Custom tees made easy.

The Process

The Order Process

Option #1 start with your product
‍First pick a style of garment you would like to order from our Product Builder page, if you are unsure, check out our Staff Picks collection to see our recommendations. Here you can customize your chosen garment from start to finish, and add it to your order.

Option #1 Finalizing Your Order
Next, a customer service representative will review your order and be in touch as soon as possible. If there are any problems with your artwork, or order they will be addressed at this time. We will email a detailed invoice with a link to pay in our reply. Payment can be made in full by credit card, cashiers check or paypal. Once we receive your payment we will order your garments and schedule your order for production and send a mockup for approval.

option #2 Submit a complete quote
‍If you are familiar with ordering screen printed garments, or if you have absolutely no idea how and just want to talk to somebody to get started, you can fill out a Complete Quote. Here you can detail all the information from your order from start to finish, similar to the builder, however it is more of a simplified approach to ordering.

Option #2 Finalizing Your Order
If you are happy with the quote estimate click "Submit." A customer service representative will review your quote request and be in touch as soon as possible. If there are any problems with your artwork, or order they will be addressed at this time. We will email a detailed invoice with a link to pay in our reply. Payment can be made in full by credit card, cashiers check or paypal. Once we receive your payment we will order your garments and schedule your order for production and send a mockup for approval.

Mockup
Soon after receiving payment for your order we will send you a complete mockup, on this mockup we’ll list out the exact print size(s), print style, garment style, garment quantities, and the Pantone® color(s) we intend to use. The mockup is just an estimate for sizing and location, so if you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!

Order Production
One of our production managers will approve the first shirt off the press to ensure that all orders meet our quality standards.

Receiving Your Order
Once production is complete shipping labels are created and a packing list is added to the boxes before they head on their way! You will receive a tracking number to see where you package(s) are and when they will be delivered.

The Process

The Print Guide

Choosing Colors
We have every color in the Pantone® Solid Coated color book available for print, for the most accurate print, please label the colors in your design accordingly.

Artwork Requirements
See Art Requirements

Choosing the Correct Garment For My Order
‍There are countless different styles and brands to choose from when placing an order. If you are unsure which garment is best for you, check out our Staff Picks collection to see our top recommendations.

What To Watch For When Designing For Print
As a designer, one thing to watch for is designing with too much coverage near the seam and collar areas of a shirt. Try adding distressing or gradients to fade at the edges. Avoid using very fine detail in your designs, especially as text that needs to remain legible. Heavy coverage over seams, collars, pockets or anywhere where the surface is not flat will not be good. If you are designing for a jumbo print try to keep your design proportioned to 20″ wide by 24″ tall, large designs look best at these proportions. Always convert your text to outlines and size your design to the size it will be printed.

Industry Spoilage Rate
‍Cotton Lab® guarantees an industry standard spoilage of 3%, however we generally try our best to keep it under 2%. It is natural for errors to happen in the printing industry, but we do our best to limit the possibility in every step of the process. Again, we highly recommend ordering a few extra garments of every size. If you need the exact sizes for your order please order extras. If your order does incur shortages you will be credited back.

Print Locations
Our main print locations are as listed, however special locations are available upon request.
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Front
Left Chest, Right Chest
Back, Upper Back (Nape)
Left Sleeve, Right Sleeve
Pocket

Absolute Maximum Print Sizes
‍Standard Print  14”x19”
‍Oversize 17”x23”
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Recommended Maximum Print Sizes
Unisex Extra Small 11.5” x 19”
Unisex Small 12” x 22”
Unisex Medium 15” x 23”
Unisex Large 17” x 23”
Youth Small 11.5” x 13”
Youth Medium 11.5” x 16”
Youth Large 11.5” x 19”
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Printing Over Seams
Any print larger than these recommendations is very likely to print near or over the seams of the garment, either the collar, or the seam connecting the sleeves to the body of the garment.
If you wish to have multiple print sizes to prevent printing over seams, each size will be counted and priced as a separate order due to the fact that it will need an entirely separate set of screens.

The Process

Maximum Print Sizes

The Process

Requirements

Providing correct artwork is one of the most important factors to producing a high quality print.

All artwork must
‍Be a vector image or a minimum of 300dpi if you do not have a vector image available
Be sized to the correct size for print
‍Be labeled with correct Pantone® Solid Coated colors
Have all text converted to outlines

Vector Files (.ai .eps) Strongly Recommended*
It is required that you convert all text to outlines, if you don’t, the font will not be the same as the one you chose for your design. Size artwork to the correct size for print. Embed any linked files, but also provide the support file separately. Raster images placed within vector art must be 300dpi and sized to print size. Convert all colors in your artwork to spot colors. Label each swatch with the corresponding Pantone® Solid Coated color, or choose one from the Pantone® Solid Coated color book.

Raster Files (.psd .jpg .png)
Files must be 300dpi and sized to the correct size for print. A file that is 72dpi can not be changed to 300dpi to meet requirements. All raster images must be submitted in their original color space (RGB or CMYK). Please do not convert from one to the other. RGB color space is recommended for full process orders.

Acrobat Files (.pdf)
PDF files must retain full editing capabilities as the program they were created in. PDF files must meet all guidelines listed for raster and vector images.
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Maximum Print Sizes
Oversize 17”x23”
Standard Print  14”x19”
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‍Minimum Order Requirements
Orders with standard print size must be at least 24 pieces. Order with Oversized print size may vary.