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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
99% of the questions we are asked via phone or e-mail are answered below. We provide to our clients advertising not products. We will work with you and develop an effective eye catching design that will get you noticed. We do not use a cookie-cutter approach! |
 Jim Maher |
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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| This page contains answers to many of the questions we receive from our various web sites If you have a specific question please e-mail us |
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Q. What is your delivery time?
A. Each product or service differs but most ship 8 to 10 business days AFTER YOU APPROVE YOUR PROOF (supplied within 24 -36 hours). For planning purposes assume 10 to 15 business days after proof approval but understand this WILL change by product or service. And we do have rush service availableTOP Q. Do you have information about other advertising products? A. Yes, we sell all imprinted products, wearables, printing, etc. See http://www.crystal-group.com for complete details on how we can help you advertise your company. TOP Q. Do you have art services? A. Yes, we provide free advertising assistance in developing your imprint. In the event you do not have camera ready art we can clean up your art for you. Of course setting up type and placing your camera-ready logo is FREE TOP Q. I have a logo, can you add it? A. Yes, 73% of all imprints we do include the client's logo. When you place your order the confirmation page and an e-mail we send you will tell you how to send us your logo and imprint information. Or we can assist you in developing a logo. TOP. Q. What's Print Ready (also called digital art, camera ready art) art? A. In general it's art that will produce a crisp, clear copy that is at least 300 DPI (dots per inch). It's usually not a GIF or a JPG file used on the internet as this art is only 72 DPI. See our section on camera ready art. TOP Q. How do I send you art? A. COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE SENT TO YOU VIA E-MAIL WHEN YOU PLACE YOUR ORDER AS WELL AS BE ON YOUR CONFIRMATION PAGE. .TOP Q. Do you sell other imprinted products? A. Yes, we have the ability to imprint or decorate over 450,000 products including wearables. Click here to visit our major promotional product search engine TOP Q. How do I pay for my order? A. We accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express, Optima, company check or money order. Credit is also extended subject to a credit history check. TOP Q. What's your guarantee? A. We guarantee our work 100% In the event there is a problem or mistake which was made due to our negligence or error, we will make good the corrections entirely at our expenseTOP. Q. How do you Ship? A. Our normal shipping method is UPS ground. However, we can ship using Fed Ex, AirBorne, US Post Office or private carrier if there is a need. Shipping charges ARE SHOWN BEFORE YOU FINALIZE YOUR ORDER.TOP Q. Do you have RUSH service? A. We have many products (plastic cards, business card magnets, pens, pencils, mugs, keychains, mugs, etc.) that we can ship within 24 to 48 hours of proof approval. TOP Q. Do you ship worldwide? A. Yes, we can ship worldwide.TOP Q. How do you collect sales tax? A. We collect sales tax on orders shipped within Maryland.TOP Q. What is the minimum quantity I can order? A. Every product has its own minimum. For examples platic cards are 50 and business card magnets are normally 500 minimum. We do have many products (mouspads, mugs, clothing) that can be ordered in small quantities and delivered in relatively short time frames TOP Q. Do you supply proofs? A. Yes. Each order includes at least two proofs. In fact no order is shipped without an approval and production times quoted do not begin until we receive your OK to print..TOP Q. How can I receive samples? A. For clients we have an established relationship we ship samples. All others please send us a self addressed stamped envelope to the address in our contact information and tell us what you want a sample of.TOP Q. Can you help me design my imprint? A. Yes, Our services include free set up and design. If you need help designing a logo or advertising campaign we can work with you on this but there may be an extra fee for logo design. For design tips Click Here TOP Q. Do you do custom orders? A. Yes we do. We can do custom designed products of varying sizes and/or shapes. We have overseas factories for those large orders with long lead times. Q. How do I place an order? A. For our on-line products, first choose the product you want, change the quantity to match your needs then press grey button. To check out Press the other grey button. Next fill out the billing, shipping and payment info (NOTE: THIS IS ALL SECURE). You will then be taken to your receipt page where it tells you how to send us art. (also see below). For other orders send an e-mail to us telling us what you want and we will send you a quote back. TOP Q. What quantities do you ship? A. For many of our products we ship the quantities you order. If you pay upfront by credit card you are charged for the amount ordered. There are though exceptions to this due to the manufacturing process where we reserve the right to ship +/- 7% You will be billed only for what's shipped. TOP Q. How do I cancel an order? A. Contact us as soon as possible. You will be charged for all costs incurred up to the time you cancel. There is a minimum charge of $100 or 35%to cancel an order that is already placed and work has started.TOP Q. Can I send you a JPG File? A. We can use jpg files for adding pictures on your products at no additional fee as long as they are at least 300 DPI in resolution (a normal internet file is only 72 DPI) and are at least the size of the product you are buying or bigger. If you are using a digital camera, use at least 1472 X 1104 for the best quality though 1280 X 960 MAY work. TOP Q. Can I send you a GIF file? A. GIF files are for use on the Internet and generally do not produce well (if they are at least 300 DPI they may work but are not recommended)TOP Q. What File Formats can you print from? A. We can work with Adobe Illustrator files (AI), EPS files, CorelDraw Files (CDR), TIF files, WMF files, JPG files, PSD, WMF images, Sometimes word and excel documents also work. Sometimes PUB files work but normally we must completely rest these. TOP Q. How Long Before I see my proof? A. We normally turn around proofs with 24 to 48 business hours. If we have to clean up your art this may take longer and you will be notified.TOP Q.Do you imprint before we approve the art? A. No. You approve all imprints before we do the actual production. All our products include at least two proofs.TOP Q. Do these things work? A. All our products are advertising billboards. They are designed to get your name and message out to your target audience. They will work! Our responsibility is to set up an eye catching imprint. Your responsibility is to distribute them to your intended audience.TOP Q. Why should I use you? A. We sell advertising, not product. If you are looking for a cookie cutter approach or want to talk to an order taker there are plenty of places to go. But if you want to work with advertising professionals, then we are for you. Our goal is to work with you and get your message out. We do not sell products, rather we sell advertising on useful items that your clients will use. This is very different than most of the companies you run accross on the Internet and it's what makes us different.TOP Q. What is the biggest reason for orders being delayed? A. Poor art received from our clients. Many of the small and medium sized businesses we work with are not familiar with the print industry. They use "hobby" programs such as Publisher Print Pro, Excel, Word, etc. to do their designs in. Also, we are finding more and more businesses hiring "graphic artists" who are familiar with the Internet but not with the printing industry nor with advertising. Fortunately we can overcome most of the obstacles and come up with superior solutions to our clients advertising needs. TOP Q. Do You Resell? A. No. We pass all the savings directly on to our clients assuring there are no middle-men and extra charges. TOP Q. What size are your business card magnets? A. Our magnets are full business card sized magnets (2 by 3.5 inches). Regarding thickness they vary in size from 20 to 35 mil thickness (25 mil is about 3/4 the thickness of a United States Dime).TOP Q. Can you accept files from a MAC? Q. Can I send you a PDF File? |