faq
covid-19 faq
Despite being printed on demand, we normally ship most shirt orders out within 48-hours, but due to the COVID-19 situation, staff on the floor, stock deliveries, and shipment pickups have all been reduced, so like everyone else, we’re doing our best to keep everything moving, it’s just a little slower than usual. Our apologies for the delay, but truly appreciate your business and your understanding as we all work through these unprecedented times.
Man, is it ever. Before all of this mess started, we got orders printed and out the door in just a 2 – 3 days on average, but due to the reverberating effects of the shutdowns, we’re now 10 – 20 days. Yes, some orders are still getting out in a few days, but only when the stars align and the base shirt size and color are on the shelf, the printers are supplied and ready, and the shipment is picked up sooner than later.
Wait, how is a dumb virus causing my order to take so long?
When everything closed at the start of the COVID-19 situation, it created a series of backups that are just now starting to begin moving again. Our primary fulfillment partners (two different companies) are in California and they’re STILL not allowed to operate, so they’ve been running out of their auxiliary facilities in other states, but we are hearing they will be allowed to reopen soon.
The secondary issue is that upstream suppliers are in the same boat – closed for two weeks or so and not allowed to operate in California – so now there’s a backup in getting inks and other supplies needed for the DTG printers as well as the blank garments which is across the board as we print on several brands of shirts and they’re all behind.
To make matters worse, instead of four pickup and delivery stops by our shippers, the fulfillment centers are only getting one or two these days.
I ordered one of your shirts from XXX shop and it got here in just a few days, what gives?
We do sell through a few select shops, both online and brick and mortar locations, but these shops buy wholesale and have physical inventory sitting on their shelves. This is s a good place to be right now, but even then, they will eventually run into the same issues of supply chain delays when it comes time to reorder from us or any other company they may be buying from in one way or another.
general faq
how long will my order take to ship?
We print our garments to order, so it can take five to ten days on the high side from the time you place an order to when it ships, but on average, we get most orders out in just a few days. We allow the extra time in our stated production times to allow for stock issues or seasonal volumes, but rest assured that we try to get every order out as quickly as possible.
Not sure what size is your best fit? We recommend taking one of your current t-shirts, laying it flat and measuring it. The measurements in the charts on each respective shirt’s product page are taken with the shirt laying on a flat surface. To get the length, measure from the high shoulder point down to the bottom of the shirt. To get the width, measure approximately 1-inch below the armhole, across the chest, from seam to seam. While our tees are all made using premium, pre-shrunk, ring-spun cotton, there can be some shrinkage depending on your personal wash and dry cycles. With that said, if you’re on the fence, we always suggest going up a size 😎
are your shirts screen printed?
For years, we screen printed all of our shirts and not to toot our own horn too much, but we were masters of it and capable of doing some pretty amazing things when it came to creating our vintage inspired, distressed designs. This however always had its limitations and as Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing starting to come about, we watched it with a keen eye until the technology finally hit its stride and had our full attention. So no, we no longer screen print anything, even for custom orders as we’ve fully embraced DTG and aren’t looking back.
what is Direct-to-garment printing?
Direct-to-garment, or DTG, is a printing method that sprays the ink onto the garment. The ink then soaks into the fibers of the garment. It’s like printing on paper, but on clothing. DTG is a more sustainable process than screen printing, primarily because printing on demand allows businesses to avoid overproduction and textile waste and with 92 million tons of textile going to waste in the fashion industry each year, DTG can make a HUGE impact. Secondly, DTG printing uses considerably less water and chemicals in the printing process. Even the inks themselves are water-based and far safer for the environment than commercial screenprinting inks.
why did you choose Direct-to-garment printing?
Modern direct-to-garment, or DTG printing has allowed us to go from making pretty cool distressed designs through screen printing to making highly detailed, over the top vintage designs that are truly wearable works of art. All of our designs are printed on state of the art Kornit DTG printers that can take whatever we throw at them, no matter how ridiculously detailed, and make it a reality and THAT is why we chose DTG over screen printing.
what kind of shirts do you print on?
Specific shirt details are included on every product page, but here’s a quick overview. Men’s/unisex shirts are printed on Bella+Canvas 3001 tees, women’s are run on Next Level 3900 tees, and kid’s are printed on Delta 11736 Gildan 5000b tees. Please note that some listings still show Delta tees for kids, but due to ongoing supplier issues, these are all being printed on Gildans. After countless test runs, samples, and wear and tear tests, we counted these among the best fitting, softest feeling, and longest waering tees on the market, but more about that below.
Why don’t you use all the same brand of garments?
We decided on the garments that we sell based on a combination of size and color availability, coupled with feedback on the fit and feel from customers. While we would love to use one brand exclusively just to make things easier on ourselves, each manufacturer has their strong suit, and we believe that we’ve found them after countless test runs, sample orders, and wear and tear testing.
WHy are kids tees printed on both Delta and gildan?
Kid’s have been exclusively printed on Delta 11736 for years now, but due to ongoing supplier issues, all kids tees are all being printed on Gildan 5000b tees now. Please note that some listings still show Delta tees for kids as we are trying to update listings, but it takes a considerable amount of time. If you are ordering a shirt that is still showing as a Delta listing, please order using Delta sizing, and we will convert it to Gildan for you. In the larger sizes, they are comparable, but the smaller sizes may shift up or down between brands while still being the same relative physical measurements. Sorry for the confusion!
can i send you a shirt and have one of a design printed on it?
We totally get that you may have a favorite shirt from another brand, but not all shirts are created equally and this is especially true when it comes to high-end DTG printing. It takes a considerable amount of time working with manufacturers and printers to find that sweet spot that results in a high quality printed garment, so this won’t ever be an option and anyone who says that they’ll do it is prepared to give you a mediocre product.
do you have washing suggestions?
Your new shirt is ready to wash and wear as soon as it’s in your hands, so no need to do anything weird to ‘break it in’ or anything like that. All of our shirts come with the manufacturer’s care tag, so definitely defer to that, but below are some general guidelines.
High-quality cotton is super durable, which makes it less prone to accidental rips or tears. However, cotton isn’t as durable as polyester or cotton/polyester blends. Just like most natural materials, it can shrink when subjected to high temperatures. So when washing a cotton shirt, use cold water and avoid adding too much detergent as doing so can affect the wear and tear of the material. Choose delicate cycle setting on your washing machine to prevent color fading.
Polyester is very durable, more so than cotton and most blended fabrics. It’s also difficult to stain permanently because polyester is less absorbent than most fabrics. Polyester fabrics are also known for their resistance to wrinkling, shrinking and fading when properly taken care of. That said, it’s recommended to machine wash polyester garments in warm water with all-purpose detergent, then follow up with tumble-dry at a low-temperature setting.
All garments experience some shrinkage, even premium quality pre-shrunk shirts like ours. Just like most natural materials, it can shrink when subjected to high temperatures, so when washing a cotton shirt, use cold water and avoid adding too much detergent as doing so can affect the wear and tear of the material.
Of course! Our return policy is simple. If you’re not happy with your purchase or just changed your mind, we are happy to accept unwashed, unworn returns in exchange for a refund within 10-days of delivery. To initiate a return, simply reply to your order confirmation email and let us know that you would like to return one or more of your items. We’ll provide you with return instructions, and once you provide return shipment tracking, we will await delivery of the return. Upon receipt of your return, we will refund your purchase via PayPal within 24-hours. Please note that we do not refund shipping fees, nor do we provide return shipping.
Our return policy is simple. If you’re not happy with your purchase or just changed your mind, we are happy to accept unwashed, unworn returns in exchange for a refund within 10-days of delivery. To initiate a return, simply reply to your order confirmation email and let us know that you would like to return one or more of your items. We’ll provide you with return instructions, and once you provide return shipment tracking, we will await delivery of the return. Upon receipt of your return, we will refund your purchase via PayPal within 24-hours. Please note that we do not refund shipping fees, nor do we provide return shipping.
Can I exchange for a different size?
Of course! Our exchange policy is simple too! If you need a different size and would like to do an exchange, we are happy to do so within 10-days of delivery. To initiate an exchange, simply reply to your order confirmation email and let us know how we can help. We’ll provide you with return instructions, and once you provide return shipment tracking, we will get the replacement order going. See, easy. Please note that we don’t pay for return shipping, but do cover shipping on your replacement item(s)!
How do I initiate a return or exchange?
Easy peasy! Just reply to your original order email and let us know what is up. From there, we will reply with detailed instructions depending on the situation and get your taken care of.