# Looking For A SOLID Print Company



## fireman42 (Mar 8, 2009)

I am looking for a company who can do all over printing. I have used 2 different companies so far " SUNBURST APPAREL " and " UNIK INK ". Unik Ink screwed up several of our shirts and had to re-order from our company where we get our shirts from. Needless to say they just couldn't produce and didn't know what the hell they were doing. Sunburst Apparel was no different. Where they had to print over onto the sleeves the results were horrible. Has anybody used *Pony Xpress Printing?? Thanks*

*Dustin*


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## MarLai (Aug 14, 2008)

When doing all over prints or any kind of screen printing for that matter you should plan for and expect to have a small percentage of misprints/rejects. These things are going to happen no matter who your printer is. 

You can try Pacific Splash in LA, we've used them before and they did an awesome job.


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## Unik Ink (Nov 21, 2006)

Hey Dustin,
You should try any of these companies. You will need to have realistic expectations when using a company for all over printing services though. All over printing is less consistent than standard printing. Printing over seams, collars, and folds in the shirt can cause inconsistencies in registration and/or ink coverage. This is addressed in our terms and conditions, which are approved before every order. This is also addressed in most other "all over printer's" terms and conditions as well so that the customer will know what to expect when ordering all over prints. In reference to the order that you placed with us a few years back, we did replace shirts that you were concerned about, even though the areas of concern were minimal, and not subject to reprint according to our policy and compared to the standard for this type of printing. The shirts had also been washed, which normally voids any refund policy from any printer. We were trying to do what we could to satisfy the customer.

The results that you received from us, and what you are describing from Sunburst, are typical all over prints. They are imperfect, and you will not achieve a perfect print on every shirt, no matter who the printer. Sunburst Apparel brings a very strong résumé, printing for brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and Harley Davidson. They were one of the first companies to start offering all over printing. We have not been around for near as long, but we have placed either 1st or 2nd every year that we have been in business in the annual Impressions Awards Competition for our all over printing. I do hope that you find a compatible company to work with though. Best of luck.


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

Very well said, Justin.

I have used print shops for all over printing and it is important to understand that there will be inconsistencies. That's just a normal part of the process with this technique. But I think what contributes to a customer's high expectation (and ultimately their disappointment) is that they want Affliction quality. But Affliction is a major brand and they are on a whole different level with their production. Much of their printing is done on rolls of fabric, then the fabric is cut and sewn into a t-shirt, then the t-shirt is treated with an enzyme wash. So the results are going to be dramatically different than an all over print on a finished blank t-shirt. So at the end of the day, it's not an apples to apples comparison. But unfortunately, many customers expect their product to be exactly like what they see in the stores.


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## fireman42 (Mar 8, 2009)

Unik Ink said:


> Hey Dustin,
> You should try any of these companies. You will need to have realistic expectations when using a company for all over printing services though. All over printing is less consistent than standard printing. Printing over seams, collars, and folds in the shirt can cause inconsistencies in registration and/or ink coverage. This is addressed in our terms and conditions, which are approved before every order. This is also addressed in most other "all over printer's" terms and conditions as well so that the customer will know what to expect when ordering all over prints. In reference to the order that you placed with us a few years back, we did replace shirts that you were concerned about, even though the areas of concern were minimal, and not subject to reprint according to our policy and compared to the standard for this type of printing. The shirts had also been washed, which normally voids any refund policy from any printer. We were trying to do what we could to satisfy the customer.
> 
> The results that you received from us, and what you are describing from Sunburst, are typical all over prints. They are imperfect, and you will not achieve a perfect print on every shirt, no matter who the printer. Sunburst Apparel brings a very strong résumé, printing for brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and Harley Davidson. They were one of the first companies to start offering all over printing. We have not been around for near as long, but we have placed either 1st or 2nd every year that we have been in business in the annual Impressions Awards Competition for our all over printing. I do hope that you find a compatible company to work with though. Best of luck.


 
Justin,

Thanks for the recommendations on print companies. How you recieve an award every year makes me wonder how that can be with the experience I had with your company. First of all you said that my order with you was a couple of years ago?? It was last summer in August of 2009! When we talked over the phone about printing our shirts you never once said or mentioned of the misprint possibilities. You make it sound in your post that I was expecting a 100% perfection? But when you send me back over 100 shirts that was misprints and couldn't produce the same color on one of the shirts that is unexceptable. The first sample you sent off to me you couldn't even get it right, I had to talk you through it and have you look at the design on the computer file to get it right! On top of that it took you over two months to get 450 shirts done! Thats why I had to use Sunburst Apparel due to you telling me that it was going to take you three to four more weeks to print the last 150 shirts that we had left. Bottom line is you took an advantage of a small company that was just getting started in the apparel business. To give some credit to Sunburst Apparel they got the job done in 2 weeks and they were much cheaper, unlike you. 
I kept it small and sweet regarding to your company when I posted my post about finding a solid print company. But when you reply on my post and make it sound that there were only a few problems and that we were expecting a 100% perfection, I am going to call you out on it.

Dustin


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## Unik Ink (Nov 21, 2006)

Dustin,

I understand that you may have had a bad experience with us, but it is most certainly not because we are incompetent, which is why I am supporting my company with the following FACTS. I did explain that when printing all over that there would be issues with ink coverage and registration. It is also explained in our terms and conditions page, which is linked on our website, and our signature of every email that is sent. You can look at any all over print in a department store, and will see similar inconsistencies. The shirts that were returned were not misprints. There were minor flaws (attachment 3) which is common with this type of printing, explained, and approved by every customer, but in good faith to please the customer, we reprinted all of the returned shirts at our expense. We had to reorder shirts from Bare Apparel, which were on backorder, so an 8 week turnaround is realistic. Variances in the color of discharge ink on any given shirt is also common, and also addressed on our terms and conditions page. The printer has no control over this. The manufacturer uses their own dyes, and it is common for discharge results to vary from dye lot to dye lot of any given shirt. Attachment 1 is the mock up of the design that you sent. The artwork changed slightly, but the final print (attachment 2), is the exact layout that you wanted. Attachment 2 is also one of the returned shirts that you are claiming is misprinted. This shirt looks exactly like the shirts that are for sale on your website so I am still confused as to why they were returned in the first place. We definitely were not trying to take advantage of a small company, but quite the opposite as we are a small company ourself. We reprinted shirts that you were not satisfied with, although they were not misprints, and had been washed before returned. We took a total loss on the order, and now have been slandered for trying to help a small clothing company with the printing of their initial designs. If you would like to talk about this issue more, please email or pm me so that the entire forum doesn't have to witness this childish bickering. If not, again, best of luck, and please have realistic expectations when choosing a print company.


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## fireman42 (Mar 8, 2009)

Unik Ink said:


> Dustin,
> 
> I understand that you may have had a bad experience with us, but it is most certainly not because we are incompetent, which is why I am supporting my company with the following FACTS. I did explain that when printing all over that there would be issues with ink coverage and registration. It is also explained in our terms and conditions page, which is linked on our website, and our signature of every email that is sent. You can look at any all over print in a department store, and will see similar inconsistencies. The shirts that were returned were not misprints. There were minor flaws (attachment 3) which is common with this type of printing, explained, and approved by every customer, but in good faith to please the customer, we reprinted all of the returned shirts at our expense. We had to reorder shirts from Bare Apparel, which were on backorder, so an 8 week turnaround is realistic. Variances in the color of discharge ink on any given shirt is also common, and also addressed on our terms and conditions page. The printer has no control over this. The manufacturer uses their own dyes, and it is common for discharge results to vary from dye lot to dye lot of any given shirt. Attachment 1 is the mock up of the design that you sent. The artwork changed slightly, but the final print (attachment 2), is the exact layout that you wanted. Attachment 2 is also one of the returned shirts that you are claiming is misprinted. This shirt looks exactly like the shirts that are for sale on your website so I am still confused as to why they were returned in the first place. We definitely were not trying to take advantage of a small company, but quite the opposite as we are a small company ourself. We reprinted shirts that you were not satisfied with, although they were not misprints, and had been washed before returned. We took a total loss on the order, and now have been slandered for trying to help a small clothing company with the printing of their initial designs. If you would like to talk about this issue more, please email or pm me so that the entire forum doesn't have to witness this childish bickering. If not, again, best of luck, and please have realistic expectations when choosing a print company.


 
Justin,

Childish bickering??? All I have done is stated the facts what I experienced with your company. My post was simple,,,,"looking for a solid print company". Like I said earlier, when you reply on my post and make it sound that there were only a few problems and that we were expecting a 100% perfection, I am going to call you out on it. You keep writing novels on here and all I am looking for is suggestions from others about finding a good print company. But don't worry, I am sure your company will win another award this year!


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

:: Service request post moved to the proper Service Referrals/Recommendations section of the forum. Read more here  ::​


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Where they had to print over onto the sleeves the results were horrible.


Anytime a print has to go over sleeves, you are going to get inconsistent results because the ink clumps there and the press has to move over an uneven surface. 

That is to be expected when doing all over prints.



> Has anybody used *Pony Xpress Printing?*


Yes, I used them last year for the T-ShirtForums Extravaganza design here: TSF Store | Open Your Eyes T-Shirt - 2009 T-ShirtForums Extravaganza Winner | Online Store Powered by Storenvy

They do great work...but as you'll see in the photos, there are inconsistencies in the print as well.

As has been mentioned in this thread, it's very common for that type of print to seem like a "misprint" in those areas. 

Maybe you could help us by explaining what you're hoping to achieve with your order. Right now, it does kind of seem like you may have unrealistic expectations for an all over print.


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