Custom Ink News & Events

Print Custom Shirts Same Day at Custom Ink Stores

Posted By Kate Degen

If you’ve ever thought “I wish I had a custom t-shirt” for your event or occasion, but time constraints held you back from creating and getting your one of a kind tee in time–fear not! Custom Ink is excited to offer customers same day printing at participating stores on orders of 5 or fewer tees. It’s as simple as stopping in, working together to create your design, and giving us a little bit of time to get your shirt printed–then you can pick it up and be on your way.

If you read our 5 Reasons to Visit a Custom Ink Store article, you know that coming in lets you experience our products–you can look at sizes and touch and feel all sorts of fabrics and styles, which makes finding the perfect product for your occasion a breeze. Once you’ve found your shirt, our helpful Inkers will give you one-on-one design support, making the process a breeze.

Custom tees make great gifts, but the experience of making your own is a gift, too. Planning a party or event at one of our stores is a touching and unique way to make someone’s day special. Make an appointment for your group and bring everyone in to find their perfect t-shirt–whether that means short sleeves, long sleeves, or maybe v-necks! Even better, the guest of honor can come up with their dream t-shirt–which really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Same day printing is a hit with customers

Christine Wilson placed her very first Custom Ink order for her friend’s bachelorette party back in 2002. When she had found the site, she was wowed that she could make her own t-shirt online. Now, 18 years later, Christine felt that same excitement when she realized she could stop in one of our stores and have a t-shirt printed that same day.

Get your own shirt
printed in store today

  1. Stop by a store.
  2. Create your design.
  3. Wait two hours. (Or less!)
  4. Get your shirt.

She visited our Reston store to create a custom tee for her friend Adam’s birthday. Each year, they try to one-up each another, and Christine was confident a custom shirt would do the trick. With the help of our rep, she picked one of our lacrosse designs as a template (since the birthday boy loves lacrosse) and made it her own. It was simple, and she was in and out quickly. By the time she went to grab lunch and returned in less than an hour, her shirts were ready. She brought her “Relax, it’s Adam’s birthday” shirts for his birthday dinner, where she put various sizes out for everyone to grab and wear. It wasn’t just a fun present. It was a touching surprise. Even though the celebration is over, the group still wears their shirts regularly–to bed, to the gym–they’ve become staple shirts because of how soft and comfortable they are.

But custom t-shirts aren’t just for adults. Christine’s son, Ronan, had stopped in at the Custom Ink store with her that day and loved it so much that he wanted to come back for his birthday party. They returned with Ronan’s group of friends, and everyone came in with their own ideas for a shirt. After taking turns designing in the Design Lab and working with our rep, they went to lunch while the shirts printed. Christine says it wasn’t just a fun day, but a super affordable birthday celebration as well.

Things to know before you come in for same day printing

What’s the turnaround time?

On average, a standard same day printing order takes between 30 minutes to 1.5 hours to be printed and ready for pickup. The turnaround time for same day printing can vary depending on the complexity of the artwork, the number of printing locations, and the quantity. If the order is placed after 3 PM, we can’t 100% guarantee the order will be ready before the end of business hours, however, we can guarantee pickup by the following morning. The average same day turnaround time for a single t-shirt with a front design is typically under 45 minutes from the time the order is placed.

How long does it take to come in and design a t-shirt?

If you don’t have a design, we encourage you to book an appointment using our stores page. That way, you’ll have an established one-hour meeting with a rep who can work with you directly in the Design Lab, help you create a design, talk about the product offering, and provide pricing.

Can I still use same day printing without an appointment?

Absolutely! You are welcome to walk in and work with any available rep. Reps often see customers who come in with an image file on a USB drive and know exactly what they want. We can also place orders for same day over the phone, collect payment, and have the order ready for pickup when you come in.

Are only specific products available for same day?

Yes, only certain products are available in stores for same day printing. These are a select few of the no minimum products on our site. When it comes to same day printing, we can only print dark ink on light products which means we only print on white or light grey products. If you’re interested in having a photograph printed, we recommend selecting a white product, since the image will visually stand out more, whereas on a grey product certain colors would be subtle. This is because Custom Ink doesn’t print white ink in store, so the colors have no underbase. The underbase is a base coat of light ink necessary for quality printing on dark shirts. For an idea of what products you can expect to print on in our stores, check out what the Reston location offers: Hanes Nano T-shirt, Hanes Nano Hoodie, Bella + Canvas V-Neck, Comfort Colors Long Sleeve Shirt, and American Apparel USA-Made Jersey T-shirt. Sizes range from youth small to large and adult small to 2XL.

Are the prices in store the same as online?

Yes, the prices are the same in store as they are online. There is no fee for same day printing, so for the same price, you can have your order ready in less than two hours at no additional cost.

How big of a group can you accommodate?

It depends on the product. We only stock certain quantities of each item, but we typically have 10 in each size. Same day ordering/same day printing was originally designed for orders of five or less, but if we have the product in stock and have enough time to print larger orders, we will absolutely make exceptions to accommodate our customers. (The largest same day order we have printed recently was 25 pieces!)

Visit us

Want to create your own same day t-shirt? Visit us at one of our participating locations–and don’t forget to book your appointment! We can’t wait to help you create something amazing.

Nevada
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Texas
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Kate wants her work to impact the little but important moments in people’s lives—like birthdays, anniversaries, and family celebrations. She loves coming up with witty copy that might inspire someone to create an awesome t-shirt!

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