At Select Printing, our turnaround time is generally less than two weeks.

But sometimes you need a job done even faster. We are here to help you with that too.

Here are a few things that you can do to help us produce your job quickly and correctly. As you will see, the biggest keys are communication and reducing complexity.

Speeding Up Screen Printing Turnaround Time

Select Printing's print process isn't rocket science. Ultimately we're taking the design you want and putting it on the shirt, hoodie or whatever you want printed. 

However, when things get complicated it can really slow things down. Here are a few things that are in your control that will help us turnaround your screen printed job faster.

The item type

In-stock vs. hard to find

It is probably obvious that printing on items that are in-stock are going to be faster then getting items that are scarce and even on backorder. This is something that our sales team can easily help you with. They know the products we work with inside and out and can help you find items that have the quantities you need.

Key takeaway: we can quickly help you find items that are available right now

Setting your order quantity

Changing the order quantities needed after we've started the process can also slow things down. Sometimes this can mean restarting the job sequence or phasing the order, causing items to arrive at different times. We know that this situation may be out of your control. But if avoided it will keep things on schedule.

Key takeaway: picking a set order quantity up front will keep things from slowing down

Item color

Another factor that can affect speed is the color of item needed. We can print on any color and make it look great. But keep in mind that dark items often require extra steps to make that print really pop off the garment. If you need something in a hurry, consider ordering light colored items. It will speed up the print process and keep the quality at a high level.

Key takeaway: printing on lighter colored items can help speed up the process

Artwork

Our design team is great at helping you get what you want. Often artwork is a sticky point for a job when there are lots of complexities. We don't mind this in all. In fact, we love the challenge! But challenges can slow down the process. Keeping things simple can really help.

Provide print ready art

We realize that for some groups this may not be an option. However, if you have artwork that is print ready (ie a true vector file with colors broken in to layers) then it will really speed up the process. You can see how this works on our graphic guidelines page here. Building your art with a program like Adobe Illustrator is generally the best way to do that.

Key takeaway: provide print ready vector artwork to reduce the time it takes to print items

Be exact with your print dimensions

If you can provide how big and exactly where you want your image printed, that is also an easy time saver. For example, if you want a small print on the front of a shirt on the left chest, you could provide the following:

• Print size: 4" wide by 3" tall
• Print area: front left chest, 3" down from the color, 2" to the left of center

Now we know exactly how to mock up your design to get it right on the first try.

Key takeaway: provide as much detail as you can on the size of print and location

Keep the number of colors to a minimum

When items are printed, every color (on a typical job) has to be printed separately (the exception is full color printing but those are not fast jobs). So if you have 3 colors in a design they will take 3 times as long to print compared to a job that needs only 1 color. So ask yourself, "Do I really need more than 1 or 2 colors in this print?" If not, bring the number of colors down to speed up the process.

Key takeaway: the fewer colors in your design the faster it can go

The delivery factor

There are a few things that yourself and Select Printing cannot control and one of them is the mail or parcel industry. While there are several choices out there (USPS, FedEx, UPS) all of them rely on physically moving items from one place to another. And while local businesses in the Treasure Valley can arrange for a simple pick up or delivery, out of area jobs do require some logistical considerations.

Getting your items here to print or out to you

Since we keep our prices down by not stocking most items, we first order your items from a distributor. Under normal circumstances, delivering to us is pretty quick. Here are two things to consider if you need a speedy job done.

Holidays

If you are ordering items around holidays, keep in mind that most delivery companies will be giving their employees time off. And for busy mail holidays like Christmas, there is a lot more volume of packages being delivered. This can slow down when your items are delivered to our shop. This is when really planning ahead and talking to us about your job early can help a lot.

Key takeaway: consider potential jobs that may happen near holidays and try to give yourself a little extra time

Weather

Yep, even in today's world of electronics and instant information, in the printing world Mother Nature can still play a role. And while those of us in the Northwest understand that winter can play havoc, other parts of the country are affected in different ways.

For example, if you need items that are sourced from the southeast, hurricane season may play a role in delivery time. While there is no way to predict a hurricane, tornado or other natural disaster, be sure to work with us. We often can find you another distributor not in harm's way or an alternative but similar item you will love.

Key takeaway: weather can't be controlled but our sales team knows how to solve these types of problems

Hopefully these tips will help you understand how to speed up your screen printing turnaround time.

Successful jobs under a time restriction start with communication. Feel free to give us a call or send us an email to better understand the factors that can speed up or slow down the screen printing turnaround time.