Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
About working with us
What is the standard print image size?
Pacific North Press’s standard image size is 14″ x 17″ for screen printing and 11x16 for Direct to Film transfers.
What is the over-sized image dimension?
Pacific North Press’s Jumbo image size is 15″ x 20″ for screen printing and Direct to Film transfers
I don’t have art, can you help me design it?
Absolutely! We offer design and redrawing services at a rate of $75/hr. You will have the opportunity to revise the graphic to your preferences, and we will design with screen printing in mind for the best possible result.
What is the finest detail you can print?
We can print a graphic at 85dpi, which will allow us to print a line as fine as .5pt consistently. Fabric, as a substrate, has limits to the resolution that can be printed, and these parameters are about the highest possible with the current level of technology.
We are consider this peak resolution for screen printing because fabric is a rough, woven substrate, unlike a flat consistent surface like paper. The fabric itself is the detail limitation at this level.
What’s an underbase?
For any print on a fabric darker say a light grey, we need to print a white ink to achieve the full saturation of a color. Screen printing inks are not fully opaque and will show some of the color of the fabric through the ink without the white.
Omitting an underbase can give a vintage, faded look, but is only appropriate for that desired effect.
Why is white ink on my mock-up twice?
As much as we'd like them to be, inks aren’t 100% opaque. When we print white ink on a dark fabric, some of the fabric color will show through, we need to brighten up the area underneath each color to reach a full opaque and saturated top color.
Can I print over seams, zippers, or pockets?
Well yes, but we don’t like to do this. This is not really a sound method of printing and will cause ink pooling into chunks around the hems of seams, zippers, or pockets. It really doesn’t look good, and creates too thick of an ink deposit to stay fixed to the shirt. We’re very interested in creating well loved apparel, and often this technique is great in concept but looks and feels awful in reality.
Direct to Film transfers give us some options for this kind of print location though. They are able to permanently bridge light seams (like a 6 panel cap), or hem lines in fabrics.
How do I get the right color?
Our gold standard of color work comes from the Pantone Solid Coated swatch book. Our ink formulas are designed around this system, and because color can vary monitor to monitor, the best way to communicate color is with a physical pantone swatch book.
This color needs to be viewed in 5000k light for the most accurate color rendering. We use this system to proof your work, communicate the color, and mix our inks in real life.
What is this color change fee?
Any time we change a color in your design, in the middle of a print run, we’ve got to stop everything, break down the screen, scrub the ink off, mix new ink, and put a clean squeegee and flood bar in.
As it disrupts our production timing, we charge a small fee to cover this extra task.
What is a process print?
A process print refers to the print method in which we break down and average the millions of colors in a photographic (raster) image and reproduce it with less than 10 colors. The image itself is broken down in to hundreds of thousands of tiny dots (we can print up to 85dpi!) that create a visual blending of color to get a pretty good reproduction of your graphic.
That being said, trying to create an image that had a digital color gamut of 256 million colors (yes, there are really that many in there!) will average out some of the detail and won’t look exactly like your image, but acceptably close to it.
We just don’t have the ability using screen-printing to recreate a 100% perfect replica of your graphic.
How much are the setup fees?
$20 per color for standard screen printing.
What is your turnaround time?
If you have a deadline for your order, you must let us know when placing your order and a rush fee may imply. Taking longer than 24 hours to approve your digital proofs may delay your order. Any circumstances out of the control of Pacific North Press (ie: weather delays, shipping errors by the supplier, etc.) may also require more time and are not factored into the initial turn around time estimate.
Do you have a minimum order quantity?
We can print samples with the setup costs paid up front (screens fees or digitizing fees) in addition to a rate of $50 per Tee, $75 per hoodie. This covers the cost of materials and labor to produce the sample and if the design remains unchanged, the setup fees will not be charged on the production run.
However, we are a wholesale, production decoration business and it is not cost effective or efficient for us or you to produce one-off items, or under minimum runs.
Can I mix and match shirt and ink colors?
You can, however, we will advise you of any issue that may occur in using a variety of colors. For example, printing a design intended for a dark background on a light background can produce an unintended negative photo sort of effect, or the colors of your design may wash out with a certain fabric color. In any case, we’ll do our best to inform you of any potential issues ahead of your production.
Can I mix shirt sizes & do I need to order in dozens?
You can order as many different shirt sizes as you want and you DON’T have to order in dozens, unless otherwise stated. Please note that certain brands, but not many, do require ordering in dozens.
I didn’t get all my shirts!
Screen printing never has problems… Not! Our production allows for up to 2% spoilage in the run due to print defects.
This is a standard consideration for most kinds of manufacturing. If you need a specific amount of shirts we recommend ordering a couple extra.
Do I need to pay for my order before its produced?
Yes, once you’ve approved our quote, and paid for your order, we will move to the next phase of work and send a digital mock up for each of your designs. We cannot provide design work or prepare your mock-ups prior to receiving payment.
Still have questions?