Bluelime GraFX Terms and Conditions and FAQ's

Call us: 1.240.440.9005

Terms And Conditions Of Service

Rights And Ownership
Communication
Payment Schedule
Delayed Payments
Miscellaneous
Consensus

Rights: All services provided by Bluelime GraFX shall be for the exclusive use of the client other than for Bluelime GraFX’s promotional use. Upon payment of ALL fees the following reproduction rights on all approved final designs shall be granted:

— Client to gain full transferable rights to brand identity.
— Client to gain full license to reproduce works through other print providers.

Ownership: The client shall be entitled to full ownership of all completed artwork upon payment in full of all overhead fees. For customers that don’t want to pay for art services then all rights to the artwork provided is still owned by Bluelime GraFX and will not be remitted to the customer until ALL fees are paid. If art or any copy thereof is found to be used then Bluelime GraFX has the right to bring legal actions to you as the customer and all legal fees will be paid by the customer as well. Art work fees are $60.00 per hour rounded up to the nearest hour.

Third party contracts: Bluelime GraFX may contract with outside professionals to provide services including but not limited to web development, photography, illustration, printing, and film. Any third party terms and conditions may apply and will include full reproduction rights for the client. Where such contracting adds to the project cost, the client will be asked for permission to proceed. No project will commence on the assumption that third parties may be required for project completion. Third party contracts will be finalized prior to project commencement, unless requested by the client at a later date.

Bluelime GraFX can be reached by telephone, text, or email Monday through Thursday between 8am and 5pm and Friday between 8am to 12pm Eastern Standard Time.

The client will make a non-refundable fifty percent down payment at Bluelime GraFX’s discretion before commencing work. Project(s) will be scheduled upon receipt of down payment and/or art has been approved directly by client or the client’s liaison. Remaining balance is payable to Bluelime GraFX upon completion of the project and before design work is given to client.

Update

Due to lack of payment of certain individual clients we have revoked the fifty percent down payment for any orders. We require full payment upfront before work starts. Once we have a good working relationship then we may consider moving to the fifty percent down payment for future orders.

If, after the project has commenced, subsequent invoices are not payed within 30 days, a 5% late payment fee will be charged per month and will be compounded each month thereafter until paid in full to Bluelime GraFX.

Samples: The Client shall provide Bluelime GraFX with samples of print design that result from the completed project. Such samples shall be representative of the highest quality of work produced. Bluelime GraFX may use such copies and samples for publication, exhibition, or other promotional purposes.

Bluelime GraFX shall have the right to use photographic images of completed projects for the following, but not limited to: web development, photography, illustration, printed materials, and film and shall have the right to use such images for publication, exhibition, or other promotional purposes.

Confidentiality: The client shall inform Bluelime GraFX in writing before the project commences if any portion of any material or information provided by the client is confidential or protected.

Indemnity: The client agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Bluelime GraFX from any and all claims, demands, losses, causes of action, damage, lawsuits, judgments, including attorneys’ fees and costs, but only to the extent caused by, arising out of the work created and supplied by Bluelime GraFX.

The above terms and conditions will be provided with the estimate in a printed and/or PDF document. Transfer of the down payment or art approval indicates client acceptance.

Q. Is there a minimum quantity we have to order?

A. Yes, we usually ask for a minimum of 12 items for a new screen printing job. On a reorder, we may allow you to get fewer but remember our prices will be higher for a smaller quantity. For embroidery, it’s not as big a deal. It’s still nice if you can bring us at least 6 items. If you only need a few shirts and your design is very simple we can sometimes use our heat-applied film. See Heat-Application section below.

Q. How long will it take to complete my order?

A. It depends on the time of year. During January and February, it can be as short as a week. In the warmer months, we are often busy enough that turnaround time is closer to three weeks. The rest of the time it’s around two weeks. It’s always a good idea to call or shoot us an email as early as you can, so we can let you know what the current turnaround is and possibly allocate time on our production schedule.

Q. What if I need my order completed sooner?

A. We are sometimes able to adjust our schedule and work a job in earlier than our current turnaround time. Contact us as soon as you can and we’ll let you know if it’s possible for us to meet your deadline. The usual rush fee is 25% of your order total.

Q. Do I have to come to the shop to place my order?

A. You can if you want to. We also accept orders through email or over the phone.

Q. Can I make a change to my order after it’s placed?

A. Up to a certain point. As long as we’re still a week or more from your production date, it’s no problem to make a change. After that, we may have to push your production date back to allow time for us to order and receive your additional items.

Q. Can you ship my order to me?

A. Most of the time we deliver to our clients; depending on the distance, but we can also ship orders out through UPS, USPS or FedEx whichever cost less. The shipping costs will be added onto your invoice. If shipping the order we require payment in full before the order is shipped out.

Q. What if I want to order more items at a later date?

A. We’ll keep your silkscreens around for at least a few months, so if you place another order we can just reuse the silkscreens. Just let us know how many you want to get and we’ll let you know what the price will be for them. For embroidery, we’ll keep the digital file indefinitely.

Q. How do I get a price quote?

A. To get an accurate price quote, we need to have a few pieces of information:

How many items are you looking to order (just a ballpark estimate).
What locations do you need to be printed?
How many colors are in your logo/design?

For embroidery pricing, see the Embroidery section below. If you have this information, just email it to us and we can get you a price quote.

Q. Are there any price breaks?

A. Yes, our pricing varies depending on how many items you order. For screen printing, the breaks are at 10, 21, 31, 41, 51, 100. After that it’s more of a job-by-job basis.

Q. Can I bring in clothing to have printed/embroidered?

A. Yes, we can print or embroider on clothing that you supply. The one problem we can have is if we happen to have a misprint (it happens from time to time). If we supply the garments, we’ll simply order another one and reprint it. If you supply the garments, we may have to ask you to bring us another one and we’ll reprint it. We won’t charge you for the misprinted item, but we also won’t be able to reimburse you for the replacement.

Q. Why do you need to know the number of colors?

A. Unlike your inkjet printer at home, silkscreen printing requires us to make a separate silkscreen (sort of like a stencil) for each color in your design. Then we line them up and print them by hand on our press. So each color requires extra setup and print time.

Q. Do I need to make a deposit to place an order?

A. We don’t require a deposit for most of our jobs. If your order is over $2,000, we may ask for a 50% deposit up front.

Q. What types of payment do you accept?

A. We accept cash, checks, and all major credit cards. If you send us a check through the mail, please send it to P.O. Box 446, Hickory NC 28603 instead of our business address.

Q. Our organization is tax exempt. How do we get the tax taken off our order?

A. We just need a copy of your organization’s Sales & Use Tax Exemption Certificate to keep on file, and we can keep the tax off your order.

Q. What types of art files can you use?

A. We prefer vector artwork for your design. Vector files usually end in .ai, .eps, or sometimes .pdf. We also accept high-quality (150 pixels-per-inch or more; we prefer 300 pixels) raster images. Acceptable formats include .jpg, .png, and .psd. (we prefer .png or .psd with a transparent background to save us time and you money)

Q. What is vector artwork anyway?

A. Vector artwork doesn’t use pixels like a usual image file (Our owner likes to describe it to our clients as cutting out your artwork from a solid piece of paper versus using tiny square pieces of confetti to make your art. ). Instead the design is formed by a series of points/handles that define the shapes. This means that the design can be made any size without a loss in quality. Most computers don’t have the software to open vector art files, so please do a quick check to see if you have a vector version of your logo. You can tell a vector file by the file extension (usually .ai or .eps).

Q. How big should my artwork be?

A. For raster image files, we would prefer the art file to be at least 150 pixels-per-inch if possible; 300 pixels is even better. This means that a left chest design would be around 600 pixels on its long side, and a full front or back design would be around 1800 pixels wide. If your artwork is a much lower resolution, it may come out blurry or rough when printed.

Q. How big can my imprint be?

A. Generally, a left front design fits within a 4 x 4″ area. A full front or back design is about 12″ wide by 14″ tall. If you want your imprint bigger, let us know and we can discuss your options. Something to keep in mind is that we can’t change the size of a design after the silkscreens are made, which means we have to size the imprint based on the smallest shirt on your order. If it’s a large order, we occasionally make two sizes of a design to cover a large range of sizes.

Q. I don’t have a design/logo yet. Can you make one for me?

A. Certainly. We do design work all the time. Just give us the details of what you’re looking for and we can create a design for you. Keep in mind that we charge $60.00 an hour for custom artwork.

Q. I already made a design on another website. Can you use that?

A. Not directly, but it can be helpful for us to see what you’re thinking. We have to reproduce the design using the fonts and artwork we have available, so the final result may not match exactly.

Q. Will I be able to approve the design before you run my order?

A. Yes, if you would like to see a digital proof of your design we can send one to you. We prefer to avoid running printed samples because most changes require new silkscreens to be made.

Q. What if I want individual names and or numbers on the shirts?

A. We cut the names and numbers out of heat transferable vinyl (see Heat Application below). This keeps from having to use so many screens and keeps the cost down for our clients. We also can use a digital heat transfer for a more elaborate design for names and numbers. It all depends on what you are looking for. We also require our clients to provide us with a spreadsheet or typed list of each name so we can make sure the names are spelled correctly when we prep the jobs. If our spelling matches the spreadsheet or typed list then it is at the cost of the client to replace it.

Q. What brands/items do you offer?

A. We offer a large variety of items from several vendors. Take a look at our catalog to see some of the stuff you can choose from. If you don’t see what you are looking for then contact us and we will see if we can find a company that can supply it to us for your print needs. Common items include t-shirts, long-sleeve t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, jerseys, hats, jackets, polos, and more. We have even printed metal saw blades for a company.

Q. What sizes are available?

A. Most garments come in adult small through 2XL sizes. In certain styles we can get XS or all the way up to 6XL. We have a few items that come in tall sizes. Youth sizes are also available in many styles, and we can even get toddler and infant sizes. Keep in mind that a full-front or back imprint will not fit on a toddler or infant shirt which causes us to have to use another set of screens.

Q. Can we get samples of an item or items to see/try on?

A. We’re happy to provide a few samples of our low-cost items (t-shirts, polos, sweatshirts) if we have them on hand at no cost to you; however we do require our clients to return them to us so we can allow others the same privilage. If you want a large variety of items or a more expensive item, we may add the cost for the blank items onto your invoice (unless we end up using it for your order).

Q. Do you make any promotional items (pens, cups, bottles, etc)?

A. As of right now not on-site, but we are working to acquire the equipment it takes to produce such items here in our company. For the time being we have these sort of things printed through another company.

Q. How much will it cost to embroider my design?

A. Embroidery pricing is based on how many stitches it will take to embroider the design. So we usually need to see your logo, or at least have a very good idea of what your design will be to get a price. There’s also a one-time digitizing fee to set your design up the first time.

Q. What is a “digitizing” fee?

A. Our embroidery machines require a specific kind of design file that includes information about where each stitch goes. So we have to set up your design in our software before we can embroider your items. This is a one-time fee, so we’ll keep the design indefinitely for any future orders.

Q. Can we embroider on any location or material?

A. It depends on whether we can get an embroidery hoop in the location or material.

Q. Can we get custom names/numbers?

A. Yes, we can apply names and numbers using our heat-applied Thermo-FILM. If your order includes custom names, please give us a typed list of the names and sizes. Handwritten lists of names can occasionally be difficult to read, and we want to make sure we get everyone’s name spelled correctly.

Q. What is Thermo-FILM?

A. It’s a durable polyurethane material made by Stahls. We use a heat-press that’s over 300 degrees to apply the design onto your garment. Once it cools, it becomes permanently affixed to the fabric (though we do have a special chemical that can remove it if necessary). Normally we use it for jersey names and numbers, but we can cut out any basic vector design.

Q. Can you make just one shirt?

A. It can be very costly to set up and screen print a single shirt, but if your design is simple we can often apply it with Thermo-FILM. That can make a small batch of shirts more affordable. Pricing for Thermo-FILM is based on how many inches of material we’ll need to cut out your designs, so the size of your design will affect the cost.