Price Drops on Sanmar District Line

Sanmar, a leading clothing wholesaler to our industry, has just announced price drops on it's District® and District Made® lines, at an average of 15%. The District® line features apparel with a trimmer cut and shorter sleeves, while the District Made® line features a more relaxed fit with longer sleeves.

At The Creative J we're really excited to see this price drop as it will allow us to offer our customers some newer more fashion forward styles at an even better price point.

Microburn Junior's Raglan Tee

In addition, Sanmar has introduced a dozen new fabrics including Microburn™, an aged-looking fabric that has a weathered look and feel. Available in a variety of colors and styles, it's soft feel can't be beat.

Microburn Men's Crew Tee

Men's Dip Dye Crew Tee

Another addition, the Dip Dye, offers shirts with graduated color variations which are so popular today.  In both men's and ladies versions, this is a great option for company tshirts with a little pizzazz.

Ladies Dip Dye
Rounded Deep V-Neck Tee

View more of the latest styles from Sanmar, click here to go to view the District® & District Made® lines. 

For pricing on these or other decorated apparel, contact one of our knowledgeable specialists here at The Creative J. 

Cotton Prices on the Rise...Again

An article released today by www.business-standard.com details the rise of cotton prices over the past two months. Apparel manufacturers were waiting to see if prices would fall or stabilize, but instead, have seen an upward tick in pricing, causing them to consider 10-15% increases to apparel.

In the promotional products business, we see the effects of such price increases mainly in the week-to-week costs of tshirts. Tshirts are considered a commodity item, and pricing can fluctuate wildly when cotton pricing is unstable. This can cause it to be extremely difficult to hold pricing on quotes for longer than a week or two.

At The Creative J, we have many sources for our blank apparel, which help us to keep your costs down. When quoting apparel pricing, we search through a multitude of vendors to find the best current pricing so we can pass the savings on to our customers. You can be assured that the price we quote has been thoroughly researched by the time it reaches your eyes.

Click here to read more about the current cotton situation.

Cotton and Tshirt Pricing on the Rise

We've just been getting notices about increases in tshirt pricing from our suppliers. As of September 13, most brands will show an increase of around 5%. There are many factors causing this. Below is an explanation from Gildan, one of the top manufacturers of tshirts:

"There are a lot of factors that have caused the increase with the price of Cotton being a large part.

There is a sub-commodity market for yarn spinning (the step where they take ginned cotton fibre and twist it into the yarns that end up getting knit into the fabric that gets dyed, cut and sewn into shirts). The recession forced some yarn spinners to either close or change their machinery to make finer yarns so globally there is also a shortage of yarn that has impacted prices.

India also temporarily initiated a block on exports which further dried up available yarns.

The last (and possibly most significant reason) is that almost the entire manufacturing supply chain was caught off guard at how fast demand for cotton products has rebounded. Corporations are spending on promotions, people are traveling and going to concerts and fundraising efforts around the globe are booming. "

At The Creative J, we will price check among our various suppliers, looking for specials and options to help keep your pricing competitive whenever we quote on apparel. Apparel quoting is a constantly changing beast, something we custom quote each time in order to get the best pricing available.

What Are Those Extra Charges?

On most orders of promotional products, you'll see some charges in addition to the item cost, which you may have not been expecting. Depending on the imprinting method, you may encounter screen charges, set up charges, die charges, plate charges, PMS match charges and running charges. Why these additional charges? Let me try to explain:

Set Up Charges:  Most suppliers charge this per location, per color, per size. This covers the cost for the supplier to set up their equipment, load the inks and plates or screens, and get the order ready to run. It may also include the cost of plates or screens. If a supplier doesn't charge these, it simply means they have rolled that cost into the price of the item.

Screen, Plate or Die Charges:  These are charges for the silkscreens, plates or dies used to create the imprinting material from the supplied artwork. These materials are then used on the printing equipment to transfer the imprint to the item. Some suppliers include these charges in the Set Up Charge. Since for each color there needs to be a separate screen, plate or die, you are charged per color for these.

PMS Match Charges:  Most suppliers will have a list of stock ink colors they keep on hand or have preloaded in their imprinting equipment. If you want your imprint color to match the PMS color of your logo as close as possible, then most suppliers will charge the PMS Match fee. This covers the extra cost of exact PMS inks, and also the labor to clean the printing equipment, load it with the specific color, and to clean it again to reload it with the stock color.

Running Charges: The majority of items are priced with a one color imprint included in the item price. If you decide to imprint in multiple colors, or in multiple locations, then running charges apply. These cover the cost to run the items through the printing equipment multiple times – once for each color and each location. Usually the only time you won't have running charges is if the item is being digital printed. When printed digitally, all colors are laid down on the item at one time.

Less Than Minimum Charge:  If you want to order below the minimum quantity listed for the item, most suppliers will allow you to order 1/2 of the listed minimum...for an additional charge. This charge covers the portion of the set up they have already included in the item price and have allowed for with the minimum quantity listed. 

Proof Charges:  To make sure your imprint is going be positioned correctly, sized right and all the elements are there, the suppliers send an email proof, usually showing the imprint positioned on the item. (There are some that just haven't been able to figure this part out, but we're working on them!) The proof charge covers their cost of the additional paperwork and delays in the production process to prepare the proof. Now, it is always your option to forgo the proofing process, but an option we strongly oppose. There are times there might not be time due to a tight deadline, but whenever possible, it's best to have a proof sent to make sure everything is right.

These are the most common charges that may show up on your order, depending on the items, imprinting method, and colors. When you work with The Creative J, we will always send you a confirmation showing all your charges BEFORE we place the order. Once you approve the confirmation and charges, then your order is placed and the process should be clear and simple for you to follow.

Why are memory prices increasing?

Seems memory prices keep increasing lately. According to the AppleInsider, October 9 edition, the demand for flash memory has outstripped the supply due to the popularity of devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Demand in the third quarter exceeded supply by 1.3 percent, and expected to grow to a 3.3 percent deficit during the upcoming holiday season.

Demand is expected to grow 81 percent in 2010 due to the growth of smartphone sales. It's expected for manufacturers to meet that demand in the first half of the year, but by the end of 2010, demand is expected to outstrip supply again.

We've noticed here the past year that memory prices change on a weekly basis with most of our suppliers. Now with this announcement, it's important to keep in mind that the quote you get on Wednesday will most likely change Friday afternoon.

The Creative J will always do our best to search out the best pricing for your flash memory needs. However, as memory becomes more and more in demand and supplies lessen, our options may not be as plentiful as earlier in the year.