Screen printing, also known as silk screening, is a popular printing technique used to transfer designs or graphics onto various materials, such as textiles (e.g., t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags). Our process for screen printing involves several steps:

Design Prep: The first step is to create or prepare the design that will be printed. In our shop, this is done digitally using graphic design software.

Screen Prep: A fine mesh screen, typically made of polyester or nylon, is stretched tightly onto a frame. The screen is then coated with a light-sensitive emulsion that hardens when exposed to light. The prepared design is transferred onto the screen by exposing the coated screen to light with a negative blocking the area for one color of printed design. The light-sensitive emulsion hardens everywhere except where the design’s negative blocks the light, creating a stencil on the screen. We call this “burning screens.”

Setup: The screen is mounted onto a screen printing press, which holds it securely in place. The item to be printed is positioned on a pallet that will pass underneath the screen. We use both manual and automatic presses in our shop for this and the next few steps of the process.

Ink Application: A small amount of ink is placed onto the screen near the top edge. A squeegee is then used to pull the ink across the screen, forcing it through the stencil and onto the item below. The ink passes through the open areas of the stencil, creating the desired design.

Repeat Process: The screen is lifted, and the substrate is moved around the printing press for the next color or for curing. The process is repeated for each color in the design, with separate screens prepared for each color.

Curing: Once the design is printed, the ink needs to be cured or dried to ensure it adheres permanently to the fabric it was printed on. In our shop, this is done through heat curing, and sometimes heat pressing, depending on the ink type and garment material.

Screen printing offers excellent color vibrancy, durability, and versatility. It allows for precise and high-quality printing on a wide range of materials, making it a popular choice for custom apparel, promotional items, and various other applications.

Screen printing and direct-to-garment (DTG) printing are both popular methods used for printing designs on garments, but they differ in their processes:

Screen printing involves creating a stencil (screen) for each color in the design. Ink is pushed through the screen onto the garment using a squeegee. Each color requires a separate screen and printing pass. Screen printing works best with simple, bold designs and solid colors. It is not suitable for highly intricate or complex designs with fine details and gradients. Additionally, screen printing is highly durable, with the ink forming a strong bond with the fabric. It can withstand frequent washing and wear without significant fading or cracking.

Direct-to-Garment Printing (DTG) printing involves using a specialized inkjet printer that directly applies water-based ink onto the garment. DTG printing can reproduce intricate designs, gradients, and photographs accurately, making it ideal for detailed designs or artwork with a large quantity of colors. DTG printing provides good color vibrancy, but the results may be influenced by the fabric type and color. The ink is absorbed into the fabric, resulting in a softer feel and a more "washed" appearance compared to screen printing. DTG prints are generally less durable than screen prints. The specific ink required for this process may fade or crack over time, particularly with frequent washing and wear. DTG printing can be more cost-effective for small batch or single-item printing since there is no need for screen setup.

We are now offering DTG printing in-house!

Embroidery is a decorative technique that involves stitching thread onto fabric to create designs, patterns, or text. It is commonly used to add embellishments and customized details to garments, accessories, home decor items, and more. Our embroidery process typically involves the following steps:

Design Creation: A design or pattern is created using specialized embroidery software to digitize artwork or logos. This means that the design is converted into a format that embroidery machines can understand and tells the machine the exact order and location of each stitch in the design.

Stabilization: The fabric on which the embroidery will be applied is stabilized to prevent shifting or puckering during the stitching process. This is done by using backing material or stabilizers that are hooped together with the fabric.

Hooping: The fabric and stabilizer are tightly secured in an embroidery hoop or frame, ensuring the fabric remains taut and stable while the machine stitches the design.

Machine Setup: The digitized design is loaded into an embroidery machine, and the appropriate thread colors are selected. The machine is then threaded with the chosen thread colors.

Embroidery Process: The embroidery machine begins stitching the design onto the fabric, following the programmed instructions. It uses various stitching techniques such as satin stitches, running stitches, fill stitches, and more to create the desired design.

Trimming and Finishing: After the embroidery is complete, excess threads or jump stitches and stabilizer are trimmed, and any additional finishing touches, such as steaming, may be applied to ensure a clean and polished appearance.

Embroidery offers a wide range of customization options, including the use of different thread colors, textures, and stitch types. It can create intricate and detailed designs, add logos or monograms, and provide a professional and personalized touch to various items. Embroidery is commonly used in the fashion industry, corporate branding, sports team apparel, personalized gifts, and many other applications.

We do not have a minimum order for DTG, embroidery, or vinyl orders.

For screen printing orders, we have a minimum of either:

-12 pieces for 1- to 3-color imprints and/or one or two imprint locations per design/colorway

-24 pieces for 4- to 6-color imprints and/or three or more imprint locations per design/colorway

We typically operate on a 2-3 week turnaround from the approval of your quote and artwork, but certain times of year we can see that go up to 4 weeks. Our busiest times are March through May and August through Christmas. If you have a hard deadline that you need your order by, please tell us up front so we can schedule your order accordingly.

We do currently accept supplied garments for any of our processes. All we ask is that items are in new or like-new condition (meaning clean and free from odor, stains, and pet hair).

Screen printing- 6 colors (including a white plate on dark garments if necessary)

Embroidery- 15 thread colors

VersaCamm Vinyl- no limit

Direct-to-Garment- no limit

We LOVE when we receive artwork that is already in a vector format (.ai, .pdf, or .eps) with designs AND text already in outline. That’s the dream. Vector artwork will always get your mock-ups to you more quickly than lower quality files or files that we need to take the time to recreate. If you don’t know what vector or outline artwork means or you don’t have a design file of that type, the highest resolution .jpeg or .png file you have will work.

We do offer design services. If you have an idea of what you’d like to have done, that helps give us a direction to start. We do not currently charge for design services when we will be completing the finished products through screen printing, embroidery, or vinyl production as it is incorporated into our pricing. If you need a design to take with you elsewhere, we do have a fee for just design services.

Absolutely! In fact, approval of a digital mock-up is a required part of our process before we will move into production of your order. You’ll receive a digital image with your quote of the approximate sizes, colors, and placements of your designs on the item to be decorated. This is a crucial part of our process so that we can make your vision come to life. If you need us to make any adjustments or changes to anything, this is the time to ask!

We use a price break structure for calculating the cost per item for decorated items:

For screen printing, there are price breaks at 24, 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 pieces.

For embroidery, there are price breaks at 12, 24, 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 pieces.

There is no set-up fee for screen printing.

There is a one-time digitizing fee of $40 for embroidery. After that fee is paid, we keep the digitized design on file for any future orders. If any changes need to be made to the file, such as an update to the year, we have a fee of $20 to alter that file and have that portion re-digitized.

Yes! We see this most often with jackets and items that get personalization. Jackets often get a logo embroidered on the front left chest and a vinyl wordmark on the back. Shirts that will be used as athletic jerseys or to support an athlete may get screen printing on the front and a name and number on the back. There are many ways that multiple processes can be used on a single item, so if you have an idea we would love to hear it!

We do ship orders! We typically use USPS for orders under a certain weight, like web store orders of single items. All other orders are shipped with UPS. If you have a preference for shipping method (expedited, etc) please let us know up front so we can accommodate that.

We can typically accommodate rush orders, but it is schedule-dependent. Please reach out to us as soon as possible to see if we can get your job on our schedule for your deadline. If shipping is required, make sure you mention that up front so we can plan for that as well.

Because all of our work is “custom”, we do not offer returns or refunds for items unless they are incorrect or damaged. Please reach out if you notice an issue with your order as soon as possible so we can make it right!

ARTWORK: Step one is getting the artwork together. There are two ways this typically works- either you come to us with your artwork that you'd like to use in the store, or you ask us to work within some parameters to create a design for you to use in your store. We're happy to help you get your ideas into a format that will work well on apparel.

INFO: Next, we need to know what types of items you'd like to include in your store, what dates you'd like your store to be "live" on our website, and any other details, like if you want to offer a bulk pick-up option.

We strongly recommend keeping stores to about 10-12 items.

Typical stores are live for one to two weeks to take orders, followed by a 3-week production window.

All orders placed through our website will have an option to be shipped, but you may also choose to add a bulk pick-up option in which customers can select your pick-up option to waive shipping fees and retrieve their order from you or at a designated event/location. We also have RockHound Pick-up as a permanent option for folks who are local to us and can stop by the shop during our regular business hours.

MOCK-UPS: Once we have the artwork and items all figured out, we get some digital mock-ups together for you to approve before we load them onto our website for purchase. This process can take a day, a week, or a month depending on your needs. Stores that offer a single tee can be up in as little as a day, while stores with more items and needing a new design usually take around a week to get set up.

SET-UP: We build each store on our website in-house so we can have more control over all the options and details. It takes a little while to do, but it definitely makes it easier when we notice any issues to be able to take care of them ourselves rather than having to go through a third party.

LIVE: Folks can place orders, you can share the link with your friends and on social media, and promote as much as you want! We take care of collecting all these orders, payment processing, and all that organization so you don't have to collect paper forms and cash/checks anymore. This is BY FAR the biggest pro to hosting a store through our website!

CLOSING: After the date listed on the store header, the store will be closed for ordering. We pull a big spreadsheet of all the orders that came in during the store's live period, sort and count, and then order the blanks for decoration. This process happens the day after the store closes, which is why we cannot accept late orders or make changes to orders after the close of the store.

PRODUCTION: Once all the blanks arrive in our shop, we sort and count them and get them on the schedule for decoration!

SORT AND PACK: After items are decorated, we lay them all out and sort them by invoice into bags or mailers, depending on whether that customer selected pick-up or paid for shipping. We pack each order, then mark them as complete in our system, which is when each customer will receive an email notification that their order is complete! Shipped orders will receive a tracking number, and pick-up orders can come to our shop to retrieve theirs, or reach out to the store coordinator to find out more info about pick-up.

There are two options for using apparel as a fundraiser with RockHound:

Website Store- add a mark-up to each item for fundraising. After the store is wrapped up, we cut you a check for the funds raised.

We offer a sponsorship rate on shirts when we can add our logo to the back as a sponsor. This is a great way to get shirts that you plan to sell at an event when you already have other sponsor logos going on the back! Then you can either take pre-orders before your event, or place a bulk order to sell at your event!