SERVICES
Digitizing & Embroidery
Here at Marathon Embroidery, we have all the latest in digitizing software and machinery. If you have a logo, design, or just an idea, we can turn it into thread. The possibilities are endless and there is no minimum quantity. We can work with any high resolution or vector computer art file as well as a clean drawing or picture. Unless your artwork has been digitized by someone else for embroidery and you possess a DST file, all new artwork has to go through a digitizing process. This process consists of importing your art into our software and manually plotting points and commands to translate it into stitches. The cost of digitizing is based on how complicated the artwork is and not the size (Though the price to stitch the digitized art onto a garment is the other way around). A simple small logo can range anywhere from $15 to $50 and larger more complicated designs can sometimes range from $60 to $600. The best way to get an estimate is to e-mail your art or just bring it in and work with anyone of our staff. We are all experienced professionals and can help figure ways to reduce or simplify any art to fit your budget. Once your artwork had been created for embroidery, the file never has to recreated and you can stitch as many pieces as want, the digitizing fee is a one time cost. If you don't have a design and need just simple text we have over 200 embroidery fonts to choose from and there is no digitizing fee. If you need a specific font that we don't have, we can build you the font for $40. If you want to incorporate a simple design or image, we carry over 75,000 stock designs and these can purchased for $10-$50 with our fonts included. The price to stitch your design once built is determined by the amount of stitches in the design and the quantity of items to be embroidered. Our prices are determined by these variables and we encourage you to contact us by phone, e-mail, or just stop on by and get a first hand look to see how the operation works and we will be happy to answer any of your questions and work with you on any ideas you may have.
Silk Screening
We are also equipped with one of the best graphic design departments. We can take most any artwork and vector it in Illustrator or Corel. These two programs enable us to prepare the artwork for digitizing, silk screening, heat press, and heat transfer. Silk-Screening is a process where we print your artwork on a garment with inks and is generally what you see on a typical t-shirt. This process involves design, burning a screen, printing, drying, and folding. The normal turn around time for printing is one week and due to the lengthy set up involved, the minimum for this is 12 items. Pricing on silk screening is determined by quantity of items, number of colors, and number of locations on the same item to be printed. Each color contained in the design has to have its own screen burned and the more colors/screens burned, the more expensive the project will become. Price breaks are achieved by ordering quantities that increase in increments of 24. Once the order is placed, we e-mail you a digital image of the garment, and then we print.
Heat Press / Transfer
Heat Press involves many of the same processes as silk-screening but incorporates the action of cutting the design out of an ink filament instead of making a screen. This filament is then "Heat Pressed" onto a garment by way of a machine that presses at high heat while at the same time utilizes high pressure. This method is perfect for quantities under 12 and under and the turnaround is faster. The downside is that involved artwork is difficult to cut on the machine and therefore will not print, Also, not all multicolored designs are readily cuttable, This is the same process that team numbers are cut and applied and the technology is as good as silk-screening as far as longevity goes. Heat Transfer is another process that utilizes the same art principles as silk-screening and heat press however the art is transferred to a special paper which is then heat pressed onto a garment, This process maintains the integrity of the design but leaves a pressed outline and texture similar to a picture frame. This process is also good for quantities under 12. We hope that this information gives you some insight on the different processes involved in decorating your garments and we would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.