Follow these simple tips when ordering your custom screen printed t-shirts for a quicker and more trouble free experience.
The first thing to be discussed is the difference between screen printing and digital garment printing. In general screen printing is a more labor intensive process than digital printing and requires color separations and individual screens to be made for each color in the design. Digital garment printing on the other hand is simply a shirt printed in a printer much like the paper printer that most of us use everyday to print photos or documents.

The subject of a different article, but for now suffice it to say that digital garment prints work better on white or light colored shirts and are better suited to short run orders.

Artwork is a prime factor in getting your shirts printed in a timely manner. The better the artwork, the better the finished product. I’m sure you have heard the old adage “Junk in, Junk out”, well, this is truly the case when it comes to screen printing. Artwork falls into two basic groups depending on what software program produced it or where it came from.The first group I will talk about are Raster images. Raster images will have file extensions such as .bmp, .jpg ,.tif, or .psd and are pixel maps which are dependent on resolution (dots per inch ) to maintain clarity. The higher the dpi, the clearer the image will be. While Raster images are great for digital printing, they can be problematic for screen printing in that file sizes are typically large and color separations can be more difficult, not to mention the pix-elation that occurs when up sizing images. If a Raster image is the only option that you have, be sure that it is sized appropriately for screen printing and in a high resolution (at least 300 dpi original resolution) before sending to avoid additional art charges or unnecessary delays.

The second group is called vector images. Vector images are preferred by screen printers due to their flexibility in resizing without degradation, smaller file sizes and ease of color separations. Typical file extensions for vector images are .ai, .eps and .cdr. Vector images use point coordinates and mathematical equations to define elements in an image as opposed to pixels and can therefore be re-sized without discrimination. Vector images are your best bet for getting a fast turnaround and avoiding additional art charges when ordering your custom t-shirts printing.

Color selection is also something to be considered ahead of time to help expedite your order. Your printer will need to know the pantone colors that you would like to be used in your t-shirt printing.

Shirt Selection can be confusing, but basically there are two main fabric weight classes to select from, 5.6 oz or 6.1 oz. Beyond that style will need to be decided, Ladies or Men’s, short sleeve or long sleeve, pockets or not, scoop neck v-neck or regular, as well as shirt color. It will save much time if all of this is decided ahead of time, and whether you purchase your shirts from our company or not, please feel free to shop and make selections with our online Catalog If your custom t-shirts printing order includes any individualization such as names or numbers prepare a list displaying properly spelled names, numbers, and sizes to help avoid confusion.

We hope that this article has been helpful in making a custom screen printing order a little less daunting. Artistic Apparel has been in the decorated apparel business for 6 years and is a supplier of quality apparel, Screen Printing, and promotional products. Please visit our web page here, Artistic Apparel

Buying a house for whatever reason should be a fun and exciting time. Open houses are an enjoyable event. You may even visit three or four different homes in one day. There are special things to look for when going to see these houses. An open house is used to check the market and let potential buyers window-shop. There are certain criteria you have in mind when searching for the perfect home. Jot those ideas down and compare them to the homes you view.

Take a notepad with you to each house and make a note of the address of the homes you visit. Jot down things you like and dislike about each house. This will help you keep track of which house is which. Make note of nearby schools, the general neighborhood, how close is freeway access, where are the shopping malls, and any other information that will help you decide on your choice of home. The commute to work is a vital piece of information. Many forget to consider how far away the job is. The last thing a person wants to do is spend too much time on the road instead of with the family. When attending an open house, remember that the neighborhood surroundings are an important aspect to purchasing a house.

Check the condition of the house, the road and the yard. Is it suitable of children or pets? Who will take care of the yard or can you hire a gardener? Whatever you desire, be sure to think of everything and take plenty of notes. A Polaroid camera is well worth taking. Clip instant snapshots to your notebook to help you remember specific houses. Buying a house is an important step, so make sure you know what to look for. Check everything. Notice cabinets, appliances, doors and even views out of the windows. Listen to noises that could be bothersome, such as a train that passes near by or a freeway. Make sure there is plenty of living space or room to add more if you desire. Most people forget to ensure there is enough closet and storage room. Write down vital pieces of information which should include anything that will help you with your decision.

At the open house, an owner or broker is likely to be present. If there is one in attendance, ask questions. Find out all the little secrets about the house. Granted they will not always be straightforward. Have a memo of each inquiry. Put in writing all the answers. When you make the choice on a house you can add these questions into the sales contact and re-ask the query. If these replies differ in the writing stage you may not want to do business with these people after all. All homes have concealed facts. Some are not real terrible but others can be horrendous. Interrogating the owner or broker is an ideal way to find out things that are not visible. Do not be shy about wanting to know how your dream home is really shaped.

Many times, several brokers, lenders or agents frequent open houses. They want your business as soon as you step foot onto the property. Do not sign anything. Even if this were the house you would like to purchase. On sight people have one agenda, to sell you something. Usually the brokers who visit many different open houses will try and get you to view other properties. Which is fine, however they do not know anything about your wishes of the home you want. The mortgage lenders may try to sell you a different house at a better rate. However, in the end it is more likely you will end up paying more. At the stage of an open house it is most probable you are playing the field.

Going to an open house is a time-honored tradition. Open houses are for looking and sometimes even buying. With an important and expensive decision to make, it is better to research and look at all of your options. When venturing upon an open house, understand all the choices offered. Try not to be persuaded in making rash decisions. You have the option of looking, taking those important notes, returning to look some more, and even moving on if this house is not for you.

Make a Statement with a Custom Printed T Shirt

“I`m sorry, I`m allergic to stupid people.” There are some things that you can`t say in real life, but you can wear them on a t-shirt. When it comes to regular social etiquette, t-shirt slogans launch the rules right out of the window, turning jokes reserved for Christmas crackers and statements of bemused contempt into catchphrases and quotes that bring sly smiles to all that read them. So what is it about the printed t-shirt that makes it ok to walk around with “Did you eat a bowl of stupid for breakfast?” plastered across your chest?

The truth is that t-shirt slogans make an art form out of the fine comedic line between laughing with someone and laughing at them. Instead of feeling insulted by a phrase like “I`m not getting smaller, I`m backing away from you”, readers of t-shirt slogans presume the insult is directed at a third party, a figure of ineptitude we can all relate to – and, increasingly often, revile – creating a shared joke, rather than a direct insult that alienates the recipient.

If this all sounds a bit far-fetched, just think about how often you or the people you know are forced to deal with those who are, let`s say, seemingly intellectually challenged. With an economy increasingly based upon service, it is ever more likely that your daily routine will involve the frustration of dealing with someone stuck in the blissful state of ignorance, be it your boss, your customers or even people in the street. Take that into consideration and it isn`t hard to see where the fashion for this form of printed riposte comes from. Where self-deprecating slogans such as “Do not disturb – I`m disturbed enough already” used to rule the t-shirt marketplace, now the more aggressive form of externally-directed castigation is king, addressing the elephant in the room that we are all too polite to mention (namely that there is no shortage of idiots in the world) and making a mockery of it.

Of course, rude, insulting humour is not the only kind that appears on t-shirts, but neither is it the only form that has seen a recent increase in popularity. With an exponential increase in our reliance on computers comes the need for IT-related services, including an abundance of programmers and software developers. This newly-expanded social group share common knowledge and practices across their industry, making the world of computer geekery the perfect breeding ground for inside jokes and cliquey humour. Slogans like “Computer programmers don`t byte – they nibble a bit” arise from puns and stereotypes based on knowledge that is common to the IT crowd and make great icebreakers for the otherwise socially awkward.

In fact, this is the reason that t-shirts can get away with slogans like “Coffee, chocolate, men . . . Some things are just better rich”: although the humour on t-shirts might be conventionally cheesy, cheeky or even rude, slogan t-shirts perform a social function, uniting readers and wearers through a common joke.

Look at other popular forms of printed t-shirts – band shirts, football or sports team shirts, even stag and hen do special printed tees – and you start to see that the fashion of t-shirts is often linked to the function of community. Thinking about it, it all starts to make sense – it`s the reason why this place offers things like leavers hoodies, retaining the sense of community after leaving the institution, the reason teams have colours, the reason that when you see the slogan “my mother is a travel agent for guilt trips,” you feel connected to the wearer by a common understanding. T-shirts are all about the other people around you; after all, amusing though your t-shirt might be to you when you put it on in the morning, you aren`t the one who`ll be reading it all day.