5 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Local Print Shop

Why this list exists

Custom apparel is one of those categories where the gap between a great experience and a bad one is enormous — but invisible until you're committed. The shirt you ordered four weeks ago shows up on Tuesday and either it's perfect or it's wrong, late, the wrong color, missing sizes, or a hundred other small disasters. By then, you have no leverage.

The questions below take about 10 minutes for any shop to answer. If a shop is reluctant to answer them, dodges, or improvises — that's your data. Move on.

Question 1: "What's your standard turnaround, and what affects it?"

The answer you want to hear: a specific range with caveats. Something like "1-3 business days for DTF transfers from artwork approval, 5-10 business days for screen printing including burning screens, and 2-3 weeks for embroidery during busy seasons."

The answer you don't want to hear: "It depends" with no follow-up, or "as soon as possible." Vague turnaround is how missed deadlines start.

Follow-up question: "What's an absolute hard deadline I shouldn't push past?" A real shop will tell you their breakage point. A shop that says "we can do anything" is either lying or about to disappoint you.

Question 2: "Will I see a digital proof before you print?"

The answer you want: yes, automatically, no charge.

A digital proof is a mockup showing your design as it will appear on the actual garment — color, position, scale, all of it. It catches misspelled names, wrong logo files, color mismatches, and sizing surprises BEFORE production starts.

If a shop says "no, we just print from your file" — they're saving themselves work at your expense. If they say "yes, but it's $25" — that's a charge designed to discourage you from asking, which means more shops can quietly print without proof and pocket the markup. Bad sign.

If a shop says yes, free, automatic — you have a partner who's actually invested in getting it right.

Question 3: "What happens if my order arrives damaged or misprinted?"

The answer you want: "We replace it free, no questions, if it's our error."

That doesn't mean every defect on every shirt. It means: if 5 shirts in a 50-shirt order have ink smudges, missing color separations, or wrong placement — you get 5 replacement shirts at no cost. Either we eat the loss or our supplier does.

Watch for shops that say things like "we charge for reprints" or "errors under 5% are normal industry standard" or "you'd have to prove it was our fault." These are policies designed to deflect quality issues onto you. Run.

The good shops have a "if you're not happy, we make it right" stance. They lose money occasionally on misprints and bake that into their pricing. That's how it should work.

Question 4: "What's your pricing structure for ${number} pieces with ${design}?"

The answer you want: specific numbers, in writing, broken down by component.

You should be able to see:

• Garment cost per shirt
• Print cost per shirt (per location)
• Setup or digitizing fees if applicable
• Total before tax/shipping
• Any quantity discount tier you fall into

If a shop quotes you a single number ("that'll be $400 for 30 shirts") with no breakdown — they may be padding the quote. The breakdown lets you see whether you can adjust quantity, garment, or method to fit a budget.

Also watch for the "we don't quote without a phone call" tactic. Some shops use this to pressure-sell. The real reason? They don't want their pricing comparable. A shop that publishes pricing publicly and emails breakdowns has nothing to hide.

Question 5: "What's the latest I can change my order?"

The answer you want: specific deadlines for each type of change.

Real example of a good answer:

• "Quantity changes (adding pieces): until production starts, usually 2-3 days after order"
• "Size swaps: until production starts"
• "Design changes: only before final proof approval — once approved, design is locked"
• "Cancellation: full refund within 24 hours of order, partial after that depending on what's been done"

Bad answer: "All sales are final after order placement." That policy benefits the shop and punishes the customer for normal real-world changes (a player drops out, a sponsor logo gets approved late, you find a typo).

The reality is that no order is locked the second money changes hands — there's always SOME flexibility before production starts. A shop unwilling to acknowledge that is signaling they prioritize their workflow over your needs.

Bonus: questions you don't need to ask but should listen for

Some signals come up unprompted in good conversations:

• Recommendations against your idea. "Honestly, screen printing isn't right for what you're describing — DTF would be cheaper and faster" is a sign of a shop that prioritizes outcomes over revenue.
• Specific past projects. "We did a similar order for a Smithtown rec league last fall — here's how we handled it." Real experience surfaces in specific stories.
• Realistic timelines. "We can have it done by Friday" when you ask on Monday is honest. "We can have it tomorrow" is usually a sign of overpromising.
• Knowledge of garment quality. A good shop knows the difference between a Port & Co PC54 and a Bella+Canvas 3001, and will tell you which fits which budget.

Red flags worth watching for

• Pressure to commit before you've seen written pricing
• Reluctance to put quote details in writing
• Vague answers about turnaround
• "Quote on request" pricing pages with no published numbers anywhere
• No mention of digital proofing
• "Buyer beware" return/replacement policies
• Slow response to your initial inquiry (more than 24 hours for a simple email)
• Communication only via phone — won't put things in writing

Bottom line

The questions are simple, and good shops don't dodge them. Ten minutes of asking up front saves you weeks of headache later. We've made this list public partly so customers ask US these things — we welcome it. The shops that get filtered out by these questions are precisely the ones you didn't want to work with anyway.