Have you ever had a question and either didn't know where to find the answer or were too afraid to ask? If so, you've come to the right place.

As the name would suggest, this section is a compilation of answers to the questions our clients commonly ask. Just start by following one of the links below.

If you think of question that is not on this list, please click on "Ask a Question" and let us know what you're thinking. If enough people ask the same question, we'll post the answer in this section for future visitors.

1. Where are you and when are you open?
2. How do I order?
3. How do I go about getting an estimate from you?
4. What are set-up fees and how much are they?
5. Can you help with our design?
6. Art Guidelines
7. What is a "proof"?
8. How long does it take for you to complete my order?
9. What products do you carry and what do you have in stock?
10. Do you have samples?
11. Can I bring in my own garments?

1. 

   Where are you and when are you open?

   6340 Petersburg Street. Petersburg is south off of Dowling, between Lake Otis and the New Seward Highway. We are down at the end of the road, the last building on the right.
   Our office hours are 8 – 5 Monday thru Friday.

2. How do I order?

   The first step is consulting with one of our customer service representatives. We will discuss such things as your deadlines, style, budget, quantities and artwork. After this brief discussion you will be presented with various options of garments and decoration methods that will work for your organization. We try to work with minimum orders of 12 pieces for printing and 6 pieces for embroidery.

3. How do I go about getting an estimate from you?

   Well, since you are here, we would suggest you use our online estimate request form. Otherwise, the best way to ensure that we get all the information necessary to do an accurate quote, give us a call and talk with one of our customer service representatives.

   Our prices are based on the style of product, quantity you order, and also the amount of printing or embroidery we do for you.

4. What are set-up fees and how much are they?

   SCREEN PRINTING
   Each color of ink, and location of printing affects the final pricing. The initial set-up fees are a one-time charge that is determined by art charges ($45 per hour) and screen set-up charges ($25 per color/per location). Screen printing re-orders are only $10 per color/location for the set-up on each production run.

   EMBROIDERY
   Embroidery set-up fees (digitizing) are a one-time only charge. Left chest and hat front size designs are $80, and full back size designs are $200. If we digitize both size designs at the same time, we only charge $200 and digitize the chest design at NO CHARGE!

5. Can you help with our design?

   We have a full time design team working in our in-house Art Department. Art concepts for your project are brought to us by first talking with our customer service representatives. We will discuss such things as your deadlines, budget, and information to include in the design. You will then be presented with various art options in the form of art proofs for your approval before we print or sew anything.

6. Art Guidelines

   There are several kinds of artwork we can use for screen printing or embroidery. These range from originals on paper to electronic files. Whatever format you decide to use, providing the highest quality artwork will reduce the art costs, and will produce better results. This guide should help you decide how to supply your artwork to ensure satisfactory results.

   1. Originals on Paper
   We can accept black and white or full color images on paper. Clean, clear, high contrast images with crisp lines will produce better results. Paintings, photos, watercolor, and pen or pencil images will require more art time to generate a useable format. *Artwork of this variety may need to be slightly altered by our artists to make it usable. Transparencies and gradients may need to be modified as well.

   2. Computer Generated Art Work
   Here at Stellar Designs use both Windows and Macintosh computer platforms to ensure compatibility with most forms of computer generated artwork. Applications we use are:

   Adobe Illustrator CS4
   Adobe Photoshop CS4
   Adobe Indesign CS4
   Adobe Acrobat Professional
   Microsoft Word (text only)

   We may be able to translate other formats as well. Please check with our customer service staff to find out.

   Computer generated art is generally divided into two main categories, pixel based (also known as raster) and vector based. For application in screen printing however, the final result will inevitably be vector based.

   Here are some tips for preparing your electronic art files that will help to minimize art costs and maximize your satisfaction with the final printed result.

   - Pixel Base Files (also known as raster files)
   Pixel based art image quality is determined by resolution or dpi (dots per inch) There are many kinds of pixel based file options available. Just a few include:

   JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG, BMP and PSD

   These are all acceptable file formats. Your file should be high resolution (at least 300 dpi.) and should include that proper file extension in the file name (i.e. .jpeg or .tif). Anything less than 300dpi may produce unexpected results. Low resolution files cannot be increased in size without becoming blurry and pixelated. This makes low resolution images very challenging to work with. Please provide the highest quality image possible to ensure the best results! Also keep in mind that using gradients (multiple colors that fade into one another) and transparencies (portions of the art that reveal objects behind) may need to be modified by our artists to make them usable, and may vary from the original image.

   If you're providing an Adobe Photoshop file (PSD) please keep in layers to allow our artists to easily make edits or changes to the artwork if necessary. Transparent backgrounds are preferred.

   - Vector Based Files
   Vector based art differs from pixel based art in that image quality is not determined by resolution.

   Vector art is mathematically "plotted" with a series of points, lines, fills and strokes. There are a wide variety of vector based art programs available but not all are compatible. To insure that you file is accessible to our artist, we ask that you save all vector art as "Encapsulated Post Scrip" or .eps format. Please keep in mind that using gradients (multiple colors that fade into one another) and transparencies (portions of the art that reveal objects behind) may need to be modified by our artists to make them usable, and may vary from the original image.

   *NOTE - Opening a pixel based file in Illustrator or another vector art application and saving it as an .eps file DOES NOT convert the pixel file into vector art.

   3. Fonts
   If you desire to use a specific font, please be sure to include the font file along with the art file. TrueType font files are preferred. If you cannot provide the font file, please provide the name of the font. We can not guarantee that we can match or edit the desired font unless the font file is provided. Alternatively, if your artwork is vector you may convert your text to outlines prior to saving the file to ensure the font is "locked-in". However we will not be able make changes to the text once this is done without knowing the actual font name or having the font file.

   4. PDF's
   Sending a PDF or "Portable Document Format" is a popular way of electronically transmitting a wide variety of file types and making them accessible across different operating platforms. This is our preferred way of receiving files. If creating a PDF is not an option, we ask that you send your file as an EPS which can be opened by a wide variety of applications.

   5. Electronic File Transfers and Uploads
   Using the Internet to transfer your files saves you time, money, and the inconvenience of providing a disk. Thanks to the convenience of our online file transfer system you can easily send a file from your computer to ours in a matter of minutes.
   We'll send you an e-mail to confirm that we've received your file. It's that easy.
   Art files are often large so you may want to compress your files before you send them. You can do this with WINZIP if you are using a Windows operating system or Stuffit Deluxe if you are using a Mac operating system.

   If you have any questions concerning artwork or compatibility of file transfers. Please feel free to contact us at 907-562-4248 or toll free in Alaska at 800-478-4248. Our knowledgeable staff is always glad to help.

7. What is a "proof"?

   A proof is a way of ensuring that we have designed your job accurately and that everything is positioned according to your requirements. Typically, we will produce a proof which will be sent to you online or printed on paper.

   On multiple color jobs, we can produce a color proof on our color output device to show an accurate representation of the final product.

   Your approval on the final proof is assurance that you have looked over every aspect of our work and approve it as accurate. It benefits everyone if errors are caught in the proofing process rather than after the job is completed and delivered.

8. How long does it take for you to complete my order?

   Our normal turnaround time is 2 – 3 weeks. We like 3 – 4 weeks if we can get it. We work very hard to hit all of our customers’ deadlines, so just let us know if you need your order sooner than our normal timeframe. There is no additional cost for rush orders, except for the extra freight charges needed to bring the product in. If we can hit your deadline, we will.

9. What products do you carry and what do you have in stock?

   Our warehouse has a huge inventory on hand at all times, and sometimes we will be able to use “in-stock” items to fill quick orders. We offer many well-known brands.
   Please browse our Products page to further see which garment brands, or promotional products we can get for you.

10. Do you have samples?

    We have many samples in our showroom. If we do not have the item you are looking for, we can usually get a sample for you. We also can provide sizing stock for our customers who need to determine the individual sizes in the group they are working with.

11. Can I bring in my own garments?

    We prefer to print or sew on garments that Stellar Designs provides. We work with suppliers who design their garments specifically for the decorated apparel industry. Many garments purchased at retail stores are not “printing or embroidery friendly” because of seams, pockets, snaps, flaps, straps, etc. We stand behind the quality of our work, and cannot do so when the garments have not been supplied by Stellar Designs. Please call to discuss the details of your project with one of our Customer Service Representatives.