# whats an acceptable amount of misprints?



## stantheman (Jul 28, 2011)

most of the shirts i got were misprints about half are pretty bad.
question for the screen printers, what percentage of the shirts have to be messed up to refund your customers?


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## renderpromo (Dec 1, 2011)

Standard screen print is anywhere from 2 or 3 to 5%. What are you looking at thus far? If it exceeds these numbers you should really switch printers no matter how cool, hip, friendly they are because obviously they don't care enough about their quality or you as the customer (who is bringing them business so they have a job) to perform! 

I can offer several places that I trust and they do a wonderful job! 

Let me know, 

Matt


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

There should be no misprints, but then again it depends on your definition of a "misprint" (sounds like something Bill Clinton would say).
Wild swings in the position of a print, left to right, or from the neck down, might be construed as a misprint. A customer breaking out calipers and complaining about position from one to the next being out _as much as_ .2 inches, as was mentioned in another thread? No.
Multi-colored prints out of registration? None allowed, they should all be registered.
I would say that "slight" differences from shirt to shirt that involve the heaviness of the ink laydown are okay, but you shouldn't have huge differences, especially with halftones where dot gain on one is significantly different than on another.


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## AtkinsonConsult (May 2, 2011)

stantheman:

Does the company that printed your shirt have a policy? Often this is on their quote as a legal disclaimer at the bottom.

2% per location is probably the industry norm, but depending on the size of the run this could vary.

Also, we have a lot of clients that stipulate that all orders are to be completed 100%. If you supplied the shirts, this means that you could be required to bring in extras, or be prepared to bring in extras if there were some challenges.

And I'd like to take a moment here to clarify the difference between a misprint and a defect. A misprint is anything that is caused by the printer - a foldover, out of registration, ran out of ink on one screen, etc. A defect is a problem with the shirt such as a hole, stain, seam not sewn, etc. This is important as a defective shirt can sometimes be replaced by the manufacturer - you have to ask.

Good responsible printers will take care of you and want you to be a happy customer. Some issues, like some stray ink on the shirt can be corrected. 

My advice to you, regardless of the quantity, is if you are unsatisfied with the order you need to say something to the printer. They are interested in building long term relationships and should try to work this out so you are satisfied.

Before you call, be prepare beforehand with what you want them to do. A discount? A do-over? You'll bring the shirts back and you are going somewhere else? Whatever you want, they may counter offer. Are you prepared to negotiate, or are you drawing a line in the sand?

Finally, be professional. No yelling. That won't get you anywhere, and just causes a lot of tension and stress. If you don't feel that you can verbally handle this, put it in an e-mail. That works fine.

Good luck,

-M


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## stephens411 (Mar 23, 2011)

Very well said Marshall. I am fairly new but If I mess a shirt up I replace it at the press and the customer never knows. 

I recently did an order of 174 shirts. 4 color front 1 color back. A week after delivery the customer found a shirt with a hole in the sleeve. It was a pain but I reset the hole job back up on the press to redue the 1 shirt.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

If you want to work for the same clients over and over you better not mess up any...I have been in business for 30+ years and if a printer tried to pull an "It is within 2% and I am not going to replace it" on me, that would be the last work they would see from me....If you want to be in the contract printing business, best not to screw up and if you do, make it right...


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## StampedTees (Jun 15, 2011)

Any misprint should be replaced by the printer .. period 

End of story


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## ScreenFoo (Aug 9, 2011)

Acceptable is a pretty subjective term.

If you have high standards you'd like to pass along to your printer, try proofing on press next time--it may cost a little time and money, but it will make the message perfectly clear you expect what you saw on press on every printed garment with little variation. 

Marshall brings up an interesting point too--misprint vs. defect.

It's very important to stipulate these conditions--we have a couple clients that have us print everything, and a couple who on many orders want us to pull and advise for replacement. The former are far easier to deal with than the latter. It's happened before that I've re-set the same (2c front, 6c back) job twice because of bad replacements and a tight schedule.


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## kirbymurphy (Aug 25, 2009)

stephens411 said:


> Very well said Marshall. I am fairly new but If I mess a shirt up I replace it at the press and the customer never knows.
> 
> I recently did an order of 174 shirts. 4 color front 1 color back. A week after delivery the customer found a shirt with a hole in the sleeve. It was a pain but I reset the hole job back up on the press to redue the 1 shirt.


You are a pro and the customer will remember your effort.

My guy is the same way. He checks each one and if there's a bad one, I never see it. If it slips through he fixes it. If it's been a while since the print run and I find one, I eat it since I appreciate what he has done for me in the past. You can only keep a screen for so long


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

My customers never find out about misprints either. I always order extra shirts just in case I misprint something.


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## stantheman (Jul 28, 2011)

all the shirts are greasy in some areas over the ink, some of them are printed over the seams and theres a gap, fading edges, ink where i guess he didnt tape the screen right (i guess he didnt notice after a few prints) some are a bit dirty but the big problem for me is

its a big print so on some he printed on the seams and it left a bad fading gap between the lines over the seams looks gross


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## gerryppg (Jan 29, 2010)

A customer should never recieve a misprint period UNLESS it is a contract job and you supplied the garments and then you are on the hook for the industry standard spoilage rate of about 2-3% and like has been said if you need an exact quanity you should bring in an extra 2-3% of garments. But if you are a retail customer and the printer is supplying the garments you should have zero misprints.

Misprints= shadowed prints, grossly in the wrong location, ink spots or pinholes.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

Are the ones where they were printed over the seams smaller sized shirts than the rest of them? In any case I certainly wouldn't let him do any more for me. He either can't see well enough to do any QA sorting, doesn't know how to print, or just doesn't care. Maybe he was drunk when he did them. I don't know. But if he made them that messy, I would find someone else to do my printing for me from now on. Take them back to him, but if that is what he gave you as acceptable mechandise, I'm thinking you might have a fight on your hands.


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## stantheman (Jul 28, 2011)

yeah he sounds like a stoner kid, i learned my lesson. yeah i emailed him and if he doesnt reprint or refund im going to have to file a small claim, i lost allot of someone elses money on this one  

i had him use two different screens for the sizes but its just misprints on all the sizes equally


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## TYGERON (Apr 26, 2009)

What led you to this "printer" in the first place? Referral? Low price?


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## buehrle (Jan 14, 2008)

how about posting a pic of the shirts. i would like to see it. how long has this guy been printing shirts ?


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## stantheman (Jul 28, 2011)

turns out he used a blend of plastisol and waterbased ...not what i asked for so im going to ask for a reprint or a refund anyway. ill post some misprints later


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

A blend? I didn't know there was such a thing. Two different kinds of ink and curing times... What was he thinking? Oh wait.. it appears he wasn't.


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## ScreenFoo (Aug 9, 2011)

Yep, it's time to find a new printer.

I wonder if they used a food processor, you know, to make like an ink vinaigrette?


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