Help for the kids

As we have mentioned before, PSI is proud to be a sponsor of a wonderful charitable organization called Dog Tags For Kids. If you're not familiar with it, please take a moment and look at the web site, www.DogTagsForKids.com. When you see the thank you letters from our troops, and the pictures of the children wearing their tags, you soon realize how many became so passionate about this grass roots effort to support our military.

Despite the generosity of the public, we're sorry to say that the organization has run out of funds and currently unable to fulfill pending requests from our military men and women totaling almost 100,000 tags. These are provided at no cost to our troops so that they may send them home to their children and has been a tremendous morale booster.

While we know in these economic times it's tough to donate even to worthy causes, there are still ways in which everyone can help. We're simply asking that you pass the information along to everyone you know and ask that they do the same. If we get the word out to as many as possible, it will get to those that may be in a position to help.

We appreciate the help, and realize that together, we can all indeed make a difference. A few moments of your time can put a smile on a child's face for quite a long time! Thank you!

Communicating through email

As an online supplier, we naturally get a lot of emails with comments or questions concerning our products. We pride ourselves on the practice of diligently answering all inquiries to the best of our ability. Since we often hear no more on the subject, we're never sure if our answers get through or not.

In order to combat the never ending supply of SPAM, we've adjusted our email policies as well as our user names to try and efficiently reduce the number of erroneous emails and SPAM that find their way to us. In doing so, we've found it necessary to peruse our SPAM folders for a while to try and catch those that slip through the cracks. If you do not get a reply within 48 hours (standard business days), then please try to contact us again. Of course if it's extremely important, we'd prefer you contact us by phone to insure the message gets through. If you get one returned to you, please make sure you have the address as well as the recipient correct as spelling errors will get bounced and not delivered.

We've also noticed that there are several ways to make sure your message does get through, and stands above the plethora of SPAM that it competes against. One is to be sure you use a subject heading, and preferably one that is relevant so that it is easy to spot. One might wish to use the word sublimation for example, so that even if the filters don't catch it, it's easier for us to spot when checking on SPAM. Leaving the subject line blank just makes the SPAM filters think it's not legit so be sure to list something!

We've all seen the animated signature files with cute cartoon figures and the like. The downside is that too attracts the attention of the filters who think it's merely another chart of prescription pills or the latest stock tips so again they wind up in the junk pile. Anything that can appear to be a commercial advertisement stands the risk of being branded incorrectly.

Email is indeed a valuable tool that can be of help to all of us. It's unfortunate that there are those who have made it difficult for the rest, but with some thought and effort, we can all make a difference in overcoming the problem. Thanks, and drop us a line with your comments and suggestions!

Taking your temperature

Sublimation is a process fraught with variables, and eliminating some of them can make pressing much easier. Although suppliers can give basic instructions for dwell times, many find that better results are often achieved by altering those times. While ink, paper and other considerations come into play, one of the biggest differences is temperature.

Most of today’s presses come with digital thermostats but can you be sure that the reading is accurate? A handy tool to have and use is an infrared laser guided heat gun. Although there are many on the market, we use and recommend the Raytek Mini-Temp, which is one of the best available with an accuracy of within 2° and a range up to 525° F. It not only checks your press for accuracy and cold spots, but can also be useful when printing mugs in a press.

Please note that although it does not apply to most heat presses, shiny or reflective surfaces will not give accurate readings due to emissivity. In order to get a correct temperature, it is necessary to use a small piece of electrical tape or black paint (such as a high temp engine paint). All other painted or Teflon surfaces will reflect an accurate temperature.

Securing Transfers for printing

When it comes to sublimation printing, one of the staples in supplies has always been heat tape. Securing your transfer insures a good image with no ghosting from the transfer shifting. What do you do though when you have a substrate that tape will not stick to, or leaves a mark when removed? The solution is a spray such as the Wilflex Hot-Tak Adhesive that was specially formulated for heat applications.

The trick to using the Wilflex successfully is to use a very light mist on the transfer itself. After allowing 20 seconds or so to dry a little, it can be applied to the substrate and if needed can be repositioned. The most common mistake is applying too much adhesive that can leave a residue, so overcome the temptation to overdo it! One can goes a long way so it’s a cost effective means to making sure your printing will turn out the way you want it to, and comes in handy for a variety of substrates where tape is not an option.

Whitelists, SPAM and communications

Having a presence on the Internet assures one thing, an increase in the plethora of SPAM and erroneous emails that we receive. Although we try to scrutinize the In Boxes carefully, we may from time to time miss an important question or email despite our best attempts. If you have not received a reply from us in a reasonable amount of time (usually within a few hours, but at least 24), then in all probability we did not receive it. Please contact us again as we pride ourselves on timely responses, even when we don't know the answer!

Likewise, we often get call from those saying they never received UPS notifications, or copies of invoices when most of the time they're probably winding up in junk folders. For those using mail filters, there are simple ways to make sure you receive the email that is important to you. While we understand the need to use filters in the first place (yes, we too have many folks that think we're in dire need of vitamins, hot stock tips and products to enhance everything), we try to be sure we can get the ones we need!

All of our mailings come from the same address, albeit different ones depending on invoices, newsletters or just an answer to an inquiry. Setting a filter (sometimes just adding the address to an address book) will insure that you get it every time without having to look through junk folders. If you write to us, expect a reply to the address you used along with the same subject heading (please be sure to use one relevant in the first place such as the word "sublimation" in the header to make it easier to spot or get picked up by our filters). Whether we can help you or not, we always appreciate a quick note just to let us know you received the information so we don't have to wonder.

The Internet has become a powerful tool, and has enabled us to communicate much easier. If we all take the extra initiative to make it better, it will be a huge benefit to all concerned.

Supporting the troops overseas

Although we mentioned this a few years ago (March of 2005), we felt it was worth mentioning again! We won't go into all of the details (you can read the original post in the archives), but wanted to bring it to attention again as it's a cause we now support as corporate sponsors and believe in it strongly.

Despite one's political views, you can't help but feel for the men and women that are serving overseas. It's not only hard on them, but tough for the family members left behind, especially the kids! One woman, Rose Sliepka form First Place Awards in California started a wonderful project called Dog Tags for Kids and we have been proud to be a part of it. Please take a minute and check out the site for more information and help if you can!

We just recently received a card from one of the officers serving in Iraq expressing his gratitude for our participation in this project, and thanked us on behalf of his troops who were grateful. While we feel the majority of the credit goes to Rose for her undying dedication to this, we know there are many who have helped over the years and should share in the recognition.

If you have a family member, or know anyone serving overseas, then do them and yourself a favor by supporting the Dog Tags for Kids project. It will bring joy to those serving and their children, as well as have some good come out of the current situation. For those who do help, we thank you in advance for your kind consideration and support for those who have no choice in being where they are.

Looking to 2007

First of all, our very best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy holiday season. We thank those of you that have supported us over the years, and look forward to working with you again next year!

Of course while everyone is busy making the best of what is hopefully a very prosperous season, we can't help but realize that the first of the year brings more than just opportunities, it brings cost increases as well. While we will have some items that will go up slightly, we would like to point out that in recent months, we have actually been able to lower the pricing on several items, and will continue to do so where possible.

One factor that affects all of us, regardless of whom you buy supplies and sublimation blanks from, is the cost of shipping. January will see the usual increases from UPS as well as others which will have an impact on the bottom line. Although most are very understanding and realize that freight is another cost of doing business, we're often questioned about the amount of shipping and handling, especially on smaller orders.

Our shopping cart does not calculate shipping charges, nor have we assigned them based on a monetary amount. The reason is quite simple, in addition to the handling charge that is explained in our Shopping FAQ online, we use the actual charges from the carrier, which in most cases is UPS. Unfortunately we have no control over their policies of charging more for residential deliveries or oversize charges based on dimensions, but there are things one can do to make it a little more bearable.

As mentioned previously in our Blog, small orders will always result in a higher per piece charge when you spread the charges out over the individual items. We're not trying to upsell anyone, but on items you know you will use on a regular basis, could be increased in quantity to take advantage of the shipping. For example, a one pound package to a residence in Kansas would be approximately $8.34. The second pound only adds $.52 and it goes up incrementally from there. If 8 pieces of something weighs a pound, it adds just under $1.05 per item due to the S&H. However, 16 pieces drops it down to just under $.56 each.

Of course we understand that often, someone wants to see an item or test it before stocking any quantity. That's exactly why we have no mnimum order requirements, but you have to realize that the convenience of being able to order small quantities has a price. As suppliers, we too face the same problem, so we're all in the same boat together.

Another suggestion we have made in the past is for those that run a home based business, and there are many in the sublimation industry, that you consider utilizing a facility such as Mailboxes ETC if you have one close. It enables you the opportunity to receive commercial shipping rates, and gives you the luxury of always having someone available to receive your merchandise. If you get enough shipments, the difference in price plus the peace of mind to not have UPS leave something on your doorstep, can certainly offset the cost of the mailbox.

In the meantime, if you want to know the exact shipping and handling charges before we ship your order and charge your card, feel free to call or e-mail to discuss the options. If you order online, simply put a note under special instructions and we'll be happy to contact you in advance.

Once again, we hope everyone enjoys a safe holiday and we look forward to being of service for many years to come.