FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How can I contact someone?
You can fill out our contact form for custom printing inquiries or send an email to hello@newduds.net .
Where are you located?
Our shop is located at 382 Hercules Drive, Suite 4, Colchester VT 05446. (near Costco)
Can I visit your shop/studio?
Covid-19 Times: We currently do not allow the general public into our workshop. If you need to come in please make an appointment by calling ahead and chatting with a member of our staff. Thank you!
hello@newduds.net / 802-489-5128
Common Custom printing FAQs can be found on our Apparel Printing page.
Common Embroidery FAQs can be found on our Embroidery page.
What brands do you print or embroider on?
Lots! Take a look at our favorite blank items here.
What exactly is screen printing?
Well, simply put, it’s printing through a screen! Screen printing is a way of decorating apparel and other surfaces by forcing ink through a prepared stencil made on a mesh surface that is printed onto the final product. Our inks are made to last and are heat cured onto garments. It all starts with a design, then a film positive, followed by some magic in the darkroom. Then voila, we have a stencil on a screen and we are ready to print!
When you send us a file, the first thing we do is assess the amount of colors in the design. If your design is red, blue and green, then each of those colors will be color separated by one of our staff and each made into its own screen. The more colors, the more screens. This helps us determine the cost of your job to make sure we are both on the same page. Then we isolate each color in the design, and print that part of the file in black on a transparent film.
Making the screens
With our separated films in hand, we turn to the dark room to make the screens themselves. This is much like a photo dark room with a similar process. Each film is placed on the light table with the screen on top of it. Our LED UV light source from below turns on and “burns” the image into the screen. The emulsion (pink stuff) you see on there is a light sensitive material, and when light hits it hardening occurs. The black in the film positive from your design blocks the light from the emulsion and stops it from hardening in those spots. When the lights turn off and the exposure is done, we take it to the sink to rinse out. Remember all those spots that were blocked by the black in your design? Since those didn’t harden they simply wash away leaving us with a stencil on a screen for each designated color.
Time to print!
Let’s load up the presses! Each screen is placed on one of the print heads on either our manual or automatic press. Our print team lines up each color to the next, otherwise known as registering a job. Once everything is perfectly lined up, we can tape off the registration marks and get your job running. After the print is made, our inks need heat to cure. The last step in the process is to put the shirts through a conveyor dryer. This will insure longevity in your print. The shirts roll through our 20 foot conveyor dryer at 850 degrees. Once they pop out the other side they are counted, folded, and boxed up. We can’t wait for you to see your product!
Common Questions about our own products:
Do you do wholesale?
Yes we do! Several of our most popular designs, including Vermont gifts, are also available as wholesale items. Send an email to wholesale@newduds.net for more information, we can send you our linesheet. We have a minimum order of $200.
How do I return or exchange something I purchased from New Duds?
Please send back the item with a note on what you would like instead or your reason for return as well as your contact info. Once you ship the product to us, we will cover the shipping back to you. A simple envelope, shipped USPS, is usually the most economic option. You may also return our products for a full refund (minus shipping charges). Please make sure exchanges and returned garments are unwashed, and all other products are in their original packaging.
Ship to: New Duds, 382 Hercules Drive, Suite 4, Colchester VT 05446.
Can you teach me to screen print?
We have considered doing a class in the winter months, but do not currently have enough time to make it happen. Our friends teach printmaking classes at Burlington City Arts.
Are you Hiring?
Check the JOBS tab below for any current openings. We are a growing shop and often hire when the right person comes along. If you are interested in being considered for a position please send a resume and cover letter to hello@newduds.net and we'll keep you on file!