread in the store for $2 or for $8. Will it be the same bread?

Just as in baking bread, in printing you can also save on many elements, but it will be reflected in the end result. Although in theory you will get the same thing, in practice it may be different. Going back to the printed T-shirt example above, you probably don’t want the print to run off into the sewer after the first wash, and the T-shirt to look like a disposable handkerchief.

On receiving the goods, almost every product looks good. Just what do you do in a situation where you find that most of the T-shirts sold/given to customers as gifts have no print on them after two washes? I probably don’t have to explain how this will reflect on your company’s image. No one will blame the bad printer but you.

In addition to the “ingredients” used, choosing the right printing method is of equal importance. There are no bad or good printing techniques, there are only people who use them badly or well.

A typical example is flex printing often confused with iron-on colorful images with Winnie the Pooh (no offense to Winnie the Pooh – we love him). In today’s world, flex/flock thermal transfer is used for, among other things, printing on sports jerseys. Would clubs allow themselves poor quality in front of millions of fans and spectators?

The end result is determined by the equipment and printing method, but equally, if not most, by the skill of the printer. Answer the question: do you want experiments to be performed on your order, or would you rather be sure to leave the printing in the hands of professionals?

Complaint

The issue of possible complaints is also not insignificant. In any company, there may be a situation where something goes wrong, as it should. Pay attention to whether the company you choose is able to admit its mistake and fix it at its expense. In the case of printing services on advertising gadgets, this is of considerable importance, because each print is made to individual order, you do not pull it off the shelf like merchandise in a hypermarket, so you need a company that will not flinch from responsibility for a possible error to accept a complaint.

Summary

As you can see, printing on T-shirts and promotional gadgets is a very broad topic, requiring expert knowledge. I hope that reading this text has allowed you to pay attention to the right pieces of the printing puzzle when choosing a company to which you entrust your order.