We are a full-service contract Pad-Transfer printing job shop. We also offer Screen-Printing services on a wide variety of substrates. We only stock a limited supply of certain ad-specialty items. In general, we simply provide the service to imprint on the items you provide to us. We may be able to suggest companies that supply particular products but we will not be able to guarantee the quality of the item. A.P.S. does not endorse or receive commissions or discounts for referrals. In this respect, your efforts to find an adequate supplier should produce a better price for you.

Because of the wide variety of options and possible challenges associated with each new project, A.P.S. does not offer any “general” or “standard” pricing, except for Golf Ball or T-Shirt printing (which can be e-mailed to you upon request). All other requests require a specific bid which is usually available within 24 hours.

Here are a few pricing/policy “guidelines” that should prove helpful to you: We have no minimum “quantities.” However, we do have a minimum “price.” It is $125.00. On a small item with no complex variations or difficult areas to print you can usually expect to have up to 250 pieces printed for this price. On Golf Balls and T-Shirts this minimum price is lower. As a general rule we do not have set-up costs as our “minimum” cost usually covers this. If your product is not easily registered then a “one-time” jig/nesting/fixture cost may be required. An additional fee may be incurred for custom (PMS) ink color matching or extensive art modification. If the issue is in higher quantities then a specific bid is definitely required. We have never imprinted anything for less than $0.05 each. Even in the best circumstances, an imprint cost for 10,000 pieces will not be less than $0.08 each, and even this is rare.

Our normal turnaround time is about 5-7 working days (holidays or weekends are not included) from the time we receive the purchase order, approved art work, colors, and customer supplied parts in house.

In general, we ship products via UPS or Fed-EX. F.O.B. Salt Lake City, Utah. We also utilize a wide variety of trucking services. Please tell us in advance if you have a specific company you prefer to use. For items being printed in Utah, we can offer a Will Call service or even a Delivery Service (for an additional fee). Click here for our Shipping & Handling details.

Click here to view our General Terms & Conditions.

If you require a quicker turnaround then Rush Charges will apply. Expediting costs are quite expensive and are discouraged, but are nonetheless offered to give flexibility to our clients. These fees have remained the same for years.Click here for details.

The quantity of imprinted colors is unlimited on any item that can be edge registered. Additional over-runs are required for multi-colored imprinting. Items that cannot be edge registered (such as a golf ball) are limited to single color imprints.

This depends entirely on the image and must be addressed on a “job-by-job” basis. We do not offer this option for non-textile screen printed items.

This depends entirely on the image and must be addressed on a “job-by-job” basis. Reversals/Negatives are usually a bit more difficult to Pad-Transfer print, and are more easily accomplished if the item can be Screen-Printed.

There are two distinctly different terms we use in printing to describe the ink drying process: One is “DRYING” and the other is “CURING.”

In Pad-Transfer Printing the “DRYING” process is almost immediate. Most of the time an ink that has been Pad-Printed will be dry to the touch within seconds, even without being run through a drying system . . . The same cannot usually be said of Screen-Printing, as the thickness of the deposit of ink in Pad-Printing is only a small fraction of that which is generated through a fabric during the Screen- Printing Process. 

“CURING” is essentially the final state of BONDING to the substrate. This process is almost NEVER immediate. Several factors play into a final cure . . . A few of these are Ink Type, Substrate, Solvents, Additives, Hardeners, and Heat. A final cure can take several days, and usually does. 

As a general rule, we would recommend that NO aggressive adhesion tests be run on products that have been printed within 72 hours. Where possible, it would be best to wait a week. This does not mean that a part cannot be handled, touched, or assembled during that time period, however particular care should be exercised to ensure that no strong abrasions occur for at least 72 hours from the time it was printed. 

As always, there are many exceptions to this rule. A.P.S. uses many varieties of substrates and ink types. This makes it impractical to list all of the different options. It might not even be POSSIBLE to list them, as technologies change rapidly in plastics development and their attributes many times require retesting to verify the best adhesion. 

A word of caution. Any and all inks that are printed on the top surface of a substrate will eventually wear off if they are not coated. Even then, with time, the coating will wear off and the ink will come up. A prime example of this can be found on computer keyboard keys. These are Pad-Transfer Printed and then usually post-coated. With repeated use these begin to fade.

A.P.S. is committed to providing the best ink-to-substrate match it can find. Our years of experience and thousands of situation encounters help to establish us as one of the leaders in this field. There are even a few ink suppliers and printers that call US for answers! So, we’re happy to guarantee that we do our homework before decorating your product.