Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Take a look at our accepted file formats page.

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.

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.