Frequently Asked Questions

5 business days from when we receive your product we will ship it out or have available for local pickup in most circumstances. We will communicate with you if there are circumstances preventing us from meeting this goal.

There is no minimum order, however if the order has less than 12 items getting the same design, then there is a small order fee of $25 per unique design in addition to the the stitch count cost. If you can get 12 items for us to embroider with the same logo (same size / colors / etc) you can avoid this fee and pay only for stitch count. You may mix and match items to get to 12. 5 polos, 3 tote bags, and 4 scarves getting the same logo would avoid the small order fee for example.

A few examples: If "Design A" stitch count cost is $5:

  • If you have 12 items getting design A.
    12 X $5 = $60
  • If you have 6 items getting design A.
    6 X $5 + $25 = $55
  • If you have 12 Items getting design A and 3 of those also getting design B (which has the same # of stitches).
    12 X $5
    3 X $5 + $25
    = $100

No, most of our clients provide the product by having it drop shipped to us, we do the embroidery, and blind ship it on to their clients. 

When you ship your product to us, please make sure it is labeled in a way that we know it belongs to your order when it arrives.  A best practice is to have your P.O. # or project referenced on the packing list or shipping label. 

For example, a ship-to address might look like:

Embroidery Services, Inc
Attn: PO 1235/Project Name
1500 N. McLean
Suite #3
Lincoln, IL 62656

If you are the end client or simply do not have a source for products, yes we can help you source product. See the next question's answer for details.

Yes, if you are the end client or simply do not have a source for products, yes we can help you source product! We do require pre-payment for ordering garments themselves, but the embroidery cost will not be due until your order is complete.

Some vendors we work with provide online catalogs, you can use any of these links to get an idea of available products:

These sites allow you to add products to a "shopping cart / inquiry cart" and at the end you'll have it send us an email with the specific products you want to order. We will then contact you separately to confirm total price for the products and collect pre-payment before placing the order. Prices listed (full retail) on the sites are usually higher than what your total cost will be as many times there are savings from the shipping warehouse , inventory sales, and quantity discounts.

Don't worry if you don't find exactly what you want, other vendors provide us physical catalogs, so just contact us with what you need and we can do the leg work.

Not typically. We do our digitizing in-house and provide that as part of the job. If it is a very complex logo in combination with a low quantity run, we may need to discuss a small  digitizing fee, but that is very rare. If you have a high quality image to work with (vector graphics file like .svg, .ai, .eps) your digitizing will be faster and come out cleaner. If we need to work from a low resolution web graphic - it will take longer and results may vary.

Our preference is to have your logo as your product is being shipped to us. We will digitize and send you the electronic proof while your product is in transit. That way we can begin embroidery as soon as it arrives!

You are warranting that you have unrestricted right and authority to use and distribute the artwork you provide to us for digitizing.

We reserve the right to cancel orders with logos that do not conform to retail use guidelines.

  • All of our machines accommodate 9 colors and 10” X 10” sewing fields
    • We do have some capacity for 16” X 11” , 15” X 15”, and 13 color designs, however turnaround time on 10+ colors or designs larger than 10” will depend on quantity.
  • We use 40 weight USA-made Rayon as our standard embroidery thread
    • Small lettering (with smallest characters 0.25” tall) is no problem. 
    • If you need lettering smaller, we can special order 60 weight thread for an additional charge.

Yes, if it is a brand new logo we've not run for you before we will send you a digital proof for approval before any work begins. 
If it is a repeat order, just reference that prior order and we will pull up your previous file for the new run.

Feel free to call us, email, or submit your information on this site.

To use the site:

  1. Click Order
  2. If you don't have an account yet, Register otherwise Login
  3. The order form will walk you through the typical questions and provide a space for you to upload your logo or image files for us to begin digitizing.
  4. Another benefit of using the site is you will be able to see status during the entire order process.
  5. If you are not ready to place an order, you can also request a quote after login.

Normally the care label instructions pertain to the garment, not the embroidery. Special care should be taken when laundering embroidered garments. Please download our Care Instruction (PDF) for more details.

We typically do ship exact quantities, but production run spoilage of 3% over 100 identical pieces is industry standard.  We do our best to avoid mistakes but needle breaks and other situations do arise resulting in loss. 

Best practice is to allow for +/-  5 to 10% to be on the cautious side. For example, a run of 100 napkins or ballcaps, you might send 110 to allow for spoilage. If your embroidery run is under 100 units — allow for 2 units per size /style.

Spoilage/Defects will be noted on your invoice and associated fees will be reduced accordingly. If each item is specifically assigned to a wearer and the count is critical, we encourage ordering a few extra garments per size to mitigate unanticipated spoilage.

It is our goal to provide the utmost care for your supplied garment and excellent embroidery services. ESI will not be liable for costs beyond the services provided.  In the scenario of spoilage or error, we will deduct the value of the services provided for each piece impacted for that order.

Yes, our ASI number is 789689 

How long does embroidery take?

5 business days from when we receive your product we will ship it out or have available for local pickup in most circumstances. We will communicate with you if there are circumstances preventing us from meeting this goal.

Is there a minimum order?

There is no minimum order, however if the order has less than 12 items getting the same design, then there is a small order fee of $25 per unique design in addition to the the stitch count cost. If you can get 12 items for us to embroider with the same logo (same size / colors / etc) you can avoid this fee and pay only for stitch count. You may mix and match items to get to 12. 5 polos, 3 tote bags, and 4 scarves getting the same logo would avoid the small order fee for example.

A few examples: If “Design A” stitch count cost is $5:

  • If you have 12 items getting design A.
    12 X $5 = $60
  • If you have 6 items getting design A.
    6 X $5 + $25 = $55
  • If you have 12 Items getting design A and 3 of those also getting design B (which has the same # of stitches).
    12 X $5
    3 X $5 + $25
    = $100
Am I required to order product from you for embroidery?

No, most of our clients provide the product by having it drop shipped to us, we do the embroidery, and blind ship it on to their clients. 

When you ship your product to us, please make sure it is labeled in a way that we know it belongs to your order when it arrives.  A best practice is to have your P.O. # or project referenced on the packing list or shipping label. 

For example, a ship-to address might look like:

Embroidery Services, Inc
Attn: PO 1235/Project Name
1500 N. McLean
Suite #3
Lincoln, IL 62656

If you are the end client or simply do not have a source for products, yes we can help you source product. See the next question’s answer for details.

Can I have you source the product for embroidery?

Yes, if you are the end client or simply do not have a source for products, yes we can help you source product! We do require pre-payment for ordering garments themselves, but the embroidery cost will not be due until your order is complete.

Some vendors we work with provide online catalogs, you can use any of these links to get an idea of available products:

These sites allow you to add products to a “shopping cart / inquiry cart” and at the end you’ll have it send us an email with the specific products you want to order. We will then contact you separately to confirm total price for the products and collect pre-payment before placing the order. Prices listed (full retail) on the sites are usually higher than what your total cost will be as many times there are savings from the shipping warehouse , inventory sales, and quantity discounts.

Don’t worry if you don’t find exactly what you want, other vendors provide us physical catalogs, so just contact us with what you need and we can do the leg work.

Is there a "digitizing fee"?

Not typically. We do our digitizing in-house and provide that as part of the job. If it is a very complex logo in combination with a low quantity run, we may need to discuss a small  digitizing fee, but that is very rare. If you have a high quality image to work with (vector graphics file like .svg, .ai, .eps) your digitizing will be faster and come out cleaner. If we need to work from a low resolution web graphic – it will take longer and results may vary.

Our preference is to have your logo as your product is being shipped to us. We will digitize and send you the electronic proof while your product is in transit. That way we can begin embroidery as soon as it arrives!

You are warranting that you have unrestricted right and authority to use and distribute the artwork you provide to us for digitizing.

We reserve the right to cancel orders with logos that do not conform to retail use guidelines.

What are design size limitations?
  • All of our machines accommodate 9 colors and 10” X 10” sewing fields
    • We do have some capacity for 16” X 11” , 15” X 15”, and 13 color designs, however turnaround time on 10+ colors or designs larger than 10” will depend on quantity.
  • We use 40 weight USA-made Rayon as our standard embroidery thread
    • Small lettering (with smallest characters 0.25” tall) is no problem. 
    • If you need lettering smaller, we can special order 60 weight thread for an additional charge.
Will I see a proof before the embroidery starts?

Yes, if it is a brand new logo we’ve not run for you before we will send you a digital proof for approval before any work begins. 
If it is a repeat order, just reference that prior order and we will pull up your previous file for the new run.

How do I start?

Feel free to call us, email, or submit your information on this site.

To use the site:

  1. Click Order
  2. If you don’t have an account yet, Register otherwise Login
  3. The order form will walk you through the typical questions and provide a space for you to upload your logo or image files for us to begin digitizing.
  4. Another benefit of using the site is you will be able to see status during the entire order process.
  5. If you are not ready to place an order, you can also request a quote after login.
Is there special care required for embroidered goods?

Normally the care label instructions pertain to the garment, not the embroidery. Special care should be taken when laundering embroidered garments. Please download our Care Instruction (PDF) for more details.

What about Spoilage , Underrun / Overrun, Defects?

We typically do ship exact quantities, but production run spoilage of 3% over 100 identical pieces is industry standard.  We do our best to avoid mistakes but needle breaks and other situations do arise resulting in loss. 

Best practice is to allow for +/-  5 to 10% to be on the cautious side. For example, a run of 100 napkins or ballcaps, you might send 110 to allow for spoilage. If your embroidery run is under 100 units — allow for 2 units per size /style.

Spoilage/Defects will be noted on your invoice and associated fees will be reduced accordingly. If each item is specifically assigned to a wearer and the count is critical, we encourage ordering a few extra garments per size to mitigate unanticipated spoilage.

It is our goal to provide the utmost care for your supplied garment and excellent embroidery services. ESI will not be liable for costs beyond the services provided.  In the scenario of spoilage or error, we will deduct the value of the services provided for each piece impacted for that order.

Are you a member of ASI?

Yes, our ASI number is 789689