Before you ask

Build the order at my.alpineapparelco.com and the price updates as you go — pick your garments, choose screen print or DTF, upload your art, and watch the number move. No form, no waiting on a reply.

If you would rather just ask, the chat in there is trained on how I actually quote. It can price your job and take the whole order in the conversation.

Four things, mostly: how many pieces carry the same print, how many print locations, how many ink colors are in each print, and which garment you pick. A one-color left chest on 50 tees is a very different number from a four-color front and back on 20 hoodies.

Yes — there's an option for it in the ordering system. One caveat: if a piece spoils on press I can't replace it, so bring a couple of spares.

Both. Pickup here in Castle Rock, or shipped anywhere in the US.

For screen printing, yes — 20 pieces per design. They can be any mix of styles, sizes, and colors, as long as every piece takes the same print. Screen printing has setup costs that do not shrink with the order, which is what the minimum covers.

Under that, DTF transfers have no minimum at all and are usually the better call anyway.

On average, about 2½ weeks for screen printing and about a week for DTF. Those are averages, not promises.

The clock starts once your art is approved and the balance is paid in full — not when you place the order. The two things that actually move the date are outside the shop: whether your garments are in stock at the distributor, and what is already booked on the press.

If you have a hard in-hands date, say so up front and I'll give you a real answer — including “no” if that's the honest one.

Sometimes. There is a rush option with an upcharge, and whether I can take it depends entirely on what is already on the press that week. Ask before you count on it.

Screens stay on file, so a repeat run skips setup and matches the first batch. Reorders are both cheaper and more consistent than starting over.

No. I have 25+ years as a graphic designer, so all you need is an idea of what you want. Vector files (.ai, .eps, vector .pdf) print sharpest, but send whatever you have — a sketch, a photo of an old shirt, or just a description.

Cleaning up artwork you already own is an art prep fee, currently $75. That is your logo, so the print-ready file is yours — just ask for it.

Original artwork I design for you is a design fee, currently $150, and that covers printing it here. If you want the source file to use anywhere else — another printer, signage, your website — that is an art release at double the design fee, currently $300. Quoted up front, never a surprise at the end.

Either way, screens and separations stay with the shop. Those are production files rather than something you need.

Front, back, sleeves, pocket, left chest — anywhere flat. Screen printing needs a flat surface, so seams and zippers are the real limit. I wrote up the standard sizes and placements on the print locations page.

Yes — printed inside the neck in place of the manufacturer tag, which is what makes a shirt feel like your brand rather than a blank someone printed on. More on that in custom labels.

Most shops print plastisol, which sits on the fabric like a thin layer of plastic. You can feel it with your hand, it does not breathe, and it cracks eventually.

Water-based ink soaks into the fibers instead, so the print is soft, breathable, and lasts as long as the garment does. It is harder to print with and less forgiving on press, which is why most shops skip it. It is the only ink I use — the long version is in what is water-based ink.

DTF stands for direct-to-film. The design is printed onto a film, coated with adhesive, and heat pressed onto the garment — so there are no screens to burn and no setup fees.

That makes it the right call for small runs, full-color photographic artwork, hats and patches, and anything under the screen printing minimum. It sits on top of the fabric rather than soaking in, so for a big soft print on a nice triblend, screen printing still wins. More in what is DTF.

No — and it isn't that I can't get a machine. I don't think it's the better product. Embroidery is thick and stiff, the backing sits against your skin, fine detail turns to mush at small sizes, and your logo gets reinterpreted into stitch paths rather than reproduced. On a lightweight polo or a performance fabric it puckers and adds weight.

DTF gives you full color, your exact brand colors and real detail with a much lighter hand — and I run it on hats, polos, quarter-zips, jackets, all the places embroidery normally goes. So if you came looking for embroidered polos, ask me about DTF instead. In my opinion it's the nicer end product.

The honest caveat: if what you specifically want is that raised, stitched texture, that's a real thing and I'm not the shop for it. I'd rather say so than talk you into something you didn't want. The full comparison is on embroidery vs DTF.

Yes. I run a YouTube channel and a podcast where I teach people to start and run screen print companies from home. Have a look at StartupScreenPrinting.com.