Discuss the various aspects of heat press technology. Transfer paper, inks, plastisol transfers, vinyl cutters, printers, commercial usage, durability, suppliers, etc.
Im having an issue with Versatrans. I had a job printed and when it arrived it was AWFUL!
I sent the whole job back with a sample shirt to show them how bad it was and contacted my art coordinator after she received it.
In the meantime I made a couple changes to the art to make it work better and changed it from their EPT to standard transfers.
The re-done job was fine.
However, they are unwilling to take any responsibility for the original poor artwork.
My contention is I hold half the responsibility for providing and approving the original art, however they should be partially responsible because they should have known (by experience) that the job would likely print poorly.
This has been going on since Aug 31.
Any suggestion? Am I wrong here?
Also, I will likely be looking for a new transfer vendor over this. Recommendations??
If the adjustments to the artwork fixed the order, I'm afraid you hold more than 50% of the responsibility. Especially so since you approved the art.
While they may in some circumstances be able to spot a possible issue with appearance later, it is certainly not their responsibility to do so, IMO. It would go a long way to keeping my business, however.
Have you seen what Versatranz sends as an art proof? You would be hard pressed to detect more than a spelling or color error based on what they send you.
The last line of your post is as much my point as anything else.
If I'm wrong in my thinking I'd like to hear it from a few people. Maybe I am.
Aside from the artwork change, why (and by who?) was the decision made to switch from EPT to standard? Did you discuss with them beforehand what type of garments you were putting these on?
The artwork change was done by me after evaluating the results of the original artwork.
The decision to change from EPT to standard was also mine. That was based on having used both in the past. The job required a large back print and a small chest print. The small chest print had small text. The EPT base color interfered with the main color (which should have been caught by Versatranz in my opinion). I knew the standard would not have this issue.
The print was being applied to a ribbed ladies T shirt.
The artwork change was done by me after evaluating the results of the original artwork.
The decision to change from EPT to standard was also mine. That was based on having used both in the past. The job required a large back print and a small chest print. The small chest print had small text. The EPT base color interfered with the main color (which should have been caught by Versatranz in my opinion). I knew the standard would not have this issue.
The print was being applied to a ribbed ladies T shirt.
Sorry to say, you approved the artwork and that gives Versatranz the right to move forward with printing. They do not know what your intentions are with the artwork itself and should not have to baby-sit you during that process unless they are getting paid to alter your artwork for you.
It is obvious you provided less than stellar artwork since you changed it for the 2nd run.
After approval, you are 100% responsible IMO (did you ask if it would be a problem BEFORE approving the artwork?).
"The EPT base color interfered with the main color"
What does this mean? You specified the base and main colors, correct? Can you post a pic of one of the bad transfers?
The art was 3-color. One of which was a contrasting overlap on part of it (imagine a line in one color and the same line slightly offset in a different color. Sort of a shadow effect).
I dont have pics of the art or shirt. I sent it back withoout taking a picture.
As to the other comment. The art was fine, but the font I used for the art was narrow. Given that the EPT underlay shows a slight border outside the top color, it closed up the narrow font so as to be unreadable. Worked ok for the large back art. Not so good on the small front art.
When I made the change I chose a slightly wider font for the front text.
If that means the art was 'less than stellar' then so be it.
And Versatranz should know that my intentions are to give my customers usable products. The product they provided THEIR costomer was not usable.
Part of my problem with Versatranz is that 6 weeks later we still have no resolution on a fairly simple issue. How are they going to handle a REAL issue?
Please understand, the only thing I've ever done with Versatrans was request and receive samples from them. I have no other connection to them, just trying to reply to your original question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LineStretch
And Versatranz should know that my intentions are to give my customers usable products. The product they provided THEIR costomer was not usable.
I would reword that slightly to say that the product (artwork) they were provided were unuseable in the manner the customer expected. You provided artwork that you admit did not work well for your intended use. You subsequently realized that your choice of transfer type was probably not the correct one. You approved their proof of your artwork. Sorry but I still don't see how this is their fault. How would they know what you intend to do with their transfers, how would they know that you apply them correctly and why should they be responsible for providing you exactly what you ordered if what you ordered was not what you really needed?
There's an old saying - 'Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.' It is their responsibility to give you what you asked for and what you paid for. It sounds to me like that is exactly what you received.
No worries. This is just a discussion. I may end up deciding I'm wrong and just drop it. There have been some valid points made.
As a reply, Versatranz would know what the intended use was because when you order, you specify garment type, color, etc.
Versatranz themselves suggest using EPT transfers for ladies ribbed garments. So, I was following Versatranz published suggestions.
Ive done quite a bit of business with them in the past year, especially for the size operation we are. Ive been quite happy with most of their work. There have been some smeared transfers. One entire batch that obviously had a clogged screen and still made it out of QC (the clog was on an extra piece of art so I never pressed that issue.) But otherwise Ive been happy.
For some reason this issue is sticking in my craw.
That's the info we were missing... If they recommended that type of transfer for that type of garment and you specified that type of garment on the order, I could see thinking they are partially at fault.
All you can really do at this point is let them know what you think should happen and see where they go with it. If they think it's worth losing a customer over, that's their call as well as yours.
Does versatran have any documentation or art guidelines were it states that anything needing to show in your artwork needs to be at least a certain size? I know First Edition and F&M both have these requirements that seem to alleviate issues like this on small print and details. In fact neither of these company will print the artwork if it is not in these guidelines.
Yes, they definately have artwork guidelines. And the art was well within the guidelines
However, the EPT has a 1 pt border around it which isnt considered in the art. On my art the 2 layers in question were black and (dark) grey. Those combined to really narrow and obscure already narrow / small text so as to be unreadable.
Versatranz customer service 
