Policies
Screen printing is an art form with dozens of steps to get from an idea to a finished product. Despite vast improvements in equipment and technology, it is still a very manual process with certain limitations and margins for error. These policies are meant to ensure that you understand our processes prior to placing your order. We encourage you to read these policies prior to placing an order and to speak with an associate if you need further explanation. Additionally, our Frequently Asked Questions page is a great resource for common questions and answers about the process.
Turnaround Time
All screen printing projects have a standard turnaround time of 10 business days, which does not start until payment is received and we have all information required to complete your order (all artwork, correct tag files, fonts, all shipping info, etc.). Delay in receipt of any of this information could result in production delays. Most mocks ups are sent within 24 hours after receiving payment and all necessary information. Modifications to the mock ups or delay in artwork approval can also cause production delays. Add-on services such as printed size tags, woven tags, or poly-bagging may add additional production time, usually 1 day for each service.
When you place your order, your invoice will include an expected completion date. This date is an approximation and is not guaranteed. If you have a hard in-hands date, be sure to alert your account manager to ensure it can be met.
Rush Jobs
If your deadline is quicker than 10 business days, rush service may be available. Charges are assessed based on the timeline and complexity of the order. Most rush jobs are charged between 30-50% of the invoice total.
Let’s Print LA will not be held responsible for missing deadlines due to circumstances out of our control such as power supply interruptions, vendor shortages/errors, shipping delays, weather conditions, or other “Acts of God.” For example, if your order requires specialty tie dyed garments that have to come from the east coast and UPS delays the shipment by 2 days, we are not responsible for the missed deadline. We recommend keeping rush orders with hard deadlines simple to minimize the possibility of delays.
Payment Terms
All orders must be Paid in Full prior to any work commencing. We do not offer Net Terms but in certain rare circumstances payment accommodations may be available with credit and reference checks.
Over/Under Allowance
All orders have a 5% under run allowance. This is essentially an acceptable margin for error. Some garments could be damaged during the printing process and because of this, we cannot guarantee that you will receive 100% of the garments in your order. We strongly recommend ordering a few extras to account for this possibility. We always strive to give you everything you ordered, however, if there is a shortage with your order, we will refund or credit you for the difference.
Returns/Reprints
If there are any issues with your order, please report them to us within 5 business days and we will work with you to rectify the problem. We cannot be held responsible for issues discovered outside of that time frame.
Damaged/defective product, incorrect counts, or prints differing from approved mock ups are acceptable grounds for potentially reprinting or refunding an order.
Cancellations
Our process starts the minute an invoice is paid. This includes purchasing garments, preparing art, and making screens. Your order can be cancelled as long as nothing has actually printed, however you will be responsible for the portion of work already completed. This includes garment restocking fees (10-15%), shipping garments back to the manufacturer, and a $50 fee per screen made.
Art/Mockup Approval
Artwork mockups must be approved prior to any production. Upon receiving your mockup, you will be allowed one additional set of revisions. Additional revisions past that point will incur an additional art fee to be billed at our current rate. Changes to the artwork after approving the mockup could push back your ship date or may not be possible depending on where we are at in the production process. We are not responsible for errors, misspelling, or otherwise in approved digital mockups.
Mock ups
Digital mock ups are approximations only. We print to the dimension, placements, and color specifications listed on the invoice in addition to the mockup. Do not approve a mockup based on the images alone. We recommend triple checking all listed specifications prior to approval and in addition cross reference with your invoice and/or client submitted purchase order. Mockups represent our full understanding and interpretation of what you are ordering, but they could be incorrect. If it is not listed on the mockup, assume it was overlooked or misunderstood and request a revision. For example, if an e-mail you sent references a 4” placement but you don’t see this on the mock up, it can be assumed this detail was overlooked or misinterpreted in the mock up process. It is YOUR responsibility to ensure the mock ups fully represent your specs.
We will not be responsible for graphic sizing, placement, or colors looking different than the digital mock up if they match the approved listed specifications.
Embroidery Digitizing
Digitizing it the process of converting artwork into a format that is readable by our embroidery machines. The process includes creating the exact stitch patterns, directions, and techniques for the best possible results. We consider our digitized files proprietary and we retain 100% ownership of these files as they contribute to the unique quality and success of our embroidery work. These files are not released to anybody.
Printing
Graphic Sizing
If you do not supply a specific print size, we will make a recommendation on the digital mock ups based on industry standards. It is your responsibility to ensure the graphic sizes are acceptable prior to approving your mock up. Graphic sizing will stay the same on all garment sizes. If you want to “grade” your graphic for different graphic sizes, each size will be treated as it’s own print run and you will not benefit from the quantity price breaks you may have been receiving.
Print Placements
If you do not supply specific print placements, industry standards will be used based on our best judgment. These will sometimes appear on mock ups but usually do not. For example, a standard front chest print is usually between 3-4” from the collar unless otherwise specified. If you are concerned about this and your mock up doesn’t specify a placement, ask your account manager for a revision.
Seams, Zippers, Collars, Pockets, Ribbed Garments
We do not advise printing over seams, zippers, collars, or pockets as the results can be inconsistent, cracked, or distorted. If you choose to print over these obstructions, we will consider any imperfections as acceptable product. The same rules apply for printing within 1” of any seams, zippers, collars, or pockets.
Neck Tag Printing
When printing inside care labels inside a garment, sometimes the image that is being printed can show through the garment to the back of the garment (mostly with lighter colored garments). We take all precautions necessary to not make this happen, but sometimes it is inevitable. A dense image that uses more ink used to be printed has a higher chance of showing through. If printing on light garments, its best to keep artwork light and non-detailed to avoid this completely. Also, when trying to print an image on the top center back of a shirt, which is the same place the tag print is located (opposite sides of the shirt), those graphics can conflict and show thru on each other, making it difficult to read each of them. Keep this in mind when organizing the placements of artwork. We only offer tag printing in one ink color per order run for all designs and garments, and by default, tags are printed in a medium grey (PMS Cool Grey 6C), that we lighten or darken at our discretion for visibility depending on the garment color.
Waterbased/Discharge Inks
We default to industry standard plastisol ink, but we also offer both waterbased and discharged inks upon request. It is important to understand the pros and cons of using these inks. The most important factor is what you want the final result to look like. Waterbased inks are great for a soft hand feel on light colors while discharge is better for dark garments. Both work best with 100% cotton and may be less vibrant on any kind of blend. Neither are recommended for heavy garments like hoodies or sweatpants. Both may have a hand feel when first delivered but it should go away with the first wash. Discharge inks in particular should be washed before wearing as discharge inks have a distinct odor. WB/Discharge inks are best suited for designs with a distressed or vintage look. They will not have the same color accuracy, vibrancy, or opaqueness as plastisol inks. Both may incur additional charges due to increased ink costs and production time.
In many cases we are able to achieve a soft hand feel with plastisol inks while maintaining better color accuracy and opaqueness. Check our our print techniques page for photo examples of these techniques. Your account manager can help point you in the right direction.
Ink Colors & Pantone Matching
If your artwork uses basic colors like true reds, yellows or navy blue, we will likely default to our stock ink library. If your colors are more specific or unique, we will provide the closest available Pantone color on your mock up. Alternatively, you can provide us with Pantone colors. We use the Solid Coated Pantone system. We are able to mix to within 2 shades of the desired color. Pantone colors may appear different in person than they do digitally. We match to a physical Pantone booklet.
We mix inks custom for every job so it is possible for slight fluctuation in colors on reorders.
Garment/Blanks
Out of Stock Items
All blank garments are obtained on an order-by-order basis once payment is received. We do not stock blanks in our facility. While we do our best to check inventory levels prior to sending your invoice, it is possible for blank garments to go out of stock. If this happens, we will make every effort to find an adequate replacement and present it to you for your approval.
Garment Defects
We wish there was a machine that could manually construct the perfect t-shirt, but unfortunately all garments are handmade. Because of the nature of these conditions, each and every garment has its own unique quality and sometimes, slight damages (including slight inconsistencies in color, size, cut, construction and shade of the garments). Although we try to remove any/all recognizably damaged goods as we print, we aren’t responsible for the occasional oversight of damaged product getting into your batch. We always recommending ordering up to 5% over what you need to account for this.
Garment Choice
Let’s Print LA will not be responsible for you not liking the garment used in your print run. We do our best to ensure you choose the best garments for your needs but if there is any doubt we recommend ordering blank samples first or, if possible, checking out the garment in our showroom. We do not have samples of every garment we offer in our showroom but most of our popular styles are available. Blank samples are non refundable and the cost will not be applied towards a full production run.