Anton Sport has decades of experience with custom screen printing, embroidery, flex print, transfers, and digital printing. Whenever possible, we recommend using apparel and products sourced through our established suppliers because they are made with decoration in mind and are familiar to our production team.
We have access to thousands of apparel, headwear, bag, uniform, and promotional product options, and our team can help select the right product based on your design, budget, branding requirements, and intended decoration method.
Customer-supplied goods and materials may be accepted on a case-by-case basis. Because we did not source them, they introduce additional variables that may not be known until production begins.
Why we recommend products we source
The products we supply are tried and tested for custom decoration. We know how many of these fabrics, blends, finishes, and constructions typically perform through our production processes, and we have longstanding relationships with the manufacturers and distributors that supply them.
If questions arise, we can often obtain product specifications or decoration recommendations directly from the supplier. If a replacement is needed, we can also typically source another item quickly and keep the order moving.
Those options may not exist with customer-supplied goods.
Why customer-supplied goods carry more risk
Many retail products are not manufactured with additional decoration in mind. Even when a product looks similar to something we decorate every day, differences in fabric, dyes, coatings, construction, or finishing can affect the result.
Potential challenges include:
- Buttons, zippers, seams, pockets, hems, or linings interfering with decoration placement or equipment
- Dyes migrating and changing the color of printed artwork
- Fabric shrinking, scorching, melting, or discoloring during production
- Waterproof, stain-resistant, performance, or other coatings preventing ink, transfers, or adhesives from bonding properly
- Fabric stretching, shifting, tearing, snagging, or developing holes
- Needle marks, puckering, distortion, or damage during embroidery
- Differences in sizing or construction requiring additional measuring, setup, or art adjustments
- Existing defects becoming more noticeable during handling or decoration
- Decoration looking fine at first but peeling, separating, fading, or not holding up as expected over time
- Sprays, adhesives, inks, cleaning products, or other production materials reacting unexpectedly with an unfamiliar product
This list is not exhaustive. The concern is not a lack of decoration experience; it is the unknown characteristics of a product or material that Anton Sport did not source.
Customer-supplied transfers, patches, and other materials
The same concerns apply when a customer supplies part of the decoration rather than the item itself. This may include transfers, patches, emblems, labels, appliqués, or other materials that Anton Sport is asked to apply.
These materials may require specific application instructions, temperatures, pressure, equipment, adhesives, or surfaces. At the same time, the item receiving the decoration may not be compatible with those requirements.
Please provide any manufacturer instructions or application specifications available to you. Anton Sport cannot guarantee the compatibility, application, or long-term performance of decoration materials that we did not source.
Inspect your goods before providing them to us
Customer-supplied goods and materials must be clean, dry, undamaged, and in acceptable condition for production.
Anton Sport does not perform a detailed pre-production inspection of every item. Small holes, stains, tears, loose seams, weakened fabric, manufacturing defects, wear, or other existing conditions may not be noticed until the item is handled or decorated.
Anton Sport is not responsible for pre-existing defects or damage.
Testing can reduce risk, but cannot eliminate it
Depending on the item or material, Anton Sport may recommend or require a test before proceeding with production.
A successful test can help identify obvious concerns, but it does not guarantee that every item will react the same way or that the decoration will hold up the same way over time.
Any items decorated for testing are charged at the same decoration rate as completed items.
We recommend supplying approximately 2% additional goods or materials to allow for testing or possible decoration issues.
Count and verify your items
Please count and inspect your customer-supplied goods and materials before delivering or shipping them to Anton Sport and provide an accurate list of what is being supplied.
Please verify quantities, sizes, colors, styles, materials, transfers, patches, and any other customer-supplied components. Anton Sport is not responsible for discrepancies in what the customer represents as having been provided.
Packaging and preparation
Whenever possible, please remove goods from individual plastic bags and remove tags, stickers, labels, or other packaging that must be taken off before decoration.
A $0.35 per-item handling fee applies when Anton Sport must remove items from individual plastic bags or remove tags, stickers, or labels in order to decorate them.
If we identify a concern
Our production team may determine that a customer-supplied product or material presents more risk than was apparent when the order was accepted.
Anton Sport may recommend a different decoration method, request additional test pieces or materials, ask for manufacturer information, or decline or stop production if we believe proceeding may result in damage or an unacceptable outcome.
What you are agreeing to
By asking Anton Sport to decorate customer-supplied goods or use customer-supplied materials, you acknowledge that additional risks exist because Anton Sport did not source or select those products.
Anton Sport will use reasonable care and our professional expertise, but we cannot guarantee the outcome, compatibility, or durability of decoration on customer-supplied goods or materials.
Anton Sport is not responsible for replacing or reimbursing customer-supplied goods or materials that are damaged, defective, incompatible, or otherwise made unusable through the decoration process, except where liability cannot legally be waived.
The Customer-Supplied Goods & Materials Waiver must be signed before an order is accepted for production.
