FAQ: Printing

What is print on demand?

Print on demand is a sustainable printing and fulfilment method for manufacturing products on a per-order basis.

Since print on demand products are only produced once they have been purchased by the end customer, you don’t have to pay for the product until after you’ve sold it, eliminating the need for you to buy or hold any stock yourself.

Instead, Prodigi gives you access to a virtual inventory of customisable products. These blank products are supplied by the print partners in our global fulfilment network.

When a customer purchases a product from your ecommerce store, the order is sent directly to the production facility closest to your customer. They then manage the entire fulfilment process, from printing and packing your order to white-label delivery.

What is a Giclée print?

The word “Giclée” is French for “sprayed ink.” Today, the term is used to describe a sophisticated inkjet printmaking process that creates the highest quality fine art reproductions. More specifically, giclée printing offers extra-fine image resolution, helping retain a higher degree of detail from the original fine art or photographic images. All of our in-house fine art prints are manufactured using this method.

How long do your Giclée prints last?

A lot of research and development has gone into the various aspects and materials that make up a Giclée print.

The archival nature of the print varies according to the type of inks used, as well as the archival properties of your chosen paper and the conditions in which the print is displayed or stored.

Current scientific reports suggest that our recommended papers and Giclée printing process will produce a print that lasts between 100-200 years in optimal conditions. However, please note that any print located in direct sunlight is still likely to fade over time.

What is sublimation printing?

Sublimation printing uses heat and pressure to transfer dye onto material. The design is first printed onto special paper. Then, the garment is laid flat between two sheets and put under a mechanical heat press. This process causes the ink to be absorbed into the material, creating a long-lasting design that won’t easily fade or crack.

100% polyester shirts work best for sublimation printing. T-shirts always start out white, with the printable area covering the entire body of the flat T-shirt.

The key benefit of sublimation printing is that there are very few creative limitations. You can achieve any design or colour you want without the need for expensive bulk orders or unstitching.

However, the primary drawback is that white streaks or creases can still be visible after printing, particularly in the seams and under the arms. The best way to minimise this effect is to avoid dark background colours in your design.

How are your apparel products printed?

Our print on demand apparel is produced using DTG (direct to garment) print technology. We don’t currently offer sublimation (all-over print).

DTG

With DTG, you can choose any base garment colour, and the design is printed directly onto the garment using a special inkjet printer (a bit like a standard household printer, but one specially designed for fabric).

• Great for complex designs, precise logo placement and unlimited colours.
• Not optimal for block colour on black. If you’re looking to achieve a super-sharp finish, you might want to consider screen printing instead. However, screen printing is more expensive and requires large minimum order quantities

Sublimation

With sublimation printing, the design is first printed onto special transfer paper. Then, the blank (white) product is sandwiched between two sheets, and the design is applied to the whole piece using heat and pressure.

• Great for patterns, gradients and designs incorporating white.
• Not optimal for designs requiring precise placement, dark colours (these may look faded on white, and there can be creasing in the design) or sharp lines (these may blur as the ink is absorbed by the fabric).

Can I order sample prints?

Of course! We offer four sample pack options:

1. Fine art sample pack: Includes a selection of our premium fine art prints and photo papers as well as examples of our other specialist media.
2. Classic frames sample pack: Includes a selection of mouldings for our satin-laminated classic frames in all eight available colours.
3. Box frames sample pack: Includes a selection of mouldings for our hand-stained box frames in all three available colours.
4. Float frames sample pack: Includes a selection of mouldings for our canvas float frames in all six available colours.

Alternatively, you can order our sample pack bundle and get all four.

If you’d like to see samples of our other print on demand products, you can order these at a discounted rate by taking advantage of our ‘50% off your first sample order’ offer. To do this, simply place an order via our manual order form, send your order number to support@prodigi.com and we’ll process a 50% refund.

Please note that our sample packs and introductory discounts are subject to a fair use policy. Sample packs are limited to one per customer and are not eligible for discount. Introductory discount is valid for first sample orders only and limited to one product type per order. Customs charges may apply.

Prints are listed in centimetres and inches - what will be the size of my print?

We produce prints in both metric (centimetres) and imperial (inches) sizes. The sizing system being used depends on the product type and the country in which your order is being produced.

The table below should be used as a guide:

For example, our GLOBAL-FAP-18x24 (with the description: Enhanced Matte Art Paper, 200GSM, 45x60cm/18x24in) would be printed at 18x24” if produced in the US but 45x60cm if printed in the UK.

In most cases there are only a few millimetres difference between the metric and imperial conversions.

The reason we make this distinction is so that our print on demand products are sized in the measuring systems local customers are most familiar with. For rolled prints, this also means that local shops and picture frames will fit the products being produced locally.

What is your colour management process?

One of the most important aspects of our printing process is colour management.

Colour management involves the constant calibration of our printers, monitors, scanners and software to ensure the colour of your prints precisely matches the previews you get from our website. It’s painstaking but vitally important work.

If you’d like to set up your files before printing, you can download our colour profiles to soft-proof your images.

Can I have name/id/image details printed on the back of photos or prints?

Unfortunately, we cannot offer printing on the back of photos or prints. Some of our print partners may print file names on the back of photos, but these would be our own internal file names, not yours.

The only option would be for you to edit your image so that the details are printed on the front of the photo. This would need to be done before uploading the image file.

How do you orientate my images when printing?

Our print API automatically recognises the orientation of your image and allocates it to a landscape or portrait format, regardless of the product SKU you’ve selected.

If you order through the Prodigi dashboard, you can use our image editor, which allows you to manipulate your print file until it looks perfect.