FAQ featuring some of the questions asked on a regular basis. We hope to answer most of your questions here, and inform you about a few things you may not have considered.

General, Billing & Delivery

For general queries, and those relating to billing/delivery of our primary services (see Store FAQ for orders made directly on our website).

What is your turnaround time?

Standard turnaround time is 5-10 days from confirmation of sales order and demonstration artwork. For orders that require custom sewn labels, this can extend to up to 15 days during busy periods.

If you have a tighter deadline

We often work to tighter deadlines, depending on our workload at the time and the complexity of your requirements, we can give accurate estimates. Do not hesitate to give us a call free on 01872 248 842 to be advised of our current lead times, which can be anywhere between 3 and 10 days.

What do I need to provide, to receive a quote?

If you’d like a quote from us, the quickest way is to use our quote form. Generally we will respond within 24 hours.

If you’d prefer to send an email to info@blackwaterstudios.co.uk, please make sure to attach your artwork and specify the garment type/colours that you require (along with a size breakdown – 10x Small, 15x Medium, etc). If you need advise, you can call us on 01872 248 842.

Please note, we cannot provide quotes over the phone.

What garment sizes should I order?

Take a look at our choosing a size breakdown page for more information on selecting garment sizes.

What are the costs for delivery?

Cost will depend on your needs, as prices will depend on volume / weight / distance of travel and urgency of delivery.

Please visit our delivery page for more information.

Where can I find FAQs Relating to the Sample Store?

For information relating to sampling or the Sample Store on our Sample Screen Printing & Store FAQs page.

When do you expect payment?

We take payments in advance of printing your order. Lead times begin at receipt of payment.

Prompt payment will ensure the fastest possible lead times.

How do I make payment?

Payment instructions are sent with your sales order and demonstration artwork. There are 3 options:

  1. Internet bank transfer (BACS)
    • Account details will be on invoice
  2. Cheque
    • Payable to ‘Blackwater Studios’. Postal Address: Blackwater Studios, East Hill, Blackwater, Truro, TR4 8HW
  3. Credit/Debit Card Payment over phone
    • Call 01872 248 842. We do not store card details.

Can I cancel my order?

Cancelations after payment and order confirmation are subject to a £30 charge. At this stage production has already begun, and is to cover us for the expenses of time, artwork processing, returning stock, reclaiming of screens, removal of film and other associated costs.

How do I care for / wash my garments?

We generally recommend these guidelines for garment care:

  • Wash on low heat 30 degree, cool wash
  • Wash garment turned inside out
  • Avoid washing t-shirts with items that have zips
  • Avoid drying in long periods of direct sunlight
  • Do not add bleach to the wash
  • Hang dry

The instructions above should help the garments last longer and avoid damage.

What happens if I have a complaint or want a refund?

In the event you’re unhappy with what you have received, you should inform Blackwater Studios immediately and in writing via email within 3 days of receipt of the goods. Please describe the fault with your order – photos can be extremely helpful. On agreement with Blackwater Studios, you should return the order or faulty items to us at the address below. If a fault is already clear, we may offer to collect the parcel.

Blackwater Studios
East Hill, Blackwater
Truro, TR4 8HW

If we are responsible for a fault, we will offer to either refund or credit the items. However if there are more than 10 faulty items in your order, we will offer a reprint. If a fault is found and you arranged the return yourself, we will also refund the delivery cost. This does not affect your statutory rights as a consumer. Customised goods cannot be returned or exchanged due to incorrect fitting, or if goods have been worn or washed.

Some Screen Printing questions are answered here, but for more in depth information take a look at our screen printing pages.

What is Screen Printing?

Screen printing is a printing process intended for bulk orders (25+). This is because most of the work undertaken is in the setting up of the print run, rather than the printing itself. When the set up is complete most screen printing machines print between 500 and 900 T-shirts an hour. These fast production rates mean that the print set up costs get more easily absorbed the more T-shirts you order.

See our T shirt screen printing page for more on the process.

Can I supply my own garments for screen printing?

We no longer accept customer garments for orders. Suitability for printing, preparation of the items, stocking and the liability for them are some of the factors for this decision. Any unauthorised goods shipped to us will be refused on delivery or sent back with a fee applied.

Can I see a sample print of my design?

Unfortunately, as the amount of work involved for us to print a sample, is the same as printing a full order. Therefore it’s not really viable. We do however offer pre-printed samples in our Sample Store, where you can buy a product to see our printing quality.

You can find out more about why on our Sample Screen Printing & Store FAQs page.

For embroidery and digital printing, we do have the option for you to sign off the first stitch out/print.

Do you store print screens for future use?

One of our eco friendly practices in the workshop for reducing waste is by keeping a sizeable inventory of screens. After your order is printed, we will strip the screens to recycle them for new orders. We don’t have the capacity to store all of the screens we print so reclaiming and reusing screens save both fabric costs and storage space. However, we do offer a reduction on the screen set up charge on all reorders for fast turnaround times. We eliminate the use of plastic film with our CTS (computer-to-screen) printer, which transfers the image to an emulsion-coated screen. We keep your CTS preparation files for future use and your design will be printed exactly as the previous order.

Can I mix and match garments and sizes?

You can mix and match any combination of garments and sizes to make up a quantity. However, to get the best price, all garments have to be printed from the same screens. This means that the design will be the same size and colour across all garments.

Do you charge for print colour changes within a print run?

If you require an ink colour change part way through a print run, there is a ‘colour change’ cost. This is to cover the time taken to stop the print run, remove the screens, clean them thoroughly and set the job up again.

The cost for colour changes is £20 (excl VAT), per colour changed.

There must be a minimum of 25 units in an order per ‘colourway’.
For example: 25 shirts with black ink + 25 shirts with white ink = Minimum of 50 shirts
This scenario would result in two colourways – with one colour change.

We will change up to 2 colours within a colourway. If more colours require changing, or the arrangement of colour changes is too complex, we will consider these to be separate orders.

If you want a colour removed entirely part way through an order, this is not considered a colour change. For that, see the FAQ entry below.

What if I don't need one of the screens across my whole order?

If you only need a particular screen for a portion of your order units, this will not reduce the price. Please be aware, this is not the same thing as a ‘colour change’ (which does incur a cost). For colour changes, see the FAQ above this one.

In this scenario, you might have a 3 colour print that includes black ink. If you have a few black shirts in the order, you may feel you don’t need the black ink printed on those. However, the price will not be reduced to a 2 colour print for those black shirts. In terms of setup, the work involved is still a 3 colour print.

We considered this to be the simplest and most cost-effective option for both parties.

The alternative is to split the order into separate orders. This may be appropriate for higher quantity orders or where a setup is becoming too complex. However, on lower quantity orders, this will work out much more expensive. This is due to the quantity rates being lower and requiring additional screen setup costs.

Therefore, we will typically work with the former approach.

Do you have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) for screen printing?

Yes, minimum order / re-order quantities depend on the number of colours (screens) you require:

  • 1-2 colour designs = 25+ garments
  • 3+ colour designs = 50+ garments

Be aware, printing light inks onto dark t shirts requires an underbase / discharge. This will increase the colour count of the design by 1 screen.

For example, say you want Red + Yellow printed onto Black. This would require an underbase or discharge, so it is a 3 colour print. The exception is white ink – we include an underbase free of charge, where the only light ink is white.

How do I work out my quantity rate for pricing?

Screen printing becomes cheaper the more garments you are having printed with the same design in one order. Our quantity breaks for screen printing are 25+, 50+, 100+, 250+ and 500+.

You can find our standard printing rates for the quantity breaks, on our product pages. Each of the product pages will have a pricing table on them for that product. We also have deals for 50 and 100 unit orders.

If you’re unsure or want an accurate quote, let us know, and we will create one for you. Make sure you attach the artwork you require printing, when you get in touch. There is no obligation to proceed with any order if you are not happy with the quote.

How do I work out the cost for additional print positions and print colours?

The prices on the product pages on this website cover additional costs like extra print positions, eg sleeve, back, and additional print colours in your design. If you are in any doubt at all, please get in touch for a no obligation quote.

For a full no obligation quotation, email info@blackwaterstudios.co.uk. Please supply your design(s) and full details of your requirements, including garment type, garment colour and garment quantity.

Is there a charge for artwork?

We can process basic artwork free of charge, all we require is that you provide your artwork in a suitable format at 300 dpi. For design creation, and edits we charge an hourly rate of £30. Most edits can be achieved within 30 minutes. If you are providing logos that require laying out (such as sponsor logos for an event), please ensure the logos are of usable quality and will work in the number of colours you require (as a 1 colour design, for example).

Where complex colour separations are required, we may need to make an additional charge, and will advise the customer before starting work.

Demonstration artwork is provided as standard, free of charge, and sent to the customer for approval before we proceed with an order.

What is your preferred format for sending artwork?

Take a look at our accepted file formats page.

Why Is there a price difference between printing on light and dark coloured garments?

Printing light colours on to darker coloured garments requires an underbase. This is similar to an undercoat when painting a wall, this is an additional screen in your set up when printing on to darker garments.

When printing dark colours on to light T-shirts this underbase screen is not required, making your T-shirt prints cheaper.

More about underbases, and discharge inks.

Why can I not have a discharge print on ALL T-shirt colours?

Some garment colours do not discharge very well. Strong, bright colours such as purple, royal blue and kelly green are difficult to remove colour from. Some black garments can also be problematic depending on the t-shirt dye , and the polyester content. It is best to contact us for our recommendations when discharge printing is required.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 01872 248 842 if you need advice about colour selection and designing for this kind of printing.

Some Embroidery questions are answered here, but for more in depth information take a look at our embroidery pages.

Do you charge for digitisation of embroidery designs?

We make a one-off charge of £15.00 excluding VAT to turn your design into an embroidery pattern for your first order. Repeat orders of the same design would not incur this charge.

For stock designs such as standard scout and guide logos this charge would not be applied. We may also be able to digitise small, simple designs free of charge for orders over 10 garments. If you are unsure whether you would need to pay for digitisation, just email your design and details of your order requirements to info@blackwaterstudios.co.uk.

How do I work out my quantity rate for pricing? Can I mix and match garments and sizes?

We make a one-off charge of £15.00 excluding VAT to turn your design into an embroidery pattern for your first order. Repeat orders of the same design would not incur this charge.

Embroidery becomes cheaper the more garments you are having embroidered with the same design on one order. You can mix and match any combination of garments and sizes to make up a quantity.

The prices on the product pages on this website include garment with 1 embroidery of up to 6,000 stitches (usually enough for most small, simple logos) and are exclusive of VAT.

All quantity rates for pricing are PER DESIGN.

Do you have a minimum order requirement for embroidery?

Yes, our minimum initial order requirement for embroidery work is 10 items. This excludes caps, where the minimum initial order is 50 items.

The initial minimum for caps being higher is due to the complexity involved with cap embroidery and establishing the correct setup for any particular pairing of artwork and cap product.

The repeat order minimum for all items, including caps, is 10 items. However, if you are using a different cap product on your new order, this may require a higher initial order.

How do I work out costs to add additional embroidered logos to a garment?

Embroidery prices are based on stitch count, confirmed prices are given on sight of design.

For a full no obligation quotation, email info@blackwaterstudios.co.uk. Please supply your design(s) and full details of your requirements, including garment type, garment colour and garment quantity.

Can I combine embroidery with screen printing on the same garments?

Yes, it is usual to have a small logo embroidered to the front of garments and a larger design or text screen printed to the back. You can work out costs for adding a screen print to the back of your garments from the contract screen print rates list, depending on quantity of garments to be printed. Remember to add the screen charge(s). Screen charges are one-off charges and would not be payable on future re-orders of the same design (minimum order / re-order quantity for screen printing in 1 colour is 10 garments).

We can also use heat-pressed vinyl for the addition of individual names, job or society titles or other customisation required to a garment order. The price for this would depend on the size and complexity of the design, as each is cut and pressed individually.

Can I combine a number of embroidered garments and a number of screen printed garments to make up a quantity rate for pricing?

No, these are completely separate processes requiring separate set ups and are thus charged as separate jobs.