Questions we actually get asked
How long before my order ships?
Production takes on average less than one working day inside the United States, and one to three working days elsewhere, because the shirt is printed only after you order it. Shipping is added on top: 2 to 5 working days for a domestic delivery on the Standard service, 10 to 30 days when an order has to cross a border. Express delivery inside the United States takes 2 to 3 working days.
Where is my shirt printed?
In the country closest to your delivery address. Orders are routed to a workshop in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada or Australia. A shirt ordered in Chicago is printed in the United States, a shirt ordered in Lyon is printed inside the European Union. You pay a local shipping rate and you do not pay import duty on a domestic parcel.
What exactly is the shirt?
A Comfort Colors 1717, the garment-dyed heavyweight that most premium graphic labels print on: 100 percent ring-spun US cotton, 6.1 ounces per square yard, which is 207 grams per square metre. Relaxed fit, pre-shrunk, sewn-in label, sizes S to 4XL.
Garment-dyed means the shirt is cut and sewn first, then dyed as a finished garment. It costs more and it takes longer than dyeing the yarn, and it is what produces the soft hand and the slightly uneven, lived-in depth of colour that a standard tee does not have.
How is the design printed?
Direct to garment, known as DTG. The printer sprays water-based ink directly into the cotton fibres, the way an inkjet prints on paper. The ink becomes part of the fabric instead of forming a plastic layer on top, so the print stays soft, breathes, and does not crack when the shirt is stretched. It is the right method for artwork with gradients and fine detail, which screen printing cannot reproduce without separating every colour.
How big is the print?
Up to 31.4 centimetres wide by 35.6 centimetres tall, which is 12.4 by 14 inches. That is the full printable area of the garment, and most of our designs use nearly all of it. The chest badge, when a design carries one, is 2 by 2 centimetres, placed 2.5 centimetres from the top and left edges of the print area.
How do I wash it so the print survives?
Turn the shirt inside out, machine wash cold, and tumble dry on low. Do not iron over the print itself, and do not dry clean. A DTG print handled this way outlives the shirt. The first wash may release a little excess ink and a faint pretreatment mark: both disappear and neither is a defect.
Which size should I take?
The 1717 is a relaxed cut, wider and shorter than a standard tee, which is the proportion it is designed for. Take your usual size for that look, one size down if you want it close to the body, one up for clearly oversized. Full flat measurements, with the manufacturer tolerance, are on the size guide.
Can I return it?
Every shirt is made for one person after they order it, so it cannot go back on a shelf and there is no restocking. What we do cover, at our cost, is anything that is our fault: a printing defect, a fault in the garment, the wrong item, or damage in transit. Write to contact@rippwiller.com within 30 days of delivery with a photograph and your order number, and we replace it or refund it. Full terms are on the shipping and returns page.
Why is there no sale, ever?
A sale exists to clear stock. We hold none, so there is nothing to clear. The price you see is the price the piece costs to make and sell properly.
Who is behind Rippwiller?
Rippwiller is a trading name of ShowpyShop, a sole trader registered in France under SIRET 941 805 327 00017. The company is the seller of record and the contact for anything legal or commercial.