Ink Pixi Blog

St. Valentine's Fun Quiz

2012-02-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

NEW - Family Cruise design

2012-01-23T09:07:00.000-08:00

Making a winter getaway?

Wish you were?

This new design could keep you warm, and keep you together, no matter where you are.

Try it out: Add your name now!

Old Lang's Sign

2012-01-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

Looking back at 2011

2012-01-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

To understand life at Ink Pixi during 2011, you have to know a little about 2010.

Christmas of 2010 was tough. We had an unexpected problem: Too many people wanted to give Ink Pixi products as gifts, and we couldn't print fast enough to keep up with demand.

It sounds like a good problem for a business to have, but it's NOT good to disappoint hundreds of loyal customers. It's not good to apologetically ship gifts the week after Christmas. And it's not good to end the holiday season with stressed, red-eyed employees who hate the very sight of a t-shirt.

Changes were necessary, and we made some hefty New Years Resolutions. Then we went to work.

We bought property adjacent to our existing offices, paying more than it was worth, because it was worth it to us.
We built an addition, tripling the size of our production facility.
We bought printers, tested new kinds of printers, and then bought more of both kinds.
We hired smart, hard-working people, and made sure they had the best training we could give them.
And we spent all year fine-tuning our planning system to be sure we could print enough of the most popular products.

When Christmas 2011 arrived, we met it with a mixture of excitement and fear. Could we do it this year? Would our customers come back this year?

You did!

And so did we.

Ink Pixi shipped 181,797 orders in 2011 - 36,000 more than in 2010!

So thank you. Thank you for your faith in us, thank you for making us a part of your family, and thanks for giving us some of the funnest jobs anywhere.

Happy New Year!

White Christmas (opening scene)

2011-12-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

We're thankful for the commitment of men and women who won't be home for Christmas this year...

Order Soon for Christmas!

2011-12-05T06:49:00.001-08:00

There's still time...
but Christmas orders must be received by December 9 (9pm ET), for delivery by December 25.

Remember, shipping is free on orders of 6+ items, and you also get 10% off orders of 12 or more.

So make Christmas easy and special with shirts for the whole family!

Baby it's cold outside

2011-11-30T10:25:00.000-08:00

Aaand... a bit of silliness never hurts!

The Cultivation of Christmas Trees

2011-11-30T08:32:00.001-08:00

If you're starting to feel the strain of holiday preparations, let poet T.S. Eliot remind you of the childlike wonder of Christmas - it's not about age, but a state of heart.

The Cultivation of Christmas Trees
by T.S. Eliot

There are several attitudes towards Christmas,
Some of which we may disregard:
The social, the torpid, the patently commercial,
The rowdy (the pubs being open till midnight),
And the childish---which is not that of the child
For whom the candle is a star, and the gilded angel
Spreading its wings at the summit of the tree
Is not only a decoration, but an angel.

The child wonders at the Christmas Tree:
Let him continue in the spirit of wonder
At the Feast as an event not accepted as a pretext;
So that the glittering rapture, the amazement
Of the first-remembered Christmas Tree,
So that the surprises, delight in new possessions
(Each one with its peculiar and exciting smell),
The expectation of the goose or turkey
And the expected awe on its appearance,

So that the reverence and the gaiety
May not be forgotten in later experience,
In the bored habituation, the fatigue, the tedium,
The awareness of death, the consciousness of failure,
Or in the piety of the convert
Which may be tainted with a self-conceit
Displeasing to God and disrespectful to the children
(And here I remember also with gratitude
St. Lucy, her carol, and her crown of fire):

So that before the end, the eightieth Christmas
(By "eightieth" meaning whichever is the last)
The accumulated memories of annual emotion
May be concentrated into a great joy
Which shall be also a great fear, as on the occasion
When fear came upon every soul:
Because the beginning shall remind us of the end
And the first coming of the second coming.

New "Asylum" Design is our hottest holiday item

2011-11-23T06:06:00.000-08:00

If your family puts the "fun" in dysfunctional, you just found the perfect gift for the whole gang!

Our newest design, "Asylum," is available for kids and adults, in t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats, and they're selling like... well... like crazy.

Remember, shipping is free on orders of 6+ items, and you also get 10% off orders of 12 or more.

So make Christmas easy and special with shirts for the whole family!

Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without...

2011-11-14T13:18:00.001-08:00

Why wear a disguise?

2011-10-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

Why wear a disguise for Halloween when you can wear a shirt like this?

Packing more attitude than any of our Ladies Tees yet, "Wicked Witch" has already made a gag-gift round of Ink Pixi offices. (Along with jokes about "broom parking" in the second-floor hallway.)

How to write an awesome product review

2011-09-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

Many of our customers are kind enough to write product reviews after buying, and we appreciate them all. It's nice to hear when we've done well, and critical to know when we could do better. But then there are the customers who put a little bit more into the review - a little bit more of themselves.

Here are some reviews we love. We love them because they give us a peek into your lives, at why you like Ink Pixi stuff, and how we become a part of your family events. Thanks for sharing!

"I purchased the HOT SAUCE shirt for my dad. He is a hot sauce nut!! Nothing is ever hot enough for him. So he's constantly adding hot sauce to his food. God love him he just turned 86 and he got the biggest kick out of his shirt. He saved it to wear to his Railroad Retirees meeting. He loves it! Thank InkPixi."
By Legs
from Buffalo, NY

"We baby -sit for our grand kids during the summer to provide child care , when we do we always call it going to " papa-camp " or camp Watnick, but to give our grand kids an actual camp t-shirt is hysterical!!"
By camp director
from west Hills , CA

"My wife is always telling me and our daughter she's not our maid....well now she has a shirt proclaiming her "maid service"! We gave it to her as a joke for mothers day and she loved it, she even wore it to Church for the mothers day breskfast and wore it to the office the next day!"
By Max
from Prince George County, Virginia

Do you feel loved?

2011-08-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

"Americans are fed up with poor customer service," according to a Reuters news story from June, 2011.

"The most annoying gripe is not being able to get a person on the phone, followed by rude salespeople, according to findings from a Consumer Reports survey issued on Tuesday."

Ink Pixi staffs our call center from 9 - 9 ET, Mon-Sat, and we have a great team of kind and knowledgeable people. But no team achieves greatness without continuing to work for improvement. If you ever have a less-than perfect customer service experience, please let us know.

Congratulations - You're Hip!

2011-07-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal says that T-shirts are rising in popularity:

"T-shirt consumption has risen sharply, to more than 10 per person last year from around four in 1990, according to Hanesbrand data from market-research firm NPD Group and the Census Bureau. Americans bought 3.2 billion T-shirts in the 12 months ended in May, up 4.1% from a year earlier.
(WSJ July 13, 2011 )"

See, Ink Pixi customers aren't just great people - you're trendsetters!

Send us a photo and win a free shirt!

2011-07-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

Summer Photo Contest

Win a FREE shirt or hat!

HOW IT WORKS

Take a picture of yourself, your family, or your friends wearing personalized shirts or hats from Ink Pixi. Upload it at our Facebook page, and winners will be chosen based on:

Photo quality (focus, lighting, etc)
Artistry (use of background, color, setting etc)
Inclusion of personalized Ink Pixi apparel

Photo deadline is midnight, July 31.

THE PRIZE

The top 3 winners get a free Ink Pixi shirt or hat of their choosing, and their photos published on Ink Pixi's blog and newsletter!

Customer Letter - Schulken University Sweatshirts

2011-01-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am forwarding pictures of The Schulken Grandchildren. These
photos were taken at our Annual Christmas Celebration. Needless to say, the
sweatshirts were the highlight of the evening.

The shirts were well made and the kids and their parents were thrilled with
them. Additionally, I found Ink Pixi to be great both in product and
customer service.

I highly recommended them to family and friends.

Thank You again for a Job Well Done,
The Schulkens

Customer comment - Tatro University

2010-08-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Well Mary, the T shirts were a great success. The family at large thought it was awesome that we did this. This is the immediate family at my husband's 70th birthday in the park.

My daughter in law trimmed her shirt ala "Flash Dance"

If you'd like to use any of these pics, feel free.

We appreciate your fine service and great product. You got them to us in time.

My son, who lives in Austin, TX, also received your postcard.

Dianne

Customer Comments - from e-mail

2010-06-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you thank you for getting this order to me
before March 21st. On March 21st, there is a large family gathering
to celebrate my 50th birthday. This is the best present. Thank you
for getting this to me before the party. You have already made my
birthday great.
Paula

I want to thank you for the special time and attention you put into my order. I received my order this past week and was most satisfied with the quality.
Because of your extra efforts, I will be sure to do business with you again as well as recommend you to others.
Thank you again,
Angeline Brunetto

MY HUSBAND AND MY SELF REALLY LIKE OUR PURCHASES I WILL ORDER MORE SHIRTS FOR MY CHILDREN WE WILL BE WEARING THE SHIRTS AND HAT TO OUR FAMILY REUNION THIS AUGUST, I CANT WAIT FOR THE COMMENTS

The product is wonderful. I have many of your shirts. I intend to buy more. Why wear someone else’s logo when I can wear my own. Thank you for bringing back the idea that great customer service and a great product are not a thing of the past.

The shirts were great. Wish I had the money to buy a dozen more. I will be ordering more soon. Thanks.

Customer Comment - Racing Team Hats

2010-05-06T14:40:00.001-07:00

The caps was exactly what I was looking for and topped of the teams uniform. We are a nostalgia drag racing team running a top fuel funny car. Other teams liked the caps and hopefully you will get more customers from racing.Liked the t-shirts but we need the graphics on the back side.Ever consider doing that?

Thanks, Ralph Campbell

Customer Comment - McKillips University

2010-04-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the great job Ink Pixi did on my recent purchase. I gave these as gifts to my brother+sisters and they loved them! Already past your website to other friends. Thanks again. Kim

Customer Comment - Woman, Myth, Legend shirts

2010-03-19T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hi: I just want to say THANK YOU so much, for getting my orders out and, in such a timely fashion, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. This is something I wanted to do for my sister Beth for her 60^th birthday. YOU came through, incredibly. THANK YOU. Her birthday is 31^st of March, her party the 27^th. You did good, got to me in time. Actually ahead of time, thank you, you truly are INCREDIBLE.

I have ordered things from you before, for my grandson’s hockey thing, but you all are truly AWESOME. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Molinda Karpman

Customer Comment - Bajus University shirts

2010-03-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know--My order arrived in time for the birthday

party that the shirts were to be given at.

I really appreciate getting them in time. I will make sure I tell everyone how accommodating you were and how much we really liked the shirts--A BIG thank you!!!!

Kellie Bajus

Customer Comment - Putz University Hoodie

2010-03-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

My daughter just LOVES this sweatshirt! Thank you again! Your employees were so nice about this delayed order! I will definitely consider purchasing from your company in the future!

Mrs. D.J. Putz

Customer Comment - Donofrio University Hoodies

2010-02-25T08:17:00.000-08:00

"The 'DONOFRIO UNIVERSITY' hoodies were terrific. I could not have been more pleased with the results. The quality was great and the hoodies served the purpose. We have nine grandchildren, eight boys and one girl, ranging in age from 4 months to 16 years. Each year their grandfather gives each of them a special gift, this past year the Donofrio hoodies were a wonderful gift for all of them."

-- M. Donofrio

Customer Comment - Brunson University Sweatshirts

2009-12-03T11:59:00.000-08:00

I must tell you one of my employees ordered sweatshirts for her son, husband and herself last year. I was so impressed with the way her's looked and how much her son enjoyed his, I had to order them for all my grandchildren for Christmas this year! My next request is for all families to have the children's pictures taken in them so I can can living proof I have 11 grandchildren and look so young........well, okay, so I have 11 grandchildren and we will leave it at that!

A. Brunson
Weatherford TX

Still more Sports designs!

2009-11-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

Personalized swim team, lacrosse, rugby and volleyball designs are ready just in time to make great gifts. Order by December 4 for guaranteed Christmas delivery.

Creating a new personalized shirt design

2009-10-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered how we decide what designs to offer? Well, I'll tell you: there are two main methods.

1. The Bolt of Lightning method
In this method, someone in product development stops suddenly, no matter what they're doing, as a brilliant idea strikes them. "I know! We'll do '[Your Name Here] -- Nuttier than Squirrel Poop!'"

This method occasionally proves disruptive to meetings, or family life, as folks sprint from the meeting room or shower to write ideas down -- and the ideas aren't always as brilliant as we first think. (Yes, "Squirrel Poop" was an actual idea...)
But, it has also provided some of our best designs - like our all-time bestselling University shirts.

2. Customer Requests
I'm happy to say that customer request are rapidly becoming our most common, and most exciting, source of ideas! Thanks to people filling out our customer surveys (available at the bottom of every page on the website), we have a growing backlog of fantastic ideas just waiting for technical development.

There is a lot of work that happens before we can do high-quality printing of a new idea, and it feels good to know for sure that we're working on something people want.

So, keep the comments and requests coming. I'll be sure to let you know as your ideas become real garments!

New T-shirt designs - for Nature lovers

2009-09-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

We've wanted for some time to do something for the outdoors-people and nature lovers, so I'm glad to present our first two nature-ey designs.

Customer Picture - Simkovich University Sweatshirt

2009-09-10T04:02:00.000-07:00

New T-shirt designs - for Sports lovers

2009-09-09T03:06:00.000-07:00

Now announcing a sizeable expansion to our sports-themed designs!
Personalized football, cheerleading, baseball, soccer, hockey, basketball and softball designs, featuring your name!

Customer Comment - Callaghan University Sweatshirts

2009-08-28T10:47:00.001-07:00

"Just sharing our joy in your sweatshirts. This is only part of us. Thanks for doing such good work. We all love them."
Linda L. Callaghan

Customer Picture - Schmaltz University T shirts

2009-08-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

New T-shirt designs - for Family Reunions

2009-07-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that we've released four new Family Reunion designs for the summer! There's an athletic-type design that complements our University shirts, a classic family-tree design, and Irish and Italian designs. (Yes, of course we're working on designs for German, Spanish, etc - these things always seem to take longer than one would think.)

Here's hoping your family reunion is great fun for everyone!

Customer Letter - Richling University T-Shirts

2009-05-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

Mary,
Thank you very much for overseeing my purchase and assisting in it's expedition. We recieved our shirts early so that we will have them for our family reunion. I am very please with both the service and the quality of your companys products.
Thank you very much!

Another satisfied customer,

The Richling Family

Customer Letter - Pendleton University Sweatshirt

2009-05-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hello and greetings from Springfield, IL!! I just received my Pendleton University sweatshirt in the mail and I just love it! Thanks for sending it so quick. I can't wait to see how my friends react and ask me where Pendleton University is.

Pamela Pendleton

Customer Letter - Woman. Myth. Legend. & University Shirts

2009-05-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

DEAR MARY:

You’re absolutely OUTSTANDING. Us three “Geezers” will strut around like Peacocks in heat with our new duds.

The bus is full with our colleagues from the Retirement Learning Class at Vanderbilt University, so the “buzz” will be all about our hats and shirts. The drive up and back to Bardstown and the tour of the Heaven Hill and Makers Mark distilleries will give us ample chance to “sport our duds” and tell new lies.

And my wife Barbara’s Red Hat Hussies group might be a little jealous of her new “Myth and Legend” shirt. They’re headed to Gulf Shores for four days of telling their lies. I always felt there ought to be a male counterpart to the Red Hat Society, so we’ll just start one and call ourselves “Green Hat Geezers”. After all, Geezer Guys can have harmless fun too.

See Mary, you just began a national movement!! Those Red Hats got nothing on us Green Hats!! Now watch our adult kids roll their eyes and shake their heads.

Best2ya, and thanks so much to both you and Stephanie.

JIM CHARLET

Customer Letter - Borka University Shirts

2009-05-06T13:04:00.001-07:00

Hi,

Just wanted to let you know we got our package of clothing today, (Borka University) and it is my daughters 16th birthday today, so how perfect is that!!

Wanted to send some big thanks to you and your company for the great job. Even having to call in and change the size of something the other day, we still got our stuff in time. Awesome job-it will help make our daughters big day so special!!!

Thanks again,

Katie Borka

We will definitely be giving your company name out to all our friends!

Customer Letter - Scalzo University Shirts

2009-05-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Inkpixi,

We don't usually write to companies about their products, but we received the above order recently. We are VERY pleased with the items (both quality & service)!

We've worn them several times now and the reactions are GREAT!...some get the joke right away (and asked where they can get them!); some ask where is the university?; what courses do they offer?; one even said that they had a friend that went to the SAME school! (too bad they didn't know our last name!).

Anyway, just want to say thanks and hope to order again from you again in the future.

Stay safe,

Lyle Scalzo

New designs!

2008-10-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

I'm tickled to let you know that we've just released three fun new designs:

Bait and tackle:

Racing team:

Lager:

Embryonic Affiliate Program

2008-09-10T11:50:00.001-07:00

This will be my first test of our ability to provide a tracking link:

University Apparel

Wish me luck.

Testing our Widgets

2008-08-26T13:22:00.001-07:00

This is an example of the widgets now available at our website, www.inkpixi.com.

People seem to have so much fun trying out different names in the designs that we thought, "Why not make that function portable?"

So here you go: