Ordering & Pricing
What's your turnaround time?
Turnaround for standard t-shirts (500 or less) and stickers (10,000 or less non-custom diecut) is 5 - 7 business days, plus time in transit (1 - 5 days using UPS Ground). Turnaround for record jackets, CD cases, and buttons is 2-3 weeks. These turnaround times are a guideline, not a guarantee.
If we have an in-hands date, we will guarantee delivery by that date. Rush charges may apply, however. Rush charges for shirts and stickers are 10% per day less than 7. For example, if you put an order in on Oct. 1st, we'll guarantee to ship it by Oct. 10th without any rush charges. Each day earlier than 7 days from when we receive artwork and payment that you want your order to ship, you pay an extra 10% of the order total. Orders placed on Saturday, Sunday, or Holidays, are considered as being placed on the next business day. Sorry, no rushes avaiable for cd cases, record jackets, or buttons. Let us know if you have any questions about this.
Is there a screen charge/charges other than the prices listed on the site?
No, we don't have a screen or setup charge for most orders. For a complete list of additional charges, check out the Pricing Policy page.
Is there a discount if I order shirts and stickers together?
Occasionally we offer packages, we will announce any specials on our home page as they come along. Other than that though, no dice.
Where will my order be printed?
Since we offer textile printing (shirts, hoodies, bags, etc.) in both Ypsilanti, MI and Oakland, CA, we typically print your job wherever is closest to your shipping address. There are situations where inventory or scheduling issues would have your order run elsewhere, but rest assured we're doing our best to get you optimal service. At this time, all stickers, posters, packaging, business cards, and banners are produced at our Ypsilanti, MI workshop. Ideally, we'll be running these jobs in both Ypsilanti and Oakland by the end of 2008.'
Is there a discount if I reorder the same design later?
Nope. Since we don't charge a screen charge or keep screens on file (although we do store digital and films for all orders), there's no discount on reorders.
How do I make a payment?
Under each product category (shirts, stickers, posters, etc.) there's a link to create an order that will guide you through the ordering process, and ends with a credit card payment. We also accept checks or money orders payable to 'VGKids' through the mail-- the address can be found on the Contact page. If you need to make a payment for any reason, you can use the payment page.
PLEASE NOTE: We require a 50% deposit up front on all jobs, and the remaining balance will automatically be charged when your order is shipped/picked up.
I'm with a non-profit, can I get a discount?
We keep our prices low to support the efforts of non-profits and activists. Unfortunately, we can't offer discounts beyond that.
How much is shipping?
All orders are shipped UPS Ground unless specified otherwise.
Quantity | 20 | 50 | 100 | 250 | 300 | 500 | 1,000 | 2,500 | 5,000 | 10,000 |
Shirts | 8 lbs | 18 lbs | 38 lbs | 94 lbs | 112 lbs | 188 lbs | 375 lbs | 938 lbs | 1,875 lbs | 3,750 lbs |
Stickers | --- | --- | --- | --- | 3 lbs | 4 lbs | 8 lbs | 20 lbs | 40 lbs | 80 lbs |
Buttons | --- | --- | --- | 1 lb | 1.5 lbs | 2 lbs | 4 lbs | 10 lbs | 20 lbs | 40 lbs |
CD Cases | --- | --- | --- | --- | 25 lbs | 50 lbs | 75 lbs | --- | --- | --- |
Posters (up to 11.5 x 35) | --- | 4 lbs | 7 lbs | 14 lbs | --- | 28 lbs | 56 lbs | 140 lbs | 280 lbs | --- |
Posters (18 x 24 and larger) | --- | 12 lbs | 23 lbs | 45 lbs | --- | 90 lbs | 180 lbs | 450 lbs | 900 lbs | --- |
Record Jackets | --- | --- | --- | --- | 65 lbs | 105 lbs | 210 lbs | --- | --- | --- |
Business Cards | --- | --- | --- | --- | 1 lb | 2 lbs | 4 lbs | 8 lbs | 16 lbs | 32 lbs |
Orders ship based on weight and destination. To estimate order shipping costs, use the UPS Quick Cost Calculator and the above weight table.
Enter the Ship From city and zip code "Ypsilanti" and "48197"
Enter your city and zip code for "Ship To"
Shipment Type is "Package"
Destination Type is either commercial or residential, that's for you to figure out!
Use the weight table above to figure out the weight.
This should provide you with a general idea of your shipping costs.
Ink/Color
What ink colors do you offer?
We offer about 25 different Standard Colors-- the list is slightly different for shirts than it is for stickers. We're happy to mix custom inks for $15 each, and prefer the Pantone Matching System (solid coated), just like the rest of North America. We also have a few revolving Fashionable Freebie colors, just to spice things up a little. Products that are full color (like full color stickers or buttons) don't have any color restrictions, but PMS matches aren't available on these products.
Do you have metallic inks available?
We have metallic silver and gold for shirts, stickers, cd cases, record jackets, posters and business cards. It's not ultra-reflective in nature, but definitely metallic. If you'd like to see a sample, get in touch.
Shirt Specifics
Is it more to print on dark shirts?
No, the majority of the work we do is on black or dark tees. As is the standard, we print our whites twice to make them opaque and bright. If you want a distressed or weathered look though, let us know; we're happy to oblige and may have some suggestion to help achieve your look.
What's the largest I can make my image for a shirt?
Our maximum size for an adult shirt is 14.5" x 16.5". That's 14.5" wide, 16.5" down.
We can also print at 14.5" x 20" for an extra screen fee of $25 per screen/color, with a maximum of 2 colors to be printed.
What's the normal size for a design to go all the way across the chest of a shirt?
We recommend 11" as 'full width' for a unisex tee. Wider images begin to wrap around under the arms on smaller size tees. If you're only doing size Small and larger, 12" is usually fine. For a women's tee, 9" usually does the trick.
Can I break my order into different colors and sizes of shirt?
It depends what type of shirt you're using. For the big brands like Fruit of the Loom and Hanes, it's usually not a problem at all. American Apparel has restrictions that most of their products be ordered in multiples of 12 per size, per color. We do offer a limited variety of sizes, styles, colors from American Apparel with these restrictions lifted. Look for the EXPRESS styles in the garment catalog.
Can I have part of my order printed in one color, and the rest in a different color?
Yup, it's called an ink switch; they're $15 each. That's $15 every time one ink switches to another. So if you've got a 1 color image on the front, back, and sleeve, and wanted to take them all from white to black, that'd be $45.
How should I break the sizes down for my shirts?
It's difficult to really judge, because everyone has a different audience. To get started, see how many you'd have of each size if you divided them evenly, and then modify the numbers as seems appropriate. Pay attention as you sell the shirts so you know what to get next time!
Artwork
What kind of artwork do you recommend?
We recommend working at 600 dpi or vector for the highest quality finished print. This is most important for stickers and paper products, but wouldn't hurt for t-shirt art as well.
Do you have templates to use to design my project?
We certainly do, you can download Illustrator or Photoshop versions templates for our Stickers, Record Jackets, CD Cases, Buttons and Business Cards.
Beginning August 1st 2007, there is a $5 charge for submitting sticker artwork NOT in one of our templates.
Other Services
Will you burn some screens for me?
Yes! Here are the charges for that: It's $30 to burn an image onto a screen that is up to 23" x 31". That includes films, coating and burning the screen. Oversized screens are $40. If we have to reclaim old emulsion, add $10. If there's old ink, plus old emulsion, that changes to $20.
Send us your screens and we'll do the rest. You'll have to pay UPS Ground shipping to get them back, though, unless you can pick them up.