BLACKBOOKS

Thank you for your business! We appreciate the opportunity to work with you.
Below is a listing of terms that you should be acquainted with prior to ordering.
This information is designed to provide you with a step-by-step description of the ordering process.
If you have any questions outside of what you see here or have any suggestions for improving this information, please contact us at:

1-888-764-6527 or email books@blackbookstencils.com

All customers interested in ordering our products must create an account which includes a valid credit card prior to submitting an order. Designs (or instructions for design) may be submitted prior to creating the account, but we cannot begin production until your account is active. After we have created an account for you in our system, you are welcome to submit any order at any time as long as your account remains active. All preset packages (Bomber Packs, business cards, etc.) will be charged after design and work order confirmation, but prior to production. All custom orders we receive will be assessed and we will provide a written quote for layout/design and production costs.

When an image or order is submitted, the print job must be designed and layed out prior to production*. For preset packages (Bomber Packs, business cards, etc.) a basic design fee is included in the price, however some orders may require more design work than a standard layout would entail*. In this case we will provide a written quote for the submitted artwork, or suggestions for simplifying the requested design. All custom orders are subject to a layout fee, which will be provided in a written quote prior to production. We promise to setup your requested artwork quickly and efficiently to keep your layout fees to a minimum, but must collect all applicable fees prior to rendering the work.

Once you've decided on the product you would like to order, send us the artwork you want to use or a description for us to work from. We can recreate just about any graphic file that can be opened on a modern computer, but keep in mind the quality of the file will affect the final print quality. We will assess your artwork and contact you with a written estimate if any design fees apply. We will also contact you if we feel there are elements of your design that may not print well, and provide suggestions for fixing the problem. After we have created the final proof, we will email it to you along with your purchase order for a final verification before beginning production. Once the proof is verified, you assume all responsibility for any artistic errors.

We require all customers to set up an account with a valid credit card prior to placing an order; however they are not required to pay with the credit card. Our printing process goes through three steps (layout/design, production, shipment) with each step being variable based on the requested print job. To avoid charging our customers prior to each step of completion, we must make certain that funds are available. Preset package orders (Bomber Packs, business cards, etc.) will be charged after design and work order confirmation, but prior to printing and shipping. Custom orders are charged all applicable design fees prior to completion and half of the printing fees prior to production. Customers agree to pay all applicable fees after review and confirmation of purchase order. Upon completion and shipment of orders, we must collect all remaining production and shipping fees, plus 6% sales tax where applicable before your order is shipped. We accept all major credit cards, personal checks, money orders, PayPal, and cash. Please allow 3-5 days for personal checks to clear. Finally, we reserve the right to charge an extra 3% for accounts that pay with a company credit card.

Completed orders will be shipped in a timely fashion. Orders usually ship 7-10 business days after the artwork is proofed and the order is finalized. Rush production is available upon request, but cannot be guaranteed.

We will gladly replace any item we produced in error that does not match your specified image, product, size and/or quantity, from your purchase order. We will also replace any item that has been damaged in transit. Reproductions will be printed upon receipt of returned order.

After you have decided what product/s you are interested in and are ready to order, send us any image files and descriptions associated with the requested layout. We can also provide you with suggestions or even a complete design. We will assess the requested job and provide you with a written quote of our design and layout fees if your job should require any. All layout fees are one-time only and will not be incurred in the case of any reprints.

Almost every new file we print begins as custom artwork or design. Setting up the print job sometimes becomes a tricky task for us, so we must warn you in advance of fees incurred by us going out of our way to create your design.

Our final print file is a CorelDraw 11 (.cdr) layout that's 32” wide and 18” tall. The vertical origin must be set to 18”. The file is sized to proportion based on the available grid space. Anything that is going to be cut by the laser must be a red vector line with no fill. Imagery that is to be engraved should be black vector shapes minus outlines. Engravable imagery can be pixilated, but will print with higher clarity as a vector. Photos must be inverted (negative) and in grayscale for printing on acrylic or black and white (monochrome) for printing on matboard.

Do we expect you to do all this? Of course not. We want to work with you, and only ask that you work with us in return. Here is a breakdown of certain products to give you an idea of what we are looking for prior to production.

Bomber Packs:
We included the layout fee in the price of the Bomber Pack, but you must understand that certain files just won't work. In most situations, if you send us a one color image, pixilated or vector, we will be able to lay it out for you free of charge. If the imagery is intricate, the stencil quality will be very fragile. If there are lots of floating objects (objects inside of objects) it will compromise the overall look of the design. If there are multiple colors, you will need more than one stencil to achieve a correct appearance. These are some examples of things that will require us to pay further attention to a design, and may cause you to incur fees from us assisting you in the creation process. We will consult you in advance if any additional fees occur and provide you with any suggestions we have to offer.

Custom Stencils:
Similar process to the Bomber Pack, only the layout is not included in the price. We charge $25/hour for layout and will provide you with a written estimate prior to production. Please specify sizes and any special requests prior to layout.

Business Cards:
We produce our cards based on the size of a standard business card (3½x2”). If you are interested in a different shape card, it must be within the same area of (7”sq). It cannot be a (4x3”) card instead, without incurring a price increase. We try to keep our design fees as fair as possible. Prior to layout, if you say “my design is online at this address and you can get my info from there…” then yes, we will have to charge you to layout this business card, which will usually be in the neighborhood of $25. If you send us a design scaled to size, with an idea of how you want it to look, the text for what you want it to say, and a list of which fonts you've selected, then no, we will probably not need to charge you for layout.

If you have any other questions about products we offer feel free to contact us at : info@blackbookstencils.com

Thanks.