Services

Artwork Design Structure

Process

By choosing to have our professionals at Helios Threads design your artwork, there is a few criterias to keep in mind:

• Contact us to schedule a 15 minute phone conversation
• Have an idea of number of print locations and colors
• Expect 3 sample designs
• Choose 1 design
• Express any changes that need to be made (first change is free; anything after is an additional fee

Please note that if designs were sent to the client, the client is requried to make payment regardless of whether or not the design was used in the final print.

Printing Types

Screen Printing Basics

Screen printing, sometimes referred to as silk screening, is a form of garment printing in which plastisol-based inks are pressed through a screen onto a garment, leaving a layer of ink on top of the fabric. Screen printing is the most established and widely-used form of garment printing available.

During the printing process, a set of screens (one for each color being printed) rotates around a press in a carousel motion and takes turns being pressed onto each garment.

We require vector AI files to be submitted for screen print orders.

DTG Printing Basics

Direct to garment (or DTG) printing involves an advanced inkjet printer laying ink directly onto a garment.

These prints are generally thinner than screenprints, allowing for more intricate designs and a softer print texture. The full range of color in a photograph or gradients of an image can be expressed.

We require high-quality (150 dpi) raster PNG files to be submitted for DTG print orders.

Heat Press Basics

Heat printing, also known as heat transfer printing, is the process of applying heat-applied materials to various items with a heat press, Heat-applied materials contain a heat-sensitive adhesive on one side; when heat is applied, the material adheres to the substrate to which it is being applied.

These prints feature vibrant, high-fidelity color and are customizable. These are often used for

We require high-quality (150 dpi) raster PNG files to be submitted for print orders.

Artwork Requirements

Providing valid artwork files and print specifications is critical to ensuring your orders are processed smoothly.

General Principles

• Only include what you want to have printed. Do not include extra whitespace, artwork instructions, or anything you do not want to have printed
• Provide the highest quality image available. High quality artwork results in a high quality print

Screen Printing

• AI file
• Fully vectorized — all graphics must be vectorized
• All text must be outlined
• Separate artwork canvases when printing on multiple sides of garment
• Artwork scaled to print size

DTG Printing

• PNG file
• At least 150 DPI for best quality
• Transparent background — ink will not be printed on transparent parts of the artwork file
• Artwork scaled to print size
• Separate artwork files when printing on multiple sides of garment

Heat Press Printing

• PNG file
• At least 150 DPI for best quality
• RGB color space — our production process exceeds the CMYK limits and thus RGB is more appropriate
• Transparent background — ink will not be printed on transparent parts of the artwork file
• Artwork scaled to print size
• Individualized artwork for each heat press print

Turnaround Times

We offer a 2 week turnaround time on all orders.

For orders that require expedited handling, we recommend the following:

• Prepare production-ready artwork
• Contact us to determine the items we have in stock
• Double check your order to ensure all of the data is correct

Shipping

Time in transit generally falls around 2 business days to the majority of the continental United States. International shipping times are higher and depend on destination country. In addition, international shipping is not included in the free shipping promotion.

Additional Information

Refunds

We make every effort to ensure the quality of our products. As a commitment to our goal of meeting the highest quality standards, we offer a money-back guarantee on garments that do not meet our quality standards.

We will credit your account when any one of the following occurs:

• Low quality print: the print washes away after a few cycles in the washing machine
• Printing error: the design printed is materially different from the order and artwork specifications provided to us
• Incorrect print specifications: the size or placement of the print is more than 1.0" off from the provided measurements.
• Missing garments: one or more garments are missing from the order.

In the case of missing garments, you may also have the option to receive amount of garments missing.

Filing a Claim

Please contact the customer service agent that assisted you with your order. To simplfy things, please include your order number in the email address. In addition, if the error involves a print size or placement issue, include a measuring tape, stick, or ruler in the photographs of affected garments

Upon verification, we will provide credits equal to the amount paid for the portion of the order that was incorrectly printed.

Returns Without Cause

Due to the customized nature of our products, we do not accept returns on products that were correctly printed and delivered on time.

Cancellations

Once an order has been placed and paid for, we do not allow cancellations. However, if you only received an estimate, feel free to cancel with any of our customer service agents.