Nowadays you are only a Google search away from getting the answers to any questions that you may have. However, we noticed that we were getting a lot of phone calls and emails with some of the same questions that hadn’t been answered on the internet. With that in mind, we created printing and design answers directory on our site to help solve that problem.

The Answers section is designed to provide one central location where people can go to find the information they need about any of a varying topics related to custom apparel. For example in the Screen Printing section of the site customers can determine:

- What are the factors for screen printing pricing?
- What is flashing when it comes screen printing?
- Can you screen print on the pocket of a t-shirt?

And much much more. However, the information doesn’t stop there! We also have a design section which answers questions such as:

- What does CMYK stand for?
- Can you screen print t-shirts from a jpeg?

Planning to do embroidery instead? No problem! Check out the embroidery section of the Answers page where you can find out such things as:

- Can you embroider shading in a design?
- What is digitizing when it comes to embroidery?

Another great printing method is called digital printing. Check out that section to find out:

- How does digital t-shirt printing work?
- Why is digital printing not good on dark colored t-shirts?

Maybe you just have general questions about the products instead. Visit the Product section to learn:

- What is cotton twill fabric?
- Does the weight of the t-shirt effect the price?

We also strive to educate our customers about the industry as a whole. That’s why we included an Industry section with information such as:

- Do screen printers keep an inventory of blank t-shirts in stock?
- Do we get the total quantity price if we have multiple designs for printing at different quantities of t-shirts per design?

We also explain what some basic terms mean in the Definition section. Find out:

- What is a JPEG file?
- What is a one color front?

But that’s not all. There’s one more great section where you can learn basic Facts like:

- When was the t-shirt invented?
- Who is the largest clothing manufacturer in the United States?

If these questions have piqued your interest then please drop by this part of our site so that you can learn more! Remember these are just a few examples of some of the info you can get. If you don’t find the info you’re seeking then don’t let that deter you. As always you can call or email us with your question and we’ll answer it by adding it to the site.

We are pleased to announce the release of our Cooler Than A Hipster t-shirt. Typically of course at You Design It customers create their own designs for print; however, we wanted to step outside the norm a little bit and make a pre-designed t-shirt available for purchase. We had several reasons for creating this design. First and foremost it was just fun! It also provides a nice uniform t-shirt that we can all wear around the office that everyone can enjoy and be proud of. Another good reason is that it allowed us to experiment with different t-shirts and test different inks.

Check out a few of the features we had the most fun with on this design:

The Hipster Glasses – We created the vector eyeglasses completely from scratch. It wasn’t that time-consuming, but ultimately very rewarding since we were able to get the exact look that we were going for. In many ways the glasses are the focal point of the design so it was definitely essential that we get them just right.

Typography – We wanted to experiment with the typography of the t-shirt and create our own unique font. We’re really pleased with the way “cooler” came out and how it contributes to the overall design. Getting the look of the letters right is an often under appreciated aspect of a design, but for many designs it is vital. We’ll hope you agree that the type is just right for the design.

Uncommon Color Combos – Doing this design also gave us the opportunity to play around with unusual color combos. Getting the coloring of the design just right is another key aspect of the design and we thought long and hard about the colors we ended up settling on.

Color Shading Effect – Here at You Design It we usually print in solid spot colors without shading or gradients. That is because it is difficult to get shading just right in the final printed product to yield the type of results that the original design mock up called for. Doing this shirt gave us a great chance to practice executing this skill. It was also a pivotal part of the design which sets the tone for the shirt.

Mock Photo Shoot – One of the most enjoyable parts of the whole experience was the fact that after the t-shirts were printed we did a mock photo shoot to display the shirts. It was a ton of fun getting our friends together to model the shirts and figuring out the best poses, lighting, and setting.

Considering how much fun it was to put together this hipster t-shirt you can definitely expect more cool original designs to be coming soon. We’re already tossing around new design ideas for future projects and we also appreciate any feedback you may have to offer. So please let us know what you think of this t-shirt and if there are any other design topics you would like to see in the future!

Sometimes in sports it can come down to the final performance before the team or athlete knows if they will be making it to the postseason. This is especially the case in high school track and field because regionals are determined at the district meet. A track star can actually dominate for weeks ahead of the district meet but if they don’t bring their “A” game at district, they won’t be advancing to regionals. The coaches know this as well as the athletes and they typically call us in anticipation of winning results. That phone conversation usually is a request for us to be prepared to design and print t-shirts on short notice because the regional meet is only one week after the district meet.

Situations like these are where we excel. We have so many different track and field t-shirt designs to choose from, it’s easy to make simple customizable tweaks to tailor the design for your school. If we don’t have the design you are looking for, you can upload your own artwork or we can create it for you.

As a coach preparing for the postseason the last thing you need to be worrying about is the design or turnaround of your playoff tees. This was recently the case when we were contacted by a coach who uploaded two designs but also said we had the creative freedom to make something better. We opted to for the latter to create something from scratch. For us that is like rolling the dice but it was a gamble we were willing to take. Fortunately…we didn’t disappoint.

Above is the 2-color design we created for print on the front of white t-shirts. This artwork was created as fast as the track athletes wearing it. Test out our speed on your next quick turnaround for regional or state championship tees.

As you are probably aware by now Facebook has recently introduced new profiles with timelines and a large cover image as the header. This is somewhat of a bold move by Facebook considering their history of maintaining the aesthetic control of your page. The new cover image gives you the artistic freedom of 850px wide and 315px tall. This is huge for your brand serving as a billboard to express what you are all about.

We did a search to see what was out there and came up with some pretty inspirational images that you need to see. Check out the ten awesome Facebook cover images by t-shirt brands that we found:

If you agree and like these covers, then click through to their pages and let the brand know. Liking their page is a great way to connect and let them know you smell what they’re cooking. So there you have it, ten of the freshest brand images we could find. Have you seen other t-shirt brands with cool new covers? If so then please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

Here at You Design It we’re always looking for ways to make our customer’s lives just a little bit easier. Obviously we can’t do anything about the economy, high cholesterol, or anything along those lines, but one thing we can help with is making great design as simple and painless as possible. That’s why we created a set of high quality, free vector ribbons available for download in our Freebies section.

The ribbon as a design element as actually a good bit more common and pervasive than you might at first imagine. Tons of t-shirt designs and other design projects feature text or other small images emblazoned with a cool, banner style ribbon. They’re fun, versatile, and functional! One thing they shouldn’t be though is a lot of work to create. So don’t do it! We already did that work for you, just download the free set and pick the one(s) you like.

Now you can focus on creating the more important, prominent aspects of your design. Want more great design freebies? Stick around and check back often, we have tons of exciting things in the pipelines and please let us know what you think of the ribbons.

Unless you have been living in a pretty dark cave for the last several years you’re probably well aware of the social media trend. Nowadays it seems like everyone is on Facebook and Twitter and it is no longer only a hangout for individuals. More and more businesses, companies, and other organizations are also getting on the social media bandwagon. We’re no different because we want to connect with you.

Our goal with these social outlets is to cut up with others in the t-shirt industry or simply with people who are interested in t-shirts. That means we are attempting to connect with designers, printers, customers, and t-shirt bloggers. Basically…any t shirt enthusiasts.

If you think you would enjoying hearing from us on these topics then please follow us on Twitter and friend us on Facebook. We always appreciate likes and new friends! Be sure and spread the word about our social media pages too so that we can become the most popular kid in class…err, I mean have more friends.