How to Order
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There are so many products and so much information on this site, the best, most effective way to make your marketing most effective is to call or email us! 715-533-3000, naomibodway@thesourcehouse.com
We see these things all day, every day, and can help you navigate through the myriad of choices! If you can give us some clues on who your target market is, what message you are trying to communicate, and some idea of your budget and delivery method, we can make those suggestions even more relevant and one target!
How does your pricing work?
Like most things in life, you get what you pay for…and cheapest isn’t always the best! We are very competitive and have amazing vendor relationships, so you can feel very comfortable that anything you purchase through us will be a great value!
Prices on the website are meant to be a general guideline. Because everything we do is “customized” in some regard, your individual requirements might make the pricing higher, or even lower. Most pricing on the website or in catalogs, reflects a standard one-color imprint in one location. It’s our expertise and knowledge that helps you sort out if those items can be embroidered, or imprinted with multicolor logos, what locations are available for decoration, what extended sizes and color items come in.
Most always, there will be some type of set up or screen charge, and once you request a quote, we will be certain to include all of the potential charges. Quotes typically do not include tax or shipping costs, unless requested.
How do I place an order?
You can order on our website, via email, or by calling. Most often, it is best to place the details in writing, so every one is on the same page with what you want, how many you want, how soon you need them, what the imprint will be, and where it will ship. Those are all details that we will need in order to move forward with your order.
What kind of production time should I expect?
Production time varies from item to item, and manufacturer to manufacturer. On many items we can offer very quick rush turns, even 24-hour service. On other items you are looking at 5-10 business days for production, sometimes more if there are multi-colored imprints and multiple locations of decoration.
A good general rule of thumb is to expect a proof in 1-2 business days, actual production time will begin once you have approved that proof, and the order to go to production. Also keep in mind that there is “transit time” for shipping. The goods might be a 1 day ship from you or a 5 day ship from you, so we need to consider all of those factors in giving you a firm in hands date for your order.
What kind of artwork do I need?
Art must be in vector format, fonts converted to outlines, created in software programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, and saved as an ai or eps or pdf format. Vector art is scalable, which means it can be enlarged or reduced as need. Please remember that files like jpg, gif, bmp, and png are not able to be used, and they are typically non-vector files. We can often supply templates for your graphics department or designers to use in creating your artwork for particular products.
What if I don’t have any artwork?
We offer graphics services. We can often provide simple text at no charge, convert a simple file to camera ready art for about $15.00 and can also quote graphic design services for more complicated or creative needs. Contact us for details on your particular project.
How many color imprints is that?
Technology is changing constantly, and we are now able to offer full color imprints at incredibly reasonable prices! When you are looking to consider a product and its cost, please let us know how many colors of imprint, and how many locations you would like decorated! In general, the more colors in your design, and the more locations you want imprinted, the more expensive the product will be. Knowing what your goal is will help us find just the right product for your needs and wants!
Embroidery Guidelines
Embroidery is priced per stitch, and the number of colors does not affect your pricing at all. There is a base price for up to 5000 stitches (a standard left chest) and then each additional 1000 stitches will add to the cost. When embroidery is used, we need to create a computerized file called a DST file in order for your art to be embroidered, and there is usually a charge for that, starting at about $25.00 and increasing based on the number of stitches.
Silk Screen Guidelines
Silk screen is priced per color, so each additional color in your art will add to the price of your product or garment. You will likely pay a set up charge/screen charge per color of imprint, and per location. Another tidbit of info is that if you imprint on dark garments, they will be more expensive, as the process requires a “flash” be adhered to the dark color, so that the imprint will “pop” in spite of being on a dark garment. This imprinting white on a red shirt…. without the flash, it would turn pink! With the flash, it stays white! The flash process does add cost to the dark garments, but often creates a really memorable imprint!
Glossary of Terms
Camera Ready Artwork: Camera ready artwork is in fully vectorized format, with fonts converted to lines. Most often submitted as an eps, ai, or pdf file. Please note that we cannot use a jpg, gif, bmp or png as camera ready artwork.
Imprint Area: This is the maximum size that can be imprinted on any particular product.
Art Template: A template showing the best way to create your artwork for the available imprint space on a product.
PMS #: A number created by the Pantone Matching System to call out specific shades of any color. Used most often in corporate artwork when the “shade” of the color is important to the outcome of the project. Most manufacturers will have “stock” imprint colors available at no additional charge, but there may be a charge to match a particular PMS color.
CMYK Colors: Stands for "Cyan Magenta Yellow Black." These are the four basic colors used for printing color images. CMYK colors are most often used in digital imprinting, while the PMS color system is most often used in spot color imprinting.
Set Up Charge/Screen Charge: This is a charge for the manufacturer to take your camera-ready artwork and put it in a screen/or other format that allows their machinery to imprint your particular artwork. Typically you will have a charge for each color that is imprinted, unless you are doing digital full color artwork, which is typically covered by one set up charge.
Samples: A random sample of a product may be offered to show you in “real life” the quality, size, color etc. of a product that you are considering. Within reason, these samples are provided at no cost to you, unless you request expedited shipping of the sample.
Spec Samples: These are the actual item you are considering with the actual artwork you want imprinted on them. It is costly for manufacturers to stop their production to run one piece, so there is typically a charge for any actual spec samples requested.
Virtual Samples: A virtual sample is an electronic image of the item you are considering with your actual artwork shown on it. These are typically done at no charge.
Proofs: An electronic version of how your logo will appear on the item you have purchased is called a proof. These proofs are emailed to you as the client, for your approval, before the order will be released to production. Most proofs are included in the pricing structure of your item. For most 24 hour production or rush production, we have to waive the proof in order to move the piece to production immediately.
Over/Under Runs: Industry standard if that a variance of up to plus or minus 5% is acceptable. That means if you order 1000 pieces of something, you can receive and be billed for anywhere from 950 to 1050 pieces. You may be able to pay an upcharge of approximately $50.00 to require an exact quantity shipment.
Shipping Method: You can request that your order ship on your account, the Source House Account, or the manufacturer’s account. Most typically UPS and Federal Express are the carriers offered. We also ship via freight/truck carrier on orders that deem that the best option. The Source House will always seek to provide the most economical shipping method. Please note if you request or require an expedited shipping method, you will be billed for that method and not ground shipment, unless a prior agreement has been made.
Drop Shipments: This occurs when you request that the items you ordered be shipped to multiple locations/addresses. There is usually a drop ship charge for this service, per shipment, which is in addition to the actual shipping charges.
Copy Change Charge/Color Change Charge: It may be possible for you to change the color of imprint or the copy on a portion of your order. If you choose to do that, you will be billed a copy or color change charge. You will be made aware of that charge before we proceed with the changes.
Less Than Minimum Charges: You may want to order fewer than the minimum quantity listed by the manufacturer. Industry standard is that you can order one half of the listed minimum quantity, but you will be charged a less than minimum fee of approximately $50.00