[moohandcow]

Hello

I have a question for those of you who actually do screen printing, and it stems from my recent frustrating experiences in dealing with screen printers...

Basically, I've had all of my artwork ready (AI files, .jpg mockups of each shirt, all of the placement info, Pantone numbers, shirt info etc) for about 3 weeks. I've been chomping at the proverbial bit (sorry... random horse metaphor for some reason...) to place my order with my blanks supplier and have them shipped to a screen printer.

But I am having the hardest. time. ever. getting any screen printer to communicate in a timely way. I've sent all of my artwork and had it approved by multiple printers. In the last 3 weeks, I've spoken to 4 different screen printers... some were mom-n-pop type places, some were very large companies... all of them said that they'd get back to me with a quote... and yet here I am, a few weeks later still without a quote and quite frustrated. Perhaps I am a bit misguided since I am very new to this, but I thought how it worked is that I send all the art and info, and they send me a quote. Am I way off on that?

So... my question (finally)... What exactly is involved in giving a quote? Is it really plausible that giving a customer a quote would take this long? And it shouldn't be taking this long, should it? I mean, I'm pretty sure it's just doing some basic math, right? Like, multiplying what you charge times the number of shirts I need printed. My artwork is simple one color designs. I don't have weird or crazy requests. I'm planning on ordering 380 total shirts, so it's not a ridiculous small job or something. And I do my best to be as clear as possible over emails and on the phone, and make sure that they have a way to contact me if there are any questions.

So I don't get why it's been weeks of trying to get someone to print my shirts only to be met with seeming silence or indifference. I didn't ever think it would be this difficult to get it pulled together... I mean, I'm wanting to give them money to do it, ya know? You'd think customer service would be a bigger part of the equation.

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place... I kind of needed to vent to people who would probably understand since my girlfriend can only smile and nod for so long...

Take care and thanks for reading.

 

[treadhead]

Hey Nate..

I'm sorry for your frustration.

I obviously can't speak to your particular situation or if there is something "weird" causing people indigestion with your quote for some reason.

But, if you are providing artwork already (with .jpg proofs) and all needed information (i.e. shirt type, color, design colors, quantity, etc.) then it really shouldn't take very long to generate a quote. Especially, a one color job.

We do them all day long with customers walking in off the street or calling in over the phone.

Good luck and I hope things get work out for you...

John

 

[InterStreme]

John,

Sorry to hear about your frustration. I hope you find someone to print them soon. I've had similar experiences with programmers lately. It seems like some people just don't want to work.

 

[treadhead]

John,

Sorry to hear about your frustration. I hope you find someone to print them soon. I've had similar experiences with programmers lately. It seems like some people just don't want to work.

Hey George..

Just for clarification...it was Nate having the issue. I just offered my thoughts....

John

 

[WearMagic]

You should have received a response within a few hours! We do these types of quotes all day everyday, and our customer service folks get back to anyone with a quote the same day every day, I can't believe that printers won't get back to you quickly especially given the current economic climate.

 

[wormil]

The truth is there are lots of poorly run printing companies. Some of them are good printers but terrible at customer service. If they aren't responsive to your quote request they won't be responsive to your other needs. Just keep looking.

I feel your frustration, I tried to get a parking lot paved and it took me months of contacting companies before I could even get one out to do a quote. When I wanted insulation blown into my attic, only about 1 in 4 companies returned my calls.

If you're willing to go beyond local, try posting in the referral section and I'm sure you'll get plenty of replies.

 

[TshirtGuru]

I would say 3 weeks with no response means they probably don't want you as a customer.

Yes if you have all of artwork files, jpg mock ups, and descriptions, style of garment, then you are a role model customer lol. Most people don't have a clue of what they want!

Anyhow, to back up fellow printers, I would say some shops are really busy throughout the entire year, their emails back up, their phone lines are busy, their work backs up and it can get very frustrating for them as well so they tend to respond late. No excuse, they should be able to respond in a maximum of 3 days with at least a hello and thank you.

I am a small shop myself, and sometimes I get crazy requests, so it's hard for me to quote people. Sometimes when I'm busy I just refer them to other larger printers I trust lol.

BTW: 380 shirts isn't a very small order, but if you had lets say 38 designs, that would be 10 pieces for each design. For many shops 400 + shirts is a normal daily thing and may not be considered worth their time so they ignore it. So it really depends how many designs you are breaking that total into.

 

[pwapparel]

I do know that some companies will give preferential treatment to their current clients only. So while they may have insisted on getting you that quote, you moved to the bottom of their pile and maybe got lost. It's a shame.

If you are willing to do online work, check out the referral forum, you'll need to make seven more posts to get access, but then you'll definitely be heard.

 

[InterStreme]

John,

Sorry about that...LOL. I meant to respond to Nate. I must have been really tired.

 

[moohandcow]

Thanks for your replies, everybody... Man I love it here at the T-Shirt Forums... everyone is so helpful! I even got a few PMs from people willing to take a look at my art and then give me a quote. That's so wonderful of you all.

So thank you all for the encouragement. It's much needed and even more appreciated