Screenprints are made by printing each color in the design individually by hand. Ink is pushed through a physical screen with the image fixed to it, transferring the color onto paper or fabric.
We have many screen prints in our shop, but not all designs are available in this format. Most of our t-shirts are also produced this way.
See the site I designed for MoMA in 2004 called What Is A Print? for more.
Both screenprinting and letterpress are traditional fine art print methods with long histories. Like screenprinting, letterpress prints one color at a time. Instead of a mesh screen, the image is raised on a metal plate (or similar material), inked, and then pressed into paper.
We have VERY FEW examples of this in our shop. Two posters and some greeting cards.
See the site I designed for MoMA in 2004 called What Is A Print? for more.
Digital is a made-to-order print method (sometimes called gliceé) that uses a high-quality Epson digital printer. These prints are produced with archival inks on archival papers and have an expected display life of about 60-100 years.
This usually means that the item has already been re-ordered and is expected in days, or we are planning to reprint within 3-4 weeks. Obviously that means your item can be seriously delayed by days or even weeks. If time is an issue, contact us and we can give you an expected arrival date for your item. Please note that if your item is a gift, we do make custom printables you can present in your item’s absence.
If you keep the original envelope you can write RETURN TO SENDER and drop it back to us. Please include a note so we know which order and the context of what is needed. Don’t go to the Post Office or they will try and charge you for it. We will re-ship the exchange within the USA for free.
Our Address
If the original envelope is not available, please send to:
Chop Shop Returns
416 Haverford Place
Swarthmore PA 19081
You can always reach out to us at info@chopshopstore.com with any questions. Please be patient for a response. We are not Amazon ;)
Shipping
Schedule
We are a small shop and we normally ship once a week around Tue/Wed and twice a week (or more) during holiday spikes such as Christmas, Yuri’s Night and Mother’s Day. If you happen to order the day after we ship, you are likely to have to wait a few days added plus transit time. If you order the night before, then your wait will be much shorter.
USPS Delivers (USA)
We know firsthand how great USPS is. For over 15 years they have delivered packages 99% on time. We use their Ground Advantage rate whenever possible. It is 2/3 to 1/2 the cost of Priority and often only results in an added 1-2 days transit time. Any order over 1lb automatically ships via Priority. Some larger orders may ship via UPS depending on your region.
You can always reach out to us at info@chopshopstore.com with any questions. Please be patient for a response. We are not Amazon ;)
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International Delivers (Worldwide)
We use EPost, which utilizes a variety of services to deliver your gear from the USA at a reasonably low cost.
Canada: Orders to Canada typically arrive within 1-2 weeks.
Worldwide: In many regions, shipments are sent using a “canister” method. This means the shipper collects orders until the canister for that region is full. Your order might fill the canister and ship out the same day it arrives, or it may just miss the cutoff and experience a delay of 2-10 days, depending on your location.
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Single Tees
As mentioned, most single tee purchases are shipped in the USA by Ground Advantage which provides tracking and can take 2-5 days transit. International ships by a distribution network and can take anywhere from 5 to 15 days transit. Some nations have customs reviews that will randomly delay delivery even further, but this is fairly rare.
Three or More Tees
Within the US three or more tees usually go Priority Package unless they are small sizes. This is 1-3 days transit time and with tracking. International orders still follow the Single Tee rule shown above.
Posters
ALL posters MUST be shipped in tubes which increases the cost of shipping. Most posters in the USA are shipped Ground Advantage and International is shipped by a distribution network. Tracking is provided in most countries but the amount of reporting will be mixed.
Heavy Items (Such as Planetary Blocks)
We don’t have many heavy items, but if your package weighs more than 3lbs we will often use UPS in the place of USPS. Internationally there are no special flat rates, so the items will simply be charged by weight.
What if it is a Gift?
If you are giving your item as a gift and there is not enough time for arrival, drop us a note and we can usually work something out. We can sometimes ship earlier and if not, we will generate a printable custom graphic featuring the art from your purchase with a personalized message to your recipient.
