Disclaimer: Recently I joined the Custom Ink affiliate program. That means when you click any links to Custom Ink in the following Custom Ink review and place an order I will receive a commission off your sale. While obviously incentive, understand I would recommend Custom Ink anyways. Personally, I used Custom Ink six times to date. Repeat business stands amongst the best endorsements you can give any company.
Custom shirts offer a great way to advocate. Customized gear enables you to spread a message personal to you. Or, start a conversation. Plus the clothing could boost group unity. Whatever your goal, you probably find yourself asking “How do I get started?”
Quite an overwhelming question! Previously, I provided a little insight insisting you AVOID SUNFROG SHIRTS! Making a similar blanket statement regarding who to use instead proves challenging. The right company to produce your apparel depends on your objectives and resources available to you. After reading today’s Custom Ink review you should know if Custom Ink will align alongside your needs.
Custom Ink Review
Resourcefulness
Many factors require your attention when deciding which business to trust with producing your custom shirts. First off comes the design idea. In 2016 while training to complete a half marathon a shirt idea came to me. Inside my head I clearly saw the design. Yet I stood unsure how to transform my vision to something tangible.
Enter consideration number one, your access to resources. Do you possess the software and skills to use said software to breathe life into your design? Perhaps you wish to outsource that responsibility to a professional graphic designer. Do you hold the assets to compensate such an individual, albeit financially, through alluring exposure, etcetera?
Lacking the abovementioned means I turned to Google to discover the tools to develop my concept. The search engine introduced me to Custom Ink. Via Custom Ink’s design lab I successfully replicated the design within my head onto my laptop screen. Rather easily too! At least, I found their design lab pretty self-explanatory.
Choosing Your Shirt Cannon
Using Custom Ink’s design lab mandates you also print with Custom Ink. Perchance you created your design externally, you encounter a pivotal decision. Imagine yourself standing amidst an arsenal, every existing shirt cannon surrounding you. Essentially Custom Ink and their competitors equal metaphorical shirt cannons. The various companies act as the mechanism distributing your attire to your audience. Your scenario influences the shirt cannon model best to select.
Maybe you plan to order items for a local group. Then distribute during your next meeting. Custom Ink allows you this chance without worrying about others paying you back. Courtesy Custom Ink’s “Start Group Order” ordering option you get to invite your fellow group members and collect size data and payment information. Incredibly convenient!
Well, the choice sounds convenient. Admittedly I cannot vouch because prior I always utilized the “Start Fundraiser” ordering option. By selecting “Start Fundraiser” I am able to sell my designs online. Excellent opportunity given you can accept a couple caveats.
Correlating Circumstances
Vitally important you need to determine interest level. Going the Custom Ink fundraising route involves reaching a print minimum. Fail to hit your print minimum and Custom Ink does not print your shirts. Oppose to a shirt, any purchasers receive refunds.
Your particular print minimum number remains dependent upon multiple components. These include how many colors your design uses, shirt product chosen to print on, and price point. The latter heavily impacts your print minimum. Increase your asking price and your print minimum lowers. Warning though! A higher sales price might scare some prospective buyers away.
Additionally you must gather your customers amid a certain time frame. Custom Ink fundraisers necessitate deadlines. Good news! You get to set the end date. Nevertheless you likely want to evade an overly long sales period. Custom Ink prints orders all together following a fundraiser’s completion (assuming you reach your print minimum). Thus, a longer running fundraiser causes early supporters increased waits before receiving their orders.
Advice From Avril Lavigne
Reading the above may understandably overwhelm you. Nonetheless allow famed singer Avril Lavigne to reassure you. “Lay back, it’s all been done before.” Those lyrics from her song “Complicated” seem fitting here. Although print minimums and deadlines may appear complex, I am proof “it’s all been done before.”
For reassurance, checkout my advice piece guiding you to achieve a successful Custom Ink fundraiser. Now however let us stick to the initial subject, reviewing Custom Ink. Logistically, the company supplies wonderful convenience. Since Custom Ink collects payments and ships orders, you avoid stress over related details.
Permit me to provide an example. I help oversee an online cerebral palsy community CPChatNow. Throughout the years we printed shirts, allowing members to wear their community pride. Logistics wise, a major factor to overcome entails the fact participants live across numerous states and even countries. Most recently, alternative to my co-hosts and I gathering addresses, keeping the sensitive data collected safe, packing items, and shipping them ourselves, our community simply trusted Custom Ink.
Custom Mastery
Previous to the most recent CPChatNow shirts, we used Custom Cat. Operational changes to Custom Cat caused them to no longer offer us a viable choice. Therefore I suggested Custom Ink. See! I told you I would recommend Custom Ink regardless the affiliate program incentive.
Personally I consider Custom Ink a master customizer. They ace custom print jobs. Their quality lasts. My first “However You Move” shirt I received in October 2016. Despite wearing frequently exercising, training, and at races, two years later the print job looks unfazed. To compare, I cannot say the same holds true with the CPChatNow shirts Custom Cat printed.
Beyond masterfully bringing custom designs alive, Custom Ink masters an equally valuable custom. Customer service! Their customer service cemented my repeat business.
Seismic Shift
Again I am putting forth the effort to remain straightforward. If I wrote my Custom Ink review after my original fundraiser experience, my review would alter much. Towards my original fundraiser’s end, I felt misled. Detailing specifics seems unnecessary thanks to Custom Ink’s response to my frustrations.
Ultimately Custom Ink representatives understood my concerns. To the extent Custom Ink decided to stop sending the misleading communication to successful fundraiser organizers. Still upset, I requested compensation. Custom Ink agreed to add extra shirts to my order. Their willingness to admit fault and compensate a jaded customer left me willing to give them a second shot.
Second chances led to my current status, a six-time Custom Ink customer. Each transaction increases my appreciation for Custom Ink’s customer service team. They consistently spot possible flaws pre-print and reach out outlining potential fixes. Dreamy customer service especially compared to my Sunfrog Shirts nightmare!
Custom Ink Review Final Verdict
Overall I covered a lot in today’s Custom Ink review. Seemingly unavoidable since printing custom shirts involves many factors. Two essential ones include your objectives and access to resources. For those lacking the latter, Custom Ink provides an equalizer via a pretty self-explanatory design lab.
If your objective involves wanting to sell your shirts online while avoiding logistical headaches, Custom Ink may work for you. Their “Start a Fundraiser” option allows you to sell your design online. However, you must meet a print minimum and within a certain time frame too. Although a little complex, running a successful Custom Ink fundraiser remains entirely possible.
Custom Ink will reward all the effort you put into a successful fundraiser with quality shirts featuring a lasting print job. Start Designing! By chance complications emerge Custom Ink’s excellent customer service team should help resolve the problems. I mean they transformed me from jaded customer to repeat customer. Now I am even an affiliate!
Perchance you need additional information to decide whether Custom Ink would make a good fit for you, I am happy to further share my experiences. Ask your questions below in the “Comments.” I promise to respond in a timely fashion.
Until next time, remember. Don’t blend in. Blend out!
-Zachary
