PSG General FAQ 
What is Screen Printing? ...Pad Press? ...Vinyl? ...etc.
What's the difference between Spot and Process colors?
What type of graphics files do you accept? Which do you prefer?
Can you print on This?
Can you also get the Item for me?
How much does it cost to get my design printed?
How long does it usually take to get my finished items?
Where are you located?
Should I contact The Shoppe or the Main Shop?
What forms of payment do accept?
| What is Screen Printing (or any other printing process)? How does it work? |
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These are rather complicated questions that most people don't actually want to know the full answers to. They just want the quick overview of the concept. But there are those that do want to really know the technical details. So instead of alienating either of these camps we have included both answers in their own sections.
For every printing or imprinting process we do we have a section that will tell you all about it. The Application Methods menu to the left gives you the quick links to each of the basic sections, and inside each one you will find a basic overview, example gallery, and deeper technical information pages. For those methods that have numerous different types of applications we may even include extra pages of information about each of them and how they can be used to better serve your needs. Current Application Method Sections |
| What's the difference between Spot and Process colors? |
Spot colors are specifically chosen solid colors that are mixed to match exactly the colors wanted in the image. That means if the image has three colors in it, you mix three inks to create it (or choose three colors of vinyl). It is possible to use halftone effects to get some shades or even mixes of these limited colors, but mostly it creates images made of very specific solid colors that exactly match what you want.
 Process Colors use a set of solid colors to emulate nearly every standard color possible. The most common mix of this is Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK). These are normally done with transparent inks and different halftone levels, combining them to create a variety of other colors (at least to the eye). Some printers actually use more colors to get more subtle shades and mixes, or at least more accurate colors in certain areas, but these are mostly just varied shades of Cyan and Magenta (often called Light Cyan and Light Magenta) for the digital printers or Orange and Green for the large professional printers.  Also, technically these standard Process Colors are really just four common spot colors used to simulate a wide color range. Other spot colors can be used in a similar way to create some varied shades and colors in a spot color print, but it takes some skill and extra work to make them turn out right. Process Colors are used because of how inks and paints work, as opposed to how colors work in the light spectrum. Light is actually made up of three base colors (Red, Green, and Blue), which mix together to create white (as opposed to black with inks). This allows them to show a wider range of colors than process colors can, but there is no way to recreate this with inks (without using a ton of spot colors), but you can get close using a good process mix. |
| What type of graphics files do you accept? Which do you prefer? |
The short answer is "Just about anything", but that's a little too simplified. We are able to work with nearly any kind of file, but some of the cause our artists to spend a lot of time working to get it into a state that is usable by him (which translates into a larger art charge for his time), so there are certain file types we prefer to see.
 This is an example of what it looks like if you take a small circle in a Vector based program and expand it to a larger size. You can see that it retains a clean line at the highest resolution the screen can support.
In most cases we prefer to have the file in a Vector based format. However, if you didn't create it using a vector based program (like Adobe Illustrator) and instead have a Bitmap image, don't try and re-save it in a Vector format as most programs don't actually export them in a true Vector format, they simply take the Bitmap image and place it into the middle of an empty Vector file, so it doesn't actually create a usable Vector image. The short rule is still just to keep it in the format of the program it was created in. If you didn't create the file and/or don't have access to the original file, leave it in whatever form you have it in and don't try and save it in another format. Each time you convert a file you can lose information because of how each format compresses the file. The main key here is to give us the most accurate file you have and not touching or changing it any way is the best way to do that. If you happen to use a non-standard or specialty program for your files (most common with some professional drafting programs and some freeware programs), we may need you to export it into the one of the standard formats we can access. This can be anything from PDF, EPS, or one of the Metafile formats for vector-based files or any of the standard graphic formats for pixel-based images. Common Vector Based Formats (in order of preference) Common Bit-Map Based Formats (in order of preference) |
| Can you print on (insert object or material type here)? |
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The short answer is most likely yes.
The longer answer is that we can print using one of our various methods on nearly any material, but it may not be cost effective to do so on certain items or materials, and some things may not look the way you want them to when done the way you want. It is best to ask one of our helpful service staff if it's possible to do something if you want to try something that's not one of the usual methods. There are a few common materials and printing combinations we are asked about, so let me cover them here. The shirt printing machine can not be used on polyester garments, but cotton and 50/50 blends work fine. Screen printing has numerous types of inks for different materials, so only the cost of them usually affects what we can print on. For example, Rubber and Silicon based items are much harder to work with and the inks are becoming much more expensive. |
| Can you also get the (insert object or material type here) for me? |
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Again, the short answer is most likely yes.
We have access to numerous venders and can get nearly any kind of item or material you want to have us print on. You may want to bring in your own, as you might be able to find some special deal or exact items we can't get, but we are able to get a lot of the things people do like to have printed on. Several of our venders have online catalogs we can show you, so you can choose exactly what you want (the Materials & Catalogs link over on the side menu). Even if you don't see what you want in that section, feel free to come in and look at all our catalogs or call and ask if we can get some item you want. Need mugs? We can get them. Need shirts? You can find them online in our SanMar Catalog. Need yard signs? We can make them. We really can help out in most cases. |
| How much does it cost to get my design printed? |
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There is no easy short answer for this one. Every job is different and every customer has different ideas of what they want, different levels of preparation, and different needs. I could give some general arbitrary numbers here, but that would prove nothing but to discourage some people from coming in, who might have ended up paying much less, or upsetting others when they find out their particular job is going to cost more.
The variables of what a job costs are too diverse to make it simple and easy to list. If something is relatively easy to do and doesn't take much preparation on our part, the cost per part will tend to be lower, especially if you want lots of them. If you want us to create the design for your single abstract item from some notes you made on a napkin, the cost will be higher. Between the two is a huge range of things. How much art work has to go into it, what is being printed on, materials cost, the number of items being done, and the logistics of the items themselves can all affect it, in either direction. In the end we try to be very fair to our customers and give them the best deals we can. So give us a call or come on in and we will gladly sit down and go over your job with you and see what the best option would be for both your needs and finances. |
| How long does it usually take to get my finished items? |
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Our standard official turn around time is 7 to 10 days.
Walk-in customers at The Shoppe who only want a simple photo printed on a light colored garment or two, or similar simple jobs that will not require art to be touched up or making screens, will get quicker turnaround times. Larger jobs, specialty artwork, screen printing, vinyl work, embroidery, or other jobs will still have the normal turn around time. We are quite often able to get small orders and specialty things through faster, but we don't like to guarantee that. It all depends on what other jobs we have in the works and where they can be fit in, so simple small things are often able to be slipped through before our usual deadlines come to pass. We also offer an Expedite service for those who really need to have their orders done faster, guaranteed. This service costs extra, increasing based on how fast we you need it done, but will get you goods printed and ready to go out the door well under the normal 7 to 10 days. We have even done jobs that get done the next (or even possibly same) day, when possible. Just tell us your needs and we should be able to accommodate you. |
| Where are you located? |
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In Woodinville Washington, which is just north-east of Seattle.
See our Contact Page for a map and detailed instructions on finding us. |
| Should I contact The Shoppe or the Main Shop? |
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We only have one contact phone number, so all calls go through our main office. If you know what you want to do will be done by The Shoppe, feel free to ask for them when you call. If you aren't sure, the person who answers the phone should be able to direct you to who will be able to help you best. We can set up orders, give quotes, and answer most questions you have. We also have an email address, which can work just as easily, and sometimes better, at getting you the answers you need. See our Contact Page for these.
Also, feel free to stop on by and see us personally if you want. We are here from 6AM to 6PM in the main office and 10AM to 6PM in The Shoppe. The Shoppe (our gift shop, inside the A-frame) is for those who want a small number of shirts, patches, stickers, mugs, or other common items. They keep a lot of items and samples in stock for you to look at and can help you figure out exactly what you need. If the job proves to be something larger than they can do for you directly, they will either set you up with an order or send you into the main office. The main office (in the larger building behind the A-frame) is a good place to start if you have a larger job. If you need a bunch of shirts for a give-away, control panels for your boating company printed, a number of embroidered hats for your company, or similar jobs can all be set up in there. This is also where all our Laser Etching is handled, no matter how small the job. |
| What forms of payment do accept? |
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How do you want to pay? We can most likely take it.
Cash can be accepted in person at both The Shoppe and the main office (do not mail cash, not because we won't accept it, but because it's just not safe).  Most major credit cards are accepted: Visa, MasterCard, American Express. We do not take Discover (sorry). We also offer Net 30 credit terms for companies that deal with us regularly and pass the credit screening process. If you are a company interested in terms, talk to one of our managers and we will get you started on the necessary paperwork. |
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Last modified: 02.10.08 by admin
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