# Bad screen printer - part 3. Now looking for a new printer...



## JustinDavid86 (Nov 11, 2009)

Hey, all.

This will be long-winded, again. I hope I can get the same informative answers that I got the last time.

At the end of the rant I will mention that I am looking for another printer, and fast. I've launched my business a few days ago and am right in the middle of the most important part of it all - making a lasting imprint on people, and I need someone who can be reliable, up-front, honest, and experienced.

I'll start from the beginning. 

The last time I spoke with anyone here, I was fighting the dilemma of whether or not to stay with my screen printer who was giving me delayed charges, being lax about everything, stretching the truth, etc. At that point he was trying to charge me for a 144 shirt minimum for water-based printing, for 24 shirts. I was never told about this charge, and I was already paid up to that moment. Long story short, they agreed to do it for 24 shirts for this time only... which was fine. I ended up going with them - 12 designs and 24 shirts of each design split into men's and women's styles - 288 shirts.

I received my order a month after I had paid (again, I went over the whole process in my last post as to why it took that long). Let me also mention that one whole design (both the men's and women's styles) were on "back order" when I arrived. I was told this for two weeks. I find it hard to believe that AA is on backorder for that long when their wholesale website says it is in stock.

When I finally picked up the shirts, I was told to allow a 2% spoilage rate, which I had already known about and expected. Fast forward through ink splatters, muddy prints, shoddy neck tag prints, finger prints, stains, dirt, torn seams and holes (some of those may well have been AA, and I understand that), and I find myself with 48... yes... 48... bad designs. 2% spoilage on 264 shirts in FIVE shirts (because I was still missing the one design). Needless to say, I was upset. Especially being that I am just starting a business... when you take 2 smalls away from what is only 4 or 5 in stock already... it makes a huge difference, as you all know.

I do understand that the holes may not have been their fault, but it was only 12 shirts with holes/bad seams... which is still 36. From now on, I will be buying from AA and bringing it to my printer, which was always the plan, but for the starting run I just wanted to make it easier on myself.

That brings me to today. I bring all of the errors back to him. Some were terrible... some were subtle. I explain to him that even a decimal sized ink mark or smudge that I can't get out is no good to me. I am in the fashion world and a higher-end one at that. No one is going to want to pay 25-40 dollars for a shirt/sweater/hoodie/pants with a stain of any sort on it. He tells me that some of them can just be put in the washing machine. I was shocked. I couldn't believe that I just paid $3,500 for something that I should take home to "wash" to clean up. Do I look like I have an industrial sized washing machine? I can't afford that.

He tried to patronize me into thinking that the stains were too small, etc. It wasn't working. So they took me in the back with the shirts and tried to use chemicals to remove the stains. They were successful on a few... maybe 10... but not anywhere near enough. They ran out of chemical with about 10 left. He told me he would credit me for all of the others and to bring the 10 back. Note: I live an hour away.

I end up leaving on that note, with the 24 shirts of the design I was missing. That's the silver lining, I guess.

I get home and start going through the new shirts. First thing I notice is that the material is wrong. It says 100% cotton instead of the poly/rayon/cotton tag I provided. Instantly, all 24 shirts are shot. Now that makes 72 shirts out of 288. 25% spoilage.

Even throughout it all, I wasn't happy with all of the prints. It was all supposed to be water-based printing... and I understand that a high-opacity color will feel thicker... but so many of them still feel like plastisol. Luckily, most of those were the damaged ones.

I have my salesperson's cell phone numbers... so I send him a text message a few hours ago. His response? "call me monday, will do something for you."

I told him that I will have to go with a different printer and I need a refund on all of the spoiled material and that I'll be calling the owner on Monday.

I'm at my wits end now, and it's time to move on.

My question to all of you... is there anyone on here that can help me out? I know a few of you have contacted me before, but I need someone preferably in the NJ/NY area. I am picky, but I am also planning on using someone for a very, very long time.

Again, I was just on my first run, and will now be ordering quantities of 48.. 72...96... etc. I need to get set up quickly to continue my business smoothly, otherwise I'm going to be in trouble. I'm so confident in our designs and ideas, and I don't want to screw this up because of a crummy printer.

The messed up part is that we paid our screen charges... and now we'll have to pay them again. It's rough, and it's got me down a bit.

Thanks a million guys. Hopefully, I can keep the ball rolling.


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## JustinDavid86 (Nov 11, 2009)

Any advice?


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## studog79 (Jul 13, 2006)

I sent you a message.


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## niccolai (Sep 28, 2009)

Even if they were AA's fault, your screen printer should have caught that and not sold them to you...


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## slidways (Dec 26, 2009)

i will be in PA in a couple weeks, but you may need some one closer, and sooner.


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## PremiereCustom (Jan 22, 2010)

Wow Justin. I mean, there isn't much to say. I don't know your printer and being a printer myself, I will try to be respectful, but if what you are saying is 100% then you already know what to do... find a new one. It's hard to justify those numbers the way you have laid them out. You should have gotten all 288 shirts like you ordered and they should have been stain/splatter/smudge free. It's not right the way they treated you.

I know you said you would like someone in the NJ/NY area, but if you still have trouble or there is anything I can do then please don't hesitate to PM or give us a call at the shop in CA. Best of luck finding another printer. : )


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Any advice?


We generally don't allow members to offer their own paid services in the regular help forum threads, which is why you may not have gotten answers in the post right away.

I've moved this post to the Service Referrals and Recommendations section of the forum where we allow members to respond to service requests or recommend a printer they've worked with.

Back to your original post...

It doesn't sound like full communication was there...or not enough that you were comfortable with. In your last thread, I recommended that you make sure all of your worries were taken care of before you told them to go ahead. The best way to avoid missteps and misunderstandings is to communicate, communicate and double re-check to make sure everyone has the same expectations.

Somewhere along the line, it sounds like that got messed up.

My suggestion when you decide to work with your next printer is if your gut is telling you that things aren't right, you should go with your gut. 

You probably had the feeling, even when you were sharing your story with us that things weren't going as they should have been. All we can do is offer different opinions on what you might want to try, but in the end, it's your money and your brand that is at stake. 

The next printer you talk to you should be 100% comfortable with their pre-sale customer service, the way they answer your questions, the way their pricing is structured, the "vibe" you get from them (if they seem condescending, then maybe that should be a red flag to run away). 

There are lots of printers in the NY/NJ area that you can get quotes from. Talking to a few of them to get quotes on your project should give you a quick feel of how they do business.

Try Inkgredient in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. It looks like they specialize in waterbased ink printing. May be worth a call to see if they fit your needs.


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## JustinDavid86 (Nov 11, 2009)

Rodney, thank you. I appreciate the direction.

It seems as though that every single website/ad I come by is unprofessional, not clean looking, or suspicious. Words spelled wrong, horrible grammar - it just lacks professionalism. A perfect example is that "Inkgredient" isn't even open. Their website doesn't work and neither does their phone number.

This is what I've been running into for weeks. It's just hard to find a printer that is artsy and knows what I'd like. All the rest are just your run of the mill sports team printing companies.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

JustinDavid86 said:


> Rodney, thank you. I appreciate the direction.
> 
> It seems as though that every single website/ad I come by is unprofessional, not clean looking, or suspicious. Words spelled wrong, horrible grammar - it just lacks professionalism. A perfect example is that "Inkgredient" isn't even open. Their website doesn't work and neither does their phone number.
> 
> This is what I've been running into for weeks. It's just hard to find a printer that is artsy and knows what I'd like. All the rest are just your run of the mill sports team printing companies.


Sometimes it will take time to weed out the ones that aren't what you want to find the one that is.

It'll be worth the time and research when you find the right one though 



> A perfect example is that "Inkgredient" isn't even open. Their website doesn't work and neither does their phone number.


I just went to the Inkgredient website and it loaded just fine. What exactly didn't work about it for you?

I called the phone number and it was busy. To me that didn't signify that their phone wasn't working. Just that they were on another call or that they were "busy"  



> It seems as though that every single website/ad I come by is unprofessional, not clean looking, or suspicious


Printers aren't known to be great webmasters or web builders. I know it sounds weird, but I wouldn't judge a screen printer by their website. I know of some TOP screen printers that have "not so top" websites. 

Why? They spend a lot of time printing t-shirts and may have a simple website so they can get a "presence" on the web. While many of them may have great customer service and do awesome prints, they may not have had the time or been convinced that they need a really sharp website. This is not to make excuses for them (I think every small business should have a professional website), but just to let you know what to expect 



> It's just hard to find a printer that is artsy and knows what I'd like. All the rest are just your run of the mill sports team printing companies.


It's also important to note that just because a printer shows "sports team printing" on their website, doesn't mean that's all they can do. It may be where their focus is because many of their local customers want that type of work and that's where the money is, but it doesn't define their whole skillset.

There are lots of printers out there. I know you said you're picky, but with some time and patience, I'm sure you'll find the right company to work with.

If you're open to working with companies that aren't local, that might help others suggestion some good recommendations for you that they have personally worked with.


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