FABO T Shirts

BigHook, thanks for an enlightening post! It's nice to see the story from the printer's perspective.

The four screen printing shops I've approached for my company t-shirts were referrals I received / examples I saw myself at local car shows, and my dealings with them were all via telephone and email. Three seemed eager for my business over the phone but, after providing them with my logo and plans for the layout, I never heard back from them with a proof despite sending a few follow up emails and a couple phone calls to each.

The fourth was the most impressive ... definitely a car guy, we seemed to hit it off and be on the same page immediately. Within 36 hours, he had digitally revised my logo to make it more legible for print and his proof was approved assuming he would add my website address and the words "Custom Powder Coating By" above the logo. The quote was extremely attractive (less than $8 each using Gildan shirts).

The last email I received and answered asked how many I wanted, what sizes were desired, and whether I had a shirt color preference. That was in January, and I haven't heard back from him all year. In fact, I just sent another follow up email a few days before Christmas to see if he was still interested in the job, or even still in business. I really liked his work but if it can't be transformed into something I can wear, it isn't doing me any good.

Since I didn't deal with any of the screenprinters on a walk-in basis, I don't know if they're large shops or mom and pop places but I suspect the latter is the case ... I was always able to talk directly with the owner when I made my initial call.

Printer #4's proof is attached. Sorry it's so small ... I had to resize it so much to upload here that you can't even read it now, but I can surely send it in an email. If you want to offer a quote for a few shirts initially as customer appreciation items with plans to eventually buy a larger order and perhaps sell them on my website later, I'd be delighted to hear from you!