Frequently Asked Questions

The world of screenprinting can be a mysterious and elusive realm to dive in to. We know you have some questions. Here are some of the more frequently asked ones to help you along. Think of it as a friendly hand holding while we emerge from a dark cave on to a beautiful overlook in which you learn the secrets behind what it is that we’re doing here.

Do I have to pay full price if I print the same shirts later?

Yes. We don’t charge any outrageous art work set-up and or screen set up fees. We have included that into our listed price. We do keep all our films on-file, so any reorder will move along quicker.

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What is a “flash” layer?

A Flash Layer is when we double print a color on your shirt. If you’re printing light ink on dark shirts, we’ll usually print that light color twice so that the dark fabric doesn’t show through the light ink. This why we have slightly higher prices on our dark colored shirts, and it will make your shirts look a million times better. Of course, you may be going for that faded look, and want the ink to be semi transparent, that’s fine, just let us know ahead of time, and we will make the proper adjustments to your cost.

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What is an underprint?

A primer coat. An underprint is a layer of white ink that we lay down under your design when you print on darker colors or black shirts. The underprint gives us a base to print your design on, and makes the colors turn out how you want them to. It costs you the same amount as if you were printing another color on your shirts, but if you’re printing white in your design, we can use that screen for the undercoat (usually in conjunction with a flash print).

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Some shirt printers don’t charge for an underprint? Why do you?

Because it costs us money to print it. In order to give you the best possible price, we run very close to our cost. When we have to pay for something, we have to pass that cost on to you. Many screen printers include the cost of an underlay in their regular pricing even if you don’t need it. We like to only charge you for what you get.

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Why do dark shirts cost more to order?

Because they’re more expensive to buy blank, and it’s harder to print on them. Dark shirts, in general, cost about $1 more even before they’re printed. In addition, we usually have to print extra layers of ink for your design to look good when all is said and done.

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Can I use a picture from my web site on my shirts?

No. Web images are saved at 72 pixels per inch. We need at least 200 pixels per inch to get a decent print. The rule of thumb is that if you print an image out on a good laser / ink jet printer at the size you want it printed on your shirt, and it looks jagged or ugly, that’s what the final print from us will look like.

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Is there a difference between a bitmapped .tiff and a .bmp file?

Yes. A bitmapped .tiff file is an image that has been scanned as or converted to lineart and saved in the tiff file format. There is either black or white on this image; no gray tones. A .bmp file can contain colors, and are generally very large in size and low in quality. We do not print from .bmp files.

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How can I get my shirts cheaper?

Change your order. So you want cheaper shirts. Here are your choices:

  1. Print Fewer Colors - this will get rid of some of your setup and printing costs. the result is cheaper shirts and a cheaper overall price.
  2. Use More Inexpensive Shirts - if you’re not using the cheapest shirts available, and you want to bring your pricing down, ask us to price cheaper shirts for you. This will give you cheaper shirts and a cheaper overall price.
  3. Print More Shirts - if you print enough shirts to get to our next price break, you will potentially save lots of money. This will give you a lower per-shirt price.

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Will you print dirty words on my shirts?

Sure. Nobody has sent us a design yet that we wouldn’t print. This isn’t a challenge, it’s just a fact. We reserve the right to refuse service, but you’d have to get pretty crass before we’d exercise that right.

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Can you do full color shirts?

No. At this time we can do spot color printing up to 6 colors.

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Is there a difference between screen printed shirts and vinyl heat transfer shirts?

Yes. Simply put, silk screened shirts are printed to last, heat transfers are not. That does not mean that vinyl transfer shirts are inferior.

Remember those 1980’s Star Wars shirts with the photos on the chest? The ones that made you sweat in a big, square shape between your nipples? Those were vinyl transfer shirts. Sure, they disintegrated and got too ugly to wear after a couple of months, but they sure were cool while they lasted.

Screen printed shirts, on the other hand, are actually plastisol printed onto your shirts. And while it may fade or crack a little bit, if you take reasonable care of your shirt, they’ll look great for years to come.

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What is your minimum order?

One Shirt. Seriously. For non-rush jobs, we don’t have a minimum order. But you still have to pay for setting up the screens, so it will be relatively expensive for you to print one or two or a half-dozen shirts. But if you want it done, we’ll do it. Rush jobs require that you order at least 24 shirts.

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How fast can you get my shirts to me?

The absolute fastest we can print shirts for you is 3 days plus shipping. This assumes that the shirts are available in our Murfreesboro shop. Remember though, that you’ll be paying extra for the rush (and even more for rush shipping if you need that), so try to think ahead and place your order 2 or 3 weeks before you actually need the shirts.

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What kind of shirts do you print on for your personal projects?

There are a couple of choices. Jerzees 5.6-oz tees are great if you want that tighter, sexy punk rock look. If I want a heavier tee, Gildan has a light and heavy weight shirt that are an excellent standard tee. Fruit of the loom is as comprable, but some seem to have a thicker collar

Of course, if you’ve got extra money, and you want really nice shirts, check our prices for American Apparel shirts. They’re hands-down my favorite shirts, and they’re US-made, available in organic ring-spun cotton, and very soft.

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What is your return policy?

If we print your shirts wrong, we’ll redo them right. If we print your shirts wrong because of an error on our end, we’ll reprint the shirts for free. If it becomes a rush job because we messed up for you, we’ll rush the printing (faster shipping at your expense). You are responsible for sending the bad shirts back to us.

If the shirts are wrong because you didn’t proof the images we sent you, or you picked out the wrong color, brand, size, etc, we’ll work with you to reprint them, but we accept no responsibility for the error.

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What is your refund policy?

If the shirts are wrong because of an error on our end, send them back and we’ll credit your account. If they’re wrong because of an error on your end, we do not offer a refund or credit.

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Do you accept credit card payments?

Yes! We can accept your Visa/MasterCard via Paypal. If you don’t already have an account, go to paypal.com and sign up. Or you can always fed-ex us a money order. Our physical address is:

Grand Palace Silkscreen
128 1/2 N. Church Street.
Murfreesboro, TN 37130

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Can I write you a personal check?

You can, but it will delay your order for up to a week while we wait for it to clear. We recommend sending a money order or using Paypal.

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I’m in Murfreesboro, how do I get to your office to make a payment or pick up shirts?

Follow these directions. Go to the Murfreesboro square, we are on the corner of Church and College, we are upstairs, our door is the one with all the posters on it, and a painted sign that says, you guessed it, Grand Palace.

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I’m in Nashville, how do I get to your office to pick up shirts?

If you’re in Nashville, email us to find out how we can get the shirts to you, we come to Nashville a couple times a week, otherwise, come on down to Murfreesboro.

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Are you guys in a band?

Yes. Well, Chuck isn’t, but Bingham is in Glossary, and Jessi and Nikki are in Those Darlins.

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When does the clock start for my job’s turnaround time?

As soon as we’ve got final artwork and payment in full. We need payment up front and artwork before we can start processing your order. So if you’re in a hurry, make sure you’ve got those two items ready to go so your shirt printing order isn’t delayed.

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How do your price breaks work?

For shirts before printing, your price breaks come in at 24, 48, 72, 144 and 200 pieces in the same color and style. You can mix sizes.

For printing price breaks, you’re looking at quantities of 24, 48, 72, 144, 200, of the same screens in the same location. You can change colors for a price, and still keep the price break.

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Will you dropship my shirts to multiple locations?

Yes. We will send your shirts wherever you want. Just keep in mind that shipping them all together will save you some money. But while you are on tour, and you can’t sleep in the van because of all the damn t shirt boxes, you will appreciate the drop shipping. We do this for several of or clients.

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Do you ship outside of the United States?

No. But we’ll ship anywhere in the United States.

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What is this “Grand Palace”?

Record store, screenprinting shop, recording studio, and record label. We all share the same floor of a building built in 1843. It has high ceilings and awesome trim around all the doorways. It has a palace feel.

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How do I know that you’re going to print the images where I want them printed?

We will send you a proof with approximate size and placement upon request.
Before we print the positives, we send you a gif or jpg file for your approval, then it’s to the press.

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How do I decide what size to print the design on my shirt?

Measure it. We recommend measuring other shirts you have with similar designs. You can also cut out a piece of paper to the size you think you want printed and hold it up to your shirt. Also, if you are ordering youth sizes or babydoll shirts please take into consideration the smaller “canvas” size.

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Will you print and ship one or two shirts at a time for me as I get orders?

Yes. We’re not entirely happy to do this for you, but you’ll be paying crazy setup fees. You’re much better off printing 24 shirts and having them shipped straight to you so you can handle the whole thing. But if you are trying to get something going, (trust me we understand what it’s like sometimes), we will help you out all we can.

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Did you know? You can pay for posters / apparel with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or AMEX all through the miracle of PayPal!