Commissioning a Printed T-Shirt
Looking to have a T-shirt printed for a corporation, event, or fun personal item? Not to worry. The process is straightforward and similar from company to company. These steps will help guide your process.
Before jumping into designing, it is helpful to research both local and national clothing printing companies. Some corporations may be tailored toward mass orders, while others are better at assisting individuals looking to create a unique piece for everyday wear. Neither is printing limited to shirts: Several companies can print on tote bags, backpacks, and even household articles such as coffee mugs.
Additionally, use this opportunity to look up any examples of finished products that a company offers. If you’ve never designed a T-shirt before, this will help to determine what styles are available and how you want your completed shirt to look.
The Design Process
Once you have chosen a company, this is an excellent time to access any customer service options. Some companies have an open chat program to assist customers with questions about their orders. If this is not an option, simply follow this general list to customise the T-shirt of your dreams:
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Choose Design
Decide ahead of time what image will be featured on the T-shirt. A good option is to keep a saved file of a few possible designs for easy access. If unable to decide between the options, don’t worry: The T-shirt company may be able to help narrow down the decisions based on its printing capabilities.
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Select Shirt Type
Decide which garment style best suits your purposes. Many companies offer a variety of styles, including short and long sleeve, jumpers, or singlets. Varying types of material, such as cotton or jersey style, may also be available.
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Select Colour
Choose from a variety of colours and shades to give the shirt a unique background. If parts of the shirt other than the printed design are meant to be two-toned, this is the time to customise.
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Start Designing
At this stage, you will be able to upload an image to the T-shirt printing website or use its program to choose the font and size of your desired slogan. The technology should allow you to move the image to different locations on the shirt or expand or shrink the image. You may also be able to save different shirt templates for later consideration.
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Request Quote
After your shirt is finished to your satisfaction, the company will be able to provide you with a price for production. This is primarily based on the quantity of the order, the shirt material, the number of colours necessary to dye the shirt, and the size of the design. If ordering for a company, organisation, or event, discounts are often available after exceeding a specific number of orders. This is another excellent time to utilise customer service in answering situation-specific questions. If using a company that specialised in unique designs, the program will often give an immediate price based on the same criteria.
Once your quote is provided, the company will offer different payment plans. These will commonly include shipping charges and will calculate a date by which you can expect to receive your order. Once you have selected an order, you can look forward to receiving your new custom printed T-shirt.
