Blurry ink!! Update post 4

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Well, the plot thickens for my professionally printed shirt.

I had a white T-shirt done at the mall yesterday. Brought it home and washed it in cold water and vinegar like the man said. Then I decided (stupid, stupid) to air dry it. I got up this morning and the lettering on the back was all blurry! That royal blue ink ran everywhere, and in some places bled through to the front of the shirt. GRRR!

I washed it again in cold water and Tide and put it in the dryer on low and it looks better than it did, but the letters on the back still have some blurring around the edges. I will be returning to the shop and having a little chat with the guy this morning. I need 5 shirts total, and if he wants to keep me as a customer he will cut me a deal on a replacement for the blurry one. I want the lettering on all 5 shirts to be clear, not 4 clear and 1 blurry!

Next time I will wash the shirts in vinegar, DRY them, then rewash in Tide and dry them again. This process really shouldn't be so complicated!

 

[julia & nicks mom]

That stinks - let us know how it works out!!

I have heard some people say that they have had cafepress print them and have been happy with the results

 

[sconnell]

Yikes! Post some pics when you can!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

The shop was much nicer than I anticipated! Despite a BIG sign that says "No refunds or exchanges on custom work!" they made another shirt for me, free of charge. Of course the manager said "We've never had a shirt do that." and kind of implied that maybe I really didn't follow his washing instructions, but they made me a new shirt anyway. They took back the blurry one so I don't have any pics!

So tonight I will wash the shirt in cold water and vinegar and NOT let it air dry. Hopefully that will solve the blurring issue and I can go ahead and have the rest of the shirts done next week. I can't wait until August! I'd rather have the shirts done now so it's one less thing to worry about. (And more time to come up with another solution if the new one gets blurry!) Besides, you never know when the shirt shop might go out of business!

EDIT:
I washed the new shirt in cold water & vinegar and immediately put it in the dryer on low. It looks great! No blurring whatsoever!

 

[itdjbw]

Glad they replaced it, let us know how this washing goes!

 

[sconnell]

Ok, now I need a pic of how good they came out.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I went today and bought 2 more shirts since the one from yesterday came out OK. DH was undecided between XL & XXL so he tried on the XL I bought for our friend and it fits fine. The shop had to order a 100% cotton shirt for DS because they only stock 50/50 in youth sizes, so I will have to go back for DS's and DH's. By mid-week I should have all 5 of my shirts!

I noticed that the one I washed yesterday is a bit more faded than the ones I did today, which makes NO sense. The same guy printed all 3 shirts, I washed them inside out in cold water, in the same machine, with vinegar out of the same bottle. But having one a little lighter than the others is better than having one with the ink running everywhere!

My friend is the one with all the computer knowledge and talent (he always e-mails pics of their trips to me) so after I give them their shirts I will ask him to help me post a picture.

 

[itdjbw]

Thanks for the update