# Dowling Graphics - Top Notch!



## RS71 (Sep 29, 2009)

I have not made very many posts here on T-Shirt Forums, but I do read quite a bit, and have learned a lot from the those of you that do leave comments, Thank you.

The reason I am making this post now, is just to praise the customer service and overall quality of the product I have received from Dowling Graphics. 

After ordering a bunch of samples from various companies, I was impressed the most with the samples I had received from Dowling. Their prices are extremely fair, so I decided to place my first ever custom plastisol transfer order with them. From day one, I have been dealing with a very helpful and understanding representative by the name of Diane Chavez. She has been more than courteous in helping me through this whole process and making sure I ended up with transfer I would be happy with. 

So far I have ordered custom 1 color labels, which I ganged on a sheet, and 1 full 2 color design. After doing the first initial test pressing of both, and following the temp, time and pressure settings as suggested, everything came out perfectly. The transfers are smooth to the touch, a very soft hand indeed, all while the colors are very vibrant. I've already ran the test shirts through various wash test, and the result of the designs are just as good as when first pressed.

I am quite happy that I don't have to go through the process of having to try and find the perfect fit for me, as far as a company that I could easily work with, get great results and prices, and have 100% confidence in. I've already found it, and on my first try.

If you are looking into getting custom plastisol transfers made, PLEASE do yourself a favor and get in touch with Dowling Graphics for some samples, and hopefully this would be the beginning of great working relationship, as I know I've just begun.

You can visit Dowling Graphics here.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Thanks. They seem to be very popular and I'm sure it's for a good reason.


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## lkt1954 (Nov 15, 2009)

I totally agree with Dowling Graphics being top notch. Several months ago I went hunting another source for transfers simply because transfer express was too high on some jobs. Several members here recommended Dowling and I am glad they did.

Gwen Moss is our rep. and she is great, very helpful and has worked with me to help get the best job for the best price. To give you an example of how competitive their pricing is- just this last week we got a job that has to be out the door this coming Thursday and the second part of it the next Thursday. This was on Wednesday and of course Memorial Day throws a kink in any schedule. The earliest Dowling could print and ship is this Tuesday; TE could print and ship on Friday. One I would have on Tuesday and the other Wednesday. With Dowling I could get both orders printed shipped overnight ($ 100.00+) for $ 75.00 less than one order with TE.

To be fair to TE if you order from their idea book and use the easy print layouts they have their prices are good and they do numbers (wish Dowling did). 

I would highly recommend Dowling.

Larry


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## everlastingxxx (Dec 9, 2010)

They sent me samples and they did look great. But no doubt about it, it is not cost effective at all. Any screen printer in town is cheaper then using transfers. 

They cost too much, still charge for screens, charge for shipping and turnaround time is not any quicker than any local screen printer. 

That is one of my biggest disappointments. I came here for insight into the business and i feel i was lied to. Heat transfers are not profitable. Good for a gimmick or specialty items, but not useful for making a living.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

everlastingxxx said:


> ... but not useful for making a living.


Consider yourself lucky because not only can I buy transfers cheaper than local screenprinting but I can get them much, much, faster and the quality. Just because something isn't true for YOU, doesn't make everyone else a liar.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

everlastingxxx said:


> They sent me samples and they did look great. But no doubt about it, it is not cost effective at all. Any screen printer in town is cheaper then using transfers.
> 
> They cost too much, still charge for screens, charge for shipping and turnaround time is not any quicker than any local screen printer.
> 
> That is one of my biggest disappointments. I came here for insight into the business and i feel i was lied to. Heat transfers are not profitable. Good for a gimmick or specialty items, but not useful for making a living.


Transfers have their purpose. We use it for inventory control; always having sizes in stock while maintaining minimal shirt inventory.

As Rick says, it is not for everyone. If I have a job with specific color, size, and quantity, direct printing is cheaper and faster for me. But that's not true for everyone.


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## everlastingxxx (Dec 9, 2010)

wormil said:


> Consider yourself lucky because not only can I buy transfers cheaper than local screenprinting but I can get them much, much, faster and the quality. Just because something isn't true for YOU, doesn't make everyone else a liar.


Give me the price you pay and i promise you i can find a cheaper screen printer. For someone like me a small business owner, i have to do use the means that provides me the most profit. Dowling i found was the cheapest but even the cheapest was too costly. 

I have found the heat transfer profit margins extremely small. Maybe in your market it’s different, here in mine it is high competitive.


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## everlastingxxx (Dec 9, 2010)

splathead said:


> Transfers have their purpose. We use it for inventory control; always having sizes in stock while maintaining minimal shirt inventory.
> 
> As Rick says, it is not for everyone. If I have a job with specific color, size, and quantity, direct printing is cheaper and faster for me. But that's not true for everyone.


I will still keep my equipment, but had to adjust my thinking on the profit i could make. Screen printers here in my town are doing low quantity printing 12 and under for only 6-7 dollars each. Hard to compete when you have to factor in all the labor i have to put in.

I do like my cutter and have found it useful for printing banners, window decals, ect.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

everlastingxxx said:


> Dowling i found was the cheapest but even the cheapest was too costly.


Dowling is nowhere near the cheapest although they become reasonable at higher quantities.




everlastingxxx said:


> Give me the price you pay and i promise you i can find a cheaper screen printer.


I could get a cheaper screenprinter if my printing standards were low.


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## everlastingxxx (Dec 9, 2010)

wormil said:


> Dowling is nowhere near the cheapest although they become reasonable at higher quantities.


Who else is cheaper? I honestly couldn’t find another option.



> I could get a cheaper screenprinter if my printing standards were low.


This is not true:
cheaper screen printing = poor quality


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

everlastingxxx said:


> This is not true:
> cheaper screen printing = poor quality


I wasn't speaking in generalities.


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## larry (Mar 6, 2007)

As the owner of Dowling Graphics, Inc. I want to tank everyone for their comments good and bad. I’ve been a Printer for over 40 years and yes transfers have their place. 
We do both transfers and direct. There are a lot of good companies out there and we do not try to compete on pricing It is better to focus on quality. I feel you should try all companies to see what works best for you. 
my own email is larry @ dowlinggraphics . com I will try to answer any and all questions about screen printing.
Thank you again for your comments and good printing to all. 
Larry
800 749 6933


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## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

everlastingxxx said:


> They sent me samples and they did look great. But no doubt about it, it is not cost effective at all. Any screen printer in town is cheaper then using transfers.
> 
> They cost too much, still charge for screens, charge for shipping and turnaround time is not any quicker than any local screen printer.
> 
> That is one of my biggest disappointments. I came here for insight into the business and i feel i was lied to. Heat transfers are not profitable. Good for a gimmick or specialty items, but not useful for making a living.


 Really? we've made a very good living going on 
printing strictly transfers for almost 20 years now.
I started off like most screenprinters doing everything direct back in the 70's with a 4 station manual...then up to 6 and finally 8 before i hit upon the ideal of printing transfers. The beauty of transfers as i see it is that they can fill a much needed void that occurs when you have those customers who have picked up the initial order but then come back really needing that 1,2 more pieces and
cant afford the resetup fees and xtra charges associated with that...i found it to be very cost effective to run xtra prints the 1st go-round and keep them stored in a container with customers name for later use...believe me when i tell you that
there hasnt been a day go by that we still dont go to the old files pulling designs needed. Compared to
screenprinting direct transfers match up in both price, quality and durability


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

franktheprinter said:


> Really? we've made a very good living going on
> printing strictly transfers for almost 20 years now.
> I started off like most screenprinters doing everything direct back in the 70's with a 4 station manual...then up to 6 and finally 8 before i hit upon the ideal of printing transfers. The beauty of transfers as i see it is that they can fill a much needed void that occurs when you have those customers who have picked up the initial order but then come back really needing that 1,2 more pieces and
> cant afford the resetup fees and xtra charges associated with that...i found it to be very cost effective to run xtra prints the 1st go-round and keep them stored in a container with customers name for later use...believe me when i tell you that
> ...


Frank, that's an interesting take from a full-fledged screen printer. I would think in your case the double work of making transfers (not only curing, but also heat pressing), would not be cost effective doing it for every single job you do?


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

splathead said:


> Frank, that's an interesting take from a full-fledged screen printer. I would think in your case the double work of making transfers (not only curing, but also heat pressing), would not be cost effective doing it for every single job you do?


I'm not Frank obviously, but I was a screenprinter who also printed transfers. We only printed transfers for certain orders, not all. The extra labor is minimal. Once we had them dialed in, printing transfers was easier and faster than printing garments with less waste because you can quickly check the transfer before applying, spots from pinholes can be removed, etc. On larger runs we used semi-auto vacuum presses. Cheap labor can apply them.


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## Sport T (Nov 10, 2010)

Stick around Larry. I am sure we all can learn from you.


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## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

splathead said:


> Frank, that's an interesting take from a full-fledged screen printer. I would think in your case the double work of making transfers (not only curing, but also heat pressing), would not be cost effective doing it for every single job you do?


I know there are xtra costs involved as opposed to printing direct, but over the years i've also learned that at least as far as im concerned the trade-offs
are worth it....some of the things i considered are:

Being able to not only satisfy the "easy" customer
who comes in grabs the t's and doesnt need more.... but also we're able to take care of that customer who comes back later and needs 1or 2 extra t's done(i don't have to explain why it costs sooo much to rerun them and leaving them dissatisfied with the experience)

We have customers who are buying the completed garmet "sign-off" on a shirt done ahead of time before we run the full order so that the
customer KNOWS what they're getting....and
having them do that releives alot of anxieities/and MISTAKES....

as of 2011...If customer is being shipped the transfers only..
we print a sample of the design on a pell-on and we mark on it the time,temp and amount of pressure we used to make the sample - this helps us as well as the 
customer to better understand if a problem occurs and also will help the
customer in assisting them as to how to print the design

Keeping that design on a pellon and on file for later reference...very easy to mark colors and screen size,order to print it, etc....in case you run out of xtras and need more or for reorders

Ease of available samples that are used to get new
customers...i find it really easy to show potential 
new customers hundreds of designs done as a transfer and can go back and forth really easy in colors, sizes, feel, etc...its really a pleasent experience to watch their eyes light up as they look at all the possibilities that can be done and this is easily done thru pellon binders of our work as you are looking at actual sizes and how they look printed

these are afew "top of my head things" that made me make the switch to transfer printing


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## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

I use Dowling for my screen printed transfers. I've used several companies with great results. Some have better turn around, but few, if any are less expensive when you GANG your prints. I did a show that required 8 colors for a transfer. I ganged 6 LARGE prints on their biggest sheet and instead of printing 600 sheets, I printed 100 sheets. You will never convince me I could have done this cheaper any where else. Dowling nailed it. Diane is a hoot and I enjoy talking to her. She cares about her customers and will work with you.

I didn't know they did direct printing. I never asked. I thought they told me they don't do contract printing, but the may print direct for their own customers. Wish turnaround was faster, but now that I know their limits, I plan accordingly. 

I'm a business man. I look at my schedule, workload and total cost of completing a job. Some times I screen print, sometimes I contract print, sometimes I use transfers. I have 2 trusted contract printers that never fail me and I have a hand full of transfer providers that I know will provide me quality transfers. I developed a spreadsheet to compare the transfer companies and which ever of the transfer companies that I trust saves me the most wins. Period. If I can gang the images I can almost guarantee that's Dowling.


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## franktheprinter (Oct 5, 2008)

Hi Brice... its definitely nice to have someone like Larry close by....all i can comment is that
i agree completely with the methods you use to satisfy your customers...it does sometimes
take contracting it out rather than in-house and theres definitely nothing wrong with using any and all
resources at your disposal as long as your main goal is getting a satisfied repeat customer...


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

franktheprinter said:


> Hi Brice... its definitely nice to have someone like Larry close by....all i can comment is that
> i agree completely with the methods you use to satisfy your customers...it does sometimes
> take contracting it out rather than in-house and theres definitely nothing wrong with using any and all
> resources at your disposal as long as your main goal is getting a satisfied repeat customer...


Hey Frank, I've been meaning to order your stock transfer catalog set from you for like, oh, 2 years now.  You still selling those?


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## larry (Mar 6, 2007)

splathead said:


> Frank, that's an interesting take from a full-fledged screen printer. I would think in your case the double work of making transfers (not only curing, but also heat pressing), would not be cost effective doing it for every single job you do?


 
Joe, we are also a full-fledged screen printer and I agree with you, We print the way we feel is most cost effective way. Each method has it's place.

Larry @ dowlinggraphics.com


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## larry (Mar 6, 2007)

Sport T said:


> Stick around Larry. I am sure we all can learn from you.


 
Thanks Sport-T I am glad to help anyone by phone at _800-749-6933 or email larry @ dowlinggraphic.com_


_Larry_


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## jmlampert23 (Nov 7, 2008)

I have been in the business for a very long time. I do use screen printed transfers for somethings but I will agree that transfers are more expensive that screen printing. trust me I have done the research and compared the prices. Transfers are not cheaper.


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## avee2010 (Jun 7, 2011)

larry said:


> As the owner of Dowling Graphics, Inc. I want to tank everyone for their comments good and bad. I’ve been a Printer for over 40 years and yes transfers have their place.
> We do both transfers and direct. *There are a lot of good companies out there and we do not try to compete on pricing It is better to focus on quality*. I feel you should try all companies to see what works best for you.
> my own email is larry @ dowlinggraphics . com I will try to answer any and all questions about screen printing.
> Thank you again for your comments and good printing to all.
> ...


Thanks Larry, you just made my day.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

To say screen printing is "cheaper" is only looking at the "little picture".....There are many instances where you can make more money with transfers....A few examples.....

1 - White ink......I sell a bunch of shirts with white ink on dark colours.....Using larger gang sheets I can get 5 to 10 different designs on a sheet...When you calculate out the invidual screen charges and run charges for screen printing in many cases your final costs will be less than screen printing....

2 - On most runs of transfers I order 10% to 50% extra sheets depending on the design.....For date specific events probably not too many extras, but for a business, teams, schools, churches, etc. I may order as many as 50% extra because I know I will sell more in the future. I let the client know i can sell them X more shirts a few at a time for the same price as their original order....So I may have a higher cost up front than screen printing, at the end of the day I can make more money....

3 - Multi sizes.....How often do you have an order where you struggle with the size of your artwork?.....You might have shirt sizes that run from youth to 4x or 5x...Many printers just make one size screen and tell their clients to "suck it up".....I do a gang sheet with 2 to 4 (or more) different sizes....Clients are much happier when their print is the appropriate size for their shirts versus the "1 size fits all" they get elsewhere....


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

royster13 said:


> To say screen printing is "cheaper" is only looking at the "little picture".....There are many instances where you can make more money with transfers....A few examples.....
> 
> 1 - White ink......I sell a bunch of shirts with white ink on dark colours.....Using larger gang sheets I can get 5 to 10 different designs on a sheet...When you calculate out the invidual screen charges and run charges for screen printing in many cases your final costs will be less than screen printing....
> 
> ...


While I'm in no way saying that between screenprinting and transfers one is better than the other, there are always counterpoints to arguments. In your case:

1. You can gang images on screens just as easily as ganging them on transfers.

2. I have no argument here. 

3. See #1.

For me, transfers are perfect for maintaining minimal shirt inventory, being always 'in stock' of all colors/sizes for every design, and print what you need on demand.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

1 - Yes you can gang on screens....But most printers do not use screens that are close to the size of large transfer sheets and most contract printers charge per design no matter how many they can get on a screen....They gain the benefit of extra designs, not me!..

For me, even if transfers cost me 25% to 50% more than screen printing, transfers are the way to go most of the time because of the add-on sales....And, I use every inch of space on the sheets for misc. odds and ends.....Sayings, numbers, tourist designs, self promo logos, spec samples for new clients, etc., etc....


Another benefit of transfers is the turn around time....These days contract printers have way longer turn around times than transfer suppliers....So if I need to make a date, transfers usually allow that to happen better than screen printing...Again different if you are outsourcing versus printing in house....


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## Sport T (Nov 10, 2010)

For me the turnaround is why I use transfers for some projects. I contract out my screen printing and the turnaround is usually 7 to 10 days with any of the printers I use. I can take a 50 shirt order on Monday, have the shirts in hand by Wednesday, transfers on Thursday and deliver the shirts on Friday. The other question I would have in calculating cost on transfers vs. screen printing is the labor for screen printing including loading ink and cleaning equipment and screens.


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## jmlampert23 (Nov 7, 2008)

screen printing is by far cheaper than transfers.


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## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

No question screen printing has an overall lower cost for most shops. Most, not all. I'm actually starting to move away from screening and using more and more transfers. The total time I spend making, burning, cleaning, pressing, drying, etc is MORE than the time I would spend on a transfer job for under 100-200 shirts. At that point screening might pay off for me. If you look at pure cost of goods, screening always wins. Hands down. Labor is the tipping point.


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## tee09 (Oct 30, 2009)

brice said:


> No question screen printing has an overall lower cost for most shops. Most, not all. I'm actually starting to move away from screening and using more and more transfers. The total time I spend making, burning, cleaning, pressing, drying, etc is MORE than the time I would spend on a transfer job for under 100-200 shirts. At that point screening might pay off for me. If you look at pure cost of goods, screening always wins. Hands down. Labor is the tipping point.


So not considering labor and overhead, would screen printing still be cheaper than the transfer method if printing under 100-200 shirts ?(as far as materials go)


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## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

Yes, but Labor and Overhead are a big part of the equation so you should NOT leave them out.


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## PismoPam (Jun 16, 2009)

One of the big reasons we keep coming back to the t-shirt forums is because of discussions like this.
T-shirt forums introduced us to Dowling, and we are so very glad. But I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to hear that Diane is so nice to y'all. She made me think I was special!
LOL
Thanks again, Dowling!


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