Working with Consuul

Working with Consuul 101

If you are looking to order custom t-shirts for the first time, it may seem a bit intimidating not understanding the printing process or knowing how to transform your idea into a wearable garment. This guide is designed to help you through this process and explain how to bring your idea to life.

Step 1:
Make artwork.
So you want to make tee shirts or other wearable product? You will first need some sort of art or graphic for us to screen print. If you're starting from scratch, our Graphic Design team members are skilled at working with you to help see your vision through. Here are some important things to remember:

Size - make sure you measure out on a t-shirt how big you want your design to be. Remember that t-shirts vary in size, so make sure the design you want to print will look good on either a small or extra large. On our regular screens, the size limitation is 14 inches by 17 inches. If you want to print bigger than that, it is called jumbo or all over printing and is a different process.

Color(s): Pantone matching system - Pantone is the official color matching system that standardizes the process of universally matching colors. Using pantone colors lets you get the colors you want without any margin for error. Of course, if you aren’t that picky about colors, you can always specify which colors you want by their names (example: baby blue).

Timing - Screen printing has a lot of variables that determine the turnaround time. Our standard turnaround time is 10 business days but orders can be rushed if necessary. Some things you should take into consideration:

Shipping time- We are located in sunny San Diego and service people all around the country. Please make sure you consider shipping time on top of our turnaround time.
Changes to design/mock- Here at Consuul, we send digital mock-ups to approve before we start printing. If you want to change the artwork after the mock-up, the turnaround time wont start until the artwork is finalized and approved.

Payment- turnaround times only begin when we have received payment and approval of artwork.
Custom finishing- Bagging, tagging, UPC labeling and other specialty print and finishing techniques can add some time onto your order, so make sure you consult with a Consuul sales rep when considering these finishing services.

You will also need to submit your artwork to us in a file we can use to print your designs. The best file types we prefer are .AI files but we can also work with .PDFs, .JPGs, and .PSDs. Important! Make sure your artwork is 300dpi and designed to the size of the final print.
Also, make sure your fonts are outlined. If they are not, your font will not be on the design when we receive it.

Step 2:
Pick garments and order.
There are hundreds of shirt styles out there and it can be tough to know what shirt is right for you:

100% cotton is the most popular shirt we print on and when you dont know where to start, this will be your safest choice. Keep in mind these may shrink about 5% because they are 100% cotton. These shirts are the most affordable choice and the outcome when printing on them is great.



100% ringspun is our second most popular and our favorite. These shirts are top quality and softer than regular 100% basic cotton shirts. These produce great printing results and work very well with our discharge inks. The most popular shirt in this category is the American Apparel 2001 as a lot of clothing companies prefer to print on this shirt since it is so soft and well-made.




Triblend is a close third due to its extra comfort and one of the softest shirts we carry. However, you cannot use discharge inks on this shirt and because of its makeup, it usually comes in a heather. These are one of the most expensive shirts we carry so if you want a high-end soft shirt, this is your garment.





50/50 is a good mix between the ringspun cotton shirt and the triblend. It is half cotton & half polyester so it won't shrink, but the drawback is that we can't discharge on it. If you want to print on this shirt, we recommend water-based inks.



After you have the shirts picked out, you can call our sales office at 858.227.9271 or request a quote at consuul.com.
It will help speed the ordering process up if you have a shirt size breakdown, the colors that you want to print, along with the artwork ready for print. Make sure you let us know what your deadline is before placing the order so we can make sure we can get your job done with more than enough time. Again, our standard turnaround time is 10 business days but we can rush almost any job for an extra fee.

Step 3:
Pay
After you send your artwork to us, we will send you a digital mockup along with an estimate. Once you accept the estimate, approve the mockup, and pay for the order, we can start printing and the turnaround time will start. We accept checks and all major credit cards that can be paid over the phone, online, or you can come in to our showroom if you are in the area.

Step 4:
Almost there...
Wait 10 business days (plus shipping, if necessary) for your order to arrive and ENJOY! We welcome feedback on your experience with us and we love to hear about how much you love your shirts - so don't be shy! Thank you for choosing Consuul!