Discharge printing: The simplest explanation? Discharge ink is a water based product that is formulated to deactivate the dyes used on natural fabrics. 

What it Does 

You have probably seen some shirts with a very soft print that looks like the color of natural cotton – this is discharge printing. Discharge screen printing can be used to print colors on dark garments that in the past would have required an additional layer of white ink in order to achieve proper opacity of top colors. 

Discharge Ink 

Discharge is a clear ink with an activator added. Printing a straight discharge ink typically ‘bleaches’ the fabric down to its natural color, a slightly off white. Discharge inks work well on fabric that is dyed with reactive dyes, although some dyes are more resistant than others, often those colors are in the kelly green, purple and royal blue families. When discharged, these resistant fabric dyes yield a more muted print that is usually a lighter tint of the base fabric color. 

Pigmented Discharge 

When we need to print a color rather than clear discharge ink we will add water based pigments to the ink in order to essential re-dye the fabric with the color of our choice. This allows us to maintain tight registration and bright prints on dark fabric without the use of an underbase. For the ultimate in soft colorful prints, pigmented discharge is the way to go. If the print goes on darks we add the discharge activator, otherwise it is the same ink chemistry.  

  If you have any questions about your artwork please contact us. 

Accepted File Formats 

We prefer to receive artwork in the following formats:  

• adobe illustrator (*.ai)
• encapsulated post script (*.eps)
• portable document format (*.pdf)

300dpi at final print size for the following formats:  

• adobe photoshop (*.psd) – leave it in layers!
• tagged image format (*.tif)

Jpegs are generally not acceptable for quality reproduction work. Microsoft Word, Publisher and PowerPoint are also not acceptable formats. Files that do not meet these specifications are subject to artwork charges after review. Please leave all artwork in layers, outline or rasterize your fonts, and assign desired pantone colors where able.  

Design To Final Print Size

Please submit your art files sized to your intended print size. We recommend that you design artwork at the final size rather than scaling it up as the last step. Outline Your Fonts. Due to the vast number of available fonts, please convert all type to outlines in Illustrator in order to ensure that we can properly view your art. 

Maximum Print Sizes 

All measurements are width x height:  

• Adult unisex garments: 15" x 17"
• Fitted women’s garments and youth shirts: 11" x 15"
• Women’s boy-beater tank tops and toddler: 9" x 15"
• Infant garments:      6" x 10" 
• Sleeve prints:      4" x 17"

File Submission You can transmit artwork to us in a number of ways:  

• ask us to setup a shared folder for you.
• email files  (10MB or less please!)

use a file transfer service like WeTransfer  (https://wetransfer.com) or 

yousendit (http://www.yo usendit.com) 

 A 50% deposit is required to begin printing. Payment in full is expected when the order is complete and before we release the order for shipping. We accept cash, checks, PayPal, and credit cards (American Express, Discover, Master Card, Visa, and most debit cards). If a completed order is not paid for within 10 business days an additional financing charge will apply.  

  Turnaround Time 

Typical turnaround time is 10 working days from the time that a 50% deposit is collected and art mockups are approved with a signature or via email. Additional services will add to our typical turnaround. Rush charges may apply for orders needed sooner than our typical turnaround. Turn time on larger orders (1500 pieces or more than 4 designs) may require longer time to produce. Please inquire about our current turn time on larger orders.  

  Rush Orders 

We understand that there are occasions when orders are needed sooner than 10 business days and we strive to fulfill those orders. If an order is being shipped, then the rush charges apply to our production time only. The amount of time it takes the carrier to get the order to you is not guaranteed by Gunny’s Call Ink. Rush orders require payment in full to begin printing. We cannot guarantee that we will accommodate all rush orders.  

  Out of Stocks 

Sometimes our vendors will run out of particular styles or colors. If this happens we can offer a variety of possible substitute products from other vendors, or you can choose to wait until the items are back in stock. If you choose to wait for the inventory to be replenished then we cannot guarantee the turnaround time or that the items will be back in stock when the vendor says they will. If you choose a substitute garment then we should be able to stick to our typical turnaround time unless those garments are out-of-stock as well.  

Estimates 

Estimates expire in 30 days. Estimates are subject to change upon review of submitted artwork. Prices may be revised at the time of invoice based on actual prints.

  Art and Preparatory Materials 

Final print ready art files must be uploaded according to the specifications on our website. Print ready artwork will not incur any additional fees. If further art work is necessary, art time will be billed at the current rate. Artwork must be submitted with a corresponding purchase order. Art files should be named in correlation with the job name and PO. Gunny’s Call Ink will print art files as they are received, we will assume that all images have been sized for final print dimensions. We will provide one mock up on our own template in PDF format free of charge for every order. Additional mock ups on our template are available upon request and will be billed at the current rate. Approval of mock ups on our template are required regardless of how detailed client provided mock ups may be, including reorders, and must be approved by e-mail or fax. Gunny’s Call Ink will not be held responsible for any misspellings, grammatical errors, or any other design flaw.  

  Graphic Design Services 

We recommend customers come with their own art, or work with a graphic designer on their own time to develop the art for their project, in order to ensure that your T-shirts are printed in a timely fashion. However, if this is not an option, we can offer graphic design services at $120/hour, billed in half hour increments.  Before beginning any graphic design work, the client and the designer will clearly lay out exactly what work is to be done, and how the end product will look. Please note that there is a great deal of “behind the scenes” graphic design work that is time consuming but may not be evident until the final product is printed, such as color separations, and redrawing certain elements to make them print ready at high resolutions, and these are considered when the designer gives an estimate for how long a project will take. Once the estimate for graphic design work has been approved by the client, and terms agreed upon, the designer will begin working. The graphic design department can only do the work that you ask for, so please be explicit about the end product you have in mind, and when presented with works in progress, please state clearly what you like, and what needs to be changed (and how). With each project, the client will be allowed two revisions (minor quick fixes, such as “move this text slightly” may not count towards these, at the designer’s discretion).  We have a limited amount of time to spend on creating customer art since we need to focus on printing. In some instance we may have to reject requests for graphic design work when our workload does not permit.  

Best Print Method 

We will always choose what we think is the best print method for your job unless you specify otherwise.  

  Garment Selection and Subjectivity 

For custom orders we purchase and supply the garments. We expect our customers to do the research on garments before placing an order with us. If garment selection is sensitive, we strongly encourage ordering samples of the garments before placing an order. When the final order is received, we cannot guarantee that the customer will like the garments they chose. We do guarantee print quality at all times. Subjectivity, or whether or not the customer likes the garment they chose is the responsibility of the customer and not Gunny’s Call Ink. The customer is responsible for knowing the terms of the company whose garments they chose to purchase.  

  Manufacturer Defects 

Gunny’s Call Ink is not responsible for mistakes or defects on behalf of the manufacturer or distributor: mislabeled sizes, inconsistent coloring, dye lots, manufacturer garment defects, etc. All garments will be counted in bulk (dozens, or however they are packaged by the manufacturer). We cannot inspect each garment or count them in individually. Manufacturer and distributor defects or mis-shipments will delay production until all garments are received. It is highly recommended to order more garments than needed for each size. All additional garments will be included in the print run and we will bill for what is printed.  

  Customer Supplied Garments 

We require contract screen-printing clients to provide us with a detailed list of garments including manufacturer, style number, color, size, and quantities of each to be printed prior to order confirmation. We may be unable or refuse to print on certain garments based on garment content.  

  Proofs and Samples 

Pre press production samples cost $100 per color printed per location and are subject to standard turn time. We can send blank samples of any garment, along with previously printed samples, for far less than a printed sample. Essentially, the quality of our work speaks for itself, and how we will gladly send examples of our print work. Additionally our mockups are very meticulous and we are well educated with how our inks work with most garments. Why waste time and money with a printed sample when we can deliver the quality you want straight out the gate? We do not offer in house press checks.  

  Pantone Color Matching 

You can choose any of the colors from our House Color List at no additional charge. Custom pantones that are not on the house color list will be billed at current rates. Color and pantone matching on textiles is not exact or guaranteed although we typically are able to print colors very close, if not perfectly matched. There may be a reasonable variation in color due to several factors. You cannot trust the colors in our mockup to be true when viewed on a monitor or printed page. Using a current Pantone book is the best way to accurately communicate color with us. If you are sensitive about the print color then please verify against a Pantone swatch. We cannot be held responsible for a color verified against the visual mockup only.  

  Mistakes and Misprints 

In the event that we make a terrible error in printing your shirts, then we will reprint the order for you at no additional cost. We do not offer refunds. This rarely happens and really only applies to serious mistakes like printing the wrong art, printing the wrong location, or ordering the wrong color garments. 

In this (and any printing industry), misprints happen. A screen could come out of registration, we may find a defect in the garment, the garment may come from a bad dye lot, etc. There are a million things that could go wrong but we manage to keep misprints and defects well below industry average of all garments printed over the course of a year. This isn’t to say that your order will be guaranteed to have less than the industry average of misprints. If we misprint a few of your garments then we will NOT charge you for these, and we’ll likely even throw them in with the order at no charge if they are passable. Since misprints can happen, we’d encourage you to order extra garments if you need exact quantities due to preorders or team member requests. For example, if you are ordering a single Extra Small garment for your kid, there is a chance that this garment becomes a misprint. It would be unreasonable for us to re-setup the screens just to print this single shirt. For this reason we ask that you order a few extra pieces of the garments that you have low quantities on? 

We try to minimize it, but misprints do happen and we cannot predict when. Work with us and plan ahead.  

  Overruns and Underruns 

Overruns or underruns not to exceed 10% on quantities ordered shall constitute acceptable delivery. Gunny’s Call Ink will bill for actual quantity printed. In other words, we may print too many shirts (extremely rare) or we may botch a few and deliver a few less than ordered. This is the nature of the printing industry. If you REQUIRE exact quantities, then please have a conversation with us about it. We’ll likely need to charge an “exact quantity fee” in order to insure this, meaning that we’d order more than we need in case there is a misprint. We will return the unprinted garment and pay the restocking fee. 

   Overruns and Underruns 

Overruns or underruns not to exceed 10% on quantities ordered shall constitute acceptable delivery. Gunny’s Call Ink will bill for actual quantity printed. In other words, we may print too many shirts (extremely rare) or we may botch a few and deliver a few less than ordered. This is the nature of the printing industry. If you REQUIRE exact quantities, then please have a conversation with us about it. We’ll likely need to charge an “exact quantity fee” in order to insure this, meaning that we’d order more than we need in case there is a misprint. We will return the unprinted garment and pay the restocking fee.

   Split Shipping 

We can split your order and ship to multiple locations, billable at current rates. Please let us know about the split shipment before we print and box your order, otherwise additional charges may apply.   

  Packaging 

All items will be bulk packaged. Individual folding, tagging, bagging, etc. shall be charged at the current rates.  

  Garment Sorting (for contract printing)

 If we have to do a large amount of sorting in order to break up your order into various designs then a separate sorting fee may apply. For example, if you are printing 3 designs and we have to divide every dozen shirts into 4 shirts per design then we may have to add a sorting fee. You have the choice to pickup your garments at our facility and sort the shirts yourself offsite or you can issue separate PO’s to your vendor.  

  Orders under piece minimum or that do not have garments called out will not be counted or sorted, they will be printed in bulk. To ensure the correct product is received and printed, we will require you to deliver the garments sorted by design and colorway, or you can choose to pay us to count and sort at the rate of $120 an hour, minimum charge of 1/2 hour.  

  Misprint Allowance (for contract printing) 

When printing on customer supplied garments, we require a 5% misprint allowance or a minimum of 1 shirt per design per garment color, whichever is greater, with no penalty to us. Percentages are based on quantity of imprints, not quantity of garments. We strongly recommend that you order extra garments in each size, style and/or color in the event of misprints. Exact Quantities are not guaranteed and are not available on Rush Orders. Forward Printing will not be held responsible for consequential damages such as profit loss on spoiled goods.  

  Receiving your Order

 We encourage you to check the quantities and quality of the garments you receive from us immediately. Gunny’s Call Ink cannot be held accountable for defects or problems with your order unless contacted within 48 hours of delivery. 

   Order Cancellation 

In the event an order needs to be cancelled, refunds or return of deposits will be based on the status of the order (Have the items been ordered? Have any of the items been printed? Etc.) and may be subject to penalties and/or restocking charges. 

Color Fidelity on Split/Linked Prints 

Because of the split print process, you may notice some minor color variations between the split locations. Our heat curing system can affect the dischargability of a fabric, which can affect the appearance of the color of the second print even when we use the exact same ink throughout the process. While we can’t guarantee an exact match for both locations every time, we will try our best and hold ourselves to the same high quality standards we usually do.  

  User Subjectivity

 Gunny’s Call Ink stands behind the quality of our screen printing. We will reproduce your graphic onto the garment or substrate with maximum accuracy, quality, and consistency. The satisfaction of the end user with the final printed product is subjective. We offer detailed mock ups (approval by the client is mandatory for every order), digital press proofs ($50 for each location), or pre production samples ($100 for each color printed or each screen set up) for end user review. We operate under very specific and numerous quality controls, standard operating procedures, and guidelines to ensure a quality finished product, we will not be held responsible for end user subjectivity. Terms and prices are subject to change without notice.