If you don’t find what you’re looking for here, send me an email at ask.teenage.stepdad@gmail.com or send me a message on my CONTACT page and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Q: Why do you sell shirts on Threadless.com but the art prints are sold on your own site?
A: Yeah, I get that it’s sort of confusing. It will probably change at some point, but for the time being I’ve been happy with the way Threadless has handled on demand apparel sales. For the art prints I like to be able to drive down to Tanline Printing, hang out with the crew and mess around in the shop and take a look at each print as it comes out. Since I sign each print by hand, it makes that process easier as well.
If you have questions about apparel orders, you’ll want to contact THREADLESS SUPPORT.
If you have questions about orders of anything other than apparel, send those questions DIRECTLY TO ME.
Q: Why are you selling prints of your memes as art?
A: Because memes are art.
Q: Where can I find 12×12” frames?
A: Any large store should have them. I’ve found them at Michael’s, Target, and the local Mom & Pop frame shop.
Q: Do you offer any coupon codes?
A: Coupon codes are made available to my Patreon subscribers. If you sign up as a patron at any level, even a dollar a month, you’ll be able to access the current code. It’s kind of a no-brainer.
I may run sales and promotions from time to time. If you want to receive notice for those, sign up for my maillist below.
Q: When will my art order be delivered?
A: All orders made through TeenageStepdad.com are shipped within 14 business days of your order unless otherwise stated (in the case of pre-order items, for instance).
For info on turn-around time on apparel orders through Threadless.com, you can read about that by clicking here.
Q: How much do you charge for shipping?
A: I offer FREE SHIPPING on all U.S. orders, regardless of size or quantity of items included. Items will ship USPS and you’ll receive tracking information once the order is processed.
For all international orders, I charge a flat $20.00 USPS shipping rate. I get that that’s expensive, but so is International Shipping. I can’t guarantee tracking on International orders because of the number of different carriers and variables involved.
Q: What’s your return policy?
A: If you’re not happy with your order for any reason, please CONTACT ME within 30 days to arrange for item returns and/or refunds. Issues will be handled on a case by case basis, depending on the issue.
Q: How are the art prints packaged?
A: All the art prints are shipped rolled, protected in a poly sleeve, and packaged in a mailing tube. This is for the protection of the piece from folding or creasing while keeping costs low enough to offer free domestic shipping. The paper I use for the art prints, while substantial, has plenty of give for this purpose.
In a previous life before I started working as a creative professional I was a partner in an online retail business for 12 years, and after packaging and shipping thousands of items I’ve found that this is the most reliable way to ship prints and posters.
Q: What equipment do you use to create the prints?
A: All the art prints are printed in Tucson, AZ by Tanline Printing on an Epson Artisan 1430 6-color inkjet printer with archival pigment inks onto premium presentation matte paper. These things fucking POP. I then sign each print by hand.
Q: Can’t I just print out your memes on my home printer and pop them in a frame?
A. Of course you can, but the quality isn’t going to be as good as the prints I’m offering, if that’s something you care about. All my prints files are derived from my raw design files, meaning that the vector elements (text and other elements with hard edges) are produced in extremely high quality that preserve every detail, and all the raster (image) elements are rebuilt from scratch to be optimized for higher resolutions. Then I throw those files through a 6-color pigment inkjet onto some premium art paper. If you try to print one of the memes from my Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter account, you’re dealing with low resolution and some hefty compression that occurs on upload. Again, if that’s something you care about. If not, print away! All I ask that you don’t try to sell prints of my images.
Q: When did design peak?
A: Great question, I think about that a lot. My current thinking is in the VHS era, when the home video rental market was first coming into it’s own.
If you think about it it makes perfect sense. This was the pre-computer aided design era, and they found out the best way to make an impact on a consumer was by slapping a great illustration or painting and some ornate typography over an admittedly shoddy product.
I think my interest in design formed while standing in front of the horror and action sections of Studio Video. I remember the feeling of a particular tape in a crowded field flying off the shelf and capturing my attention visually. That’s what great design is all about.