FAQ

Oak Creek Printworks specializes in offering products for creative small businesses (artists, greeting card makers, photographers, scrapbookers, etc.). Our selection of products and services is designed for professional quality displays, packaging and marketing solutions, while maintaining low prices for start-ups and creative enterprises.

While our business is primarily through our 24-hour a day online web store, we are happy to work with customers who are more comfortable talking to a live person on the telephone. Just give us a call during the week at (805) 522-5475, and we will help you with any of your needs.

Not a problem, just call us at (805) 522-5475, or send us an e-mail, and we will point you in the right direction. If we don't have the exact product you are looking for, we can get it for you, or refer you to someone who can.

You have come to the right place, because making sure that you are ready for your shows is what we do best! From museum quality mats and framing supplies, to clear acrylic greeting card displays and print racks, even custom printing for your cards and prints, we are a one-stop shop for your needs.

If you notice the padlock icon when you are in the check-out process on our website, that ensures that all of your personal information is encrypted, and safe from the prying eyes of hackers and criminals. All ordering information is processed electronically, so there is no chance of human error, or theft.

We do not have access to any of your credit card numbers. Our online processing system puts payments and recurring billing through automatically, without the need to transcribe sensitive card numbers.

Certainly, just give us your shipping information, and we will get one right out to you.

Never! Our customers privacy is important to us, and we never rent, sell or distribute your name, shipping address, telephone number or e-mail address to anybody. We do publish an e-mail newsletter, but that is sent to you with your permission only, and contains new products, online coupons and promotions. Click here if you would like to subscribe.

Absolutely. We do require that your check clears our bank before we ship out your products, so allow an extra week upon our receipt of your payment for your order to ship out.

We can pull up your last order in no time, just let us know, and we will take care of everything.

Indefinitely. You can put any products into your online shopping cart and it will store them until you are ready to make your purchase.

No need to worry, just e-mail us or give us a call at (805) 522-5475, and we will give you a temporary password to log into your account, and you can then change your password to anything you like.

Yes! For our corporate customers, we have wholesale pricing for large quantity orders. Contact us for our Net 30 terms.

We only charge sales tax to customers who are in the state of California. Everywhere else, you are not charged state sales tax. If you have a re-sale number from California, just let us know, and we will make your account non-taxable.

We sure do! It contains new products, exclusive coupons and offers and promotional/close-outs. Click here to subscribe. Each newsletter also has a button to unsubscribe, so there is no obligation.

Each quarter, we feature a new artist on the top banner of our website, in our blog, and on the front page and middle spread of our print catalog. We welcome any customer submissions, whatever medium you are proficient in. Click here to send us your biography, several images and any important information. If you are selected, you will receive a $100 store credit for any of our products, including custom printing!

We welcome comments, insight and guest articles relating to creative businesses on our blog, www.oakcreekprintworks.com/blog/ You have to register as a user to post an comment or article, and all comments are screened prior to publication, to remove any unlawful material.

This is probably one of our number one questions. The standard crystal clear sleeves have a self-adhesive strip on the flap for closure: simply insert your card/envelope into the sleeve, peel off the cellophane liner, fold the flap over and your sleeve is sealed. The PC style of bag is exactly the same as our standard sleeves, with one key difference: the adhesive strip is on the back of the bag, instead of the flap. This allows easy removal and re-insertion of cards, because no adhesive remains on the flap to catch and tear the card/envelope. We recommend the PC style for anyone that plans to re-use the sleeves for different cards, or if frequent opening and closing of the sleeves by customers is foreseen.

While single cards do well in retail environments, a more lucrative option is when you package together many cards with a similar theme, and sell them in a set. We have crystal clear plastic boxes, in several different depths, that are specially made for presenting card sets. For 8 cards/envelopes and less, try our 1/4" boxes; 10-15 cards, our 1/2" boxes; 15-20, the 1" boxes, and for 20 cards/envelopes and over, we have a 2" style, as well. In the standard card sizes, we also stock an oversized sleeve, that will fit up to 8 cards/envelopes into one bag.

No! You can order as many or as few products as you need, no full package quantities required.

When packaging cards for a retail display, presentation is everything. The next time you use a crystal clear plastic box to present your card set, try an elastic stretch loop for a finishing touch. It adds a professional look to your box, and can make the difference in a sale. Our loops are pre-tied - just wrap the ends of the loop around two opposing corners of the finished box, and you are ready for display.

Many mats claim to be acid-free, but there are only a few that are truly archival and will not damage your work. Most mats are made from wood pulp, which is highly acidic, and will yellow, get brittle and cause discoloration and damage to your valuable artwork in a short period of time. Many retailers claim their wood pulp mats are acid-free, because they are sprayed with a temporary neutralizing coating at the time of manufacture. Unfortunately, this wears off so quickly that it can be rendered useless by the time you purchase the mat. Our museum quality Bainbridge Alphamats are made from 100% cotton, which is naturally acid-free and archival, no temporary coatings needed. They will never yellow, or cause any damage to your work, which is why the Library of Congress uses them for their important historical documents and papers.

Having your own mats custom cut can save much time and money from going to a frame store. It can be a little tricky to get the measurements correct, however. Here is a link to an article on our blog, which explains the whole process: http://www.oakcreekprintworks.com/blog/uncategorized/how-do-i-measure-my-artwork-for-matting/

Standard size cards and envelopes can vary by up to 1/8", depending upon thickness. For critical uses, just call or e-mail us, and we will send you out free samples of the sleeves you are interested in, to ensure the perfect fit.

Just let us know, we have many different sizes of crystal clear sleeves and boxes that we can special order for you directly from our warehouse.

The card stock, although higher quality on the Premium sets, is comparable. With the Premium pack, you get a thicker, textured, more elegant envelope to send your creations in.

No, the blank cards come pre-scored, but are not folded because many customers use them for digital prints in an inkjet or laser printer, which needs to have flat stock.

The crystal clear acrylic print racks and greeting card spinners fit a wide array of card and print sizes. Contact us with any questions as to fit and usage.

Card jackets are clear coverings for the front of your greeting cards. Made from the same materials as our crystal clear sleeves, they have flaps at each end that hook over the edges of your cards, so that the front and back are protected, while the inside is left open for writing, sort of like a dust jacket on a book.

No need to be, we package our glass in sheet-foam wrapped containers, to withstand the impacts of shipping. If any breakage does occur, we will be happy to send you out a replacement.

Yes, we can! Just contact us with your needs, and we will give you a quote.

The bookmark sleeves are designed for standard size bookmarks. If fit is critical, we will be happy to send out a sample to you, no charge.

With 32 solid colors, 9 striped tassels and several sets, we have the perfect choice for any use. We will send you a sample of your choices, or if you want to sample each one, try our Ultimate Bookmark Tassel Sampler Set.

Custom printing of greeting cards is one of our specialties. We can print in all the standard card sizes: A2, A6 and A7, as well as square cards, and custom sizes.

The blank inkjet stock is designed to work with all major brands of inkjet printer. We will be happy to send you a free sample, for you to test it on your own machine.

We basically use a form of color xerography, which offers bright colors, fade/smudge-proof printing and reasonable price points. Tests done with our prints have shown no signficant fading over extended periods of time. The cardstock and paper that we use for our cards and prints is acid-free, as well.

We try to get your order processed, packaged and shipped the same day, if you place your order by 2pm Pacific time. If we have heavy volume, it is usually within a day or two, providing all of the merchandise is in stock.

Yes we do. Because the shipping fees and delivery times vary so widely depending upon what part of the world you are in, call or e-mail us first for an accurate shipping quote for large orders. Also note that many countries assess sizeable customs/duties fees for merchandise brought into the country from the USA, so keep that in mind while ordering.

We offer many types of expedited shipping services for customers on a tight deadline. 3-Day, 2nd day and even overnight shipping is available. Please call or e-mail us first when dealing with critical time deadlines, to ensure that we have the products in stock and can get them to you by your deadline.

Despite careful packaging and shipping methods, occasional damage can occur. Just call us at (805) 522-5475, or send us an e-mail, and we will resolve your damage issue, ship out new products, and take care of all the necessary claim forms.

No worries, just let us know what you are returning, and we will give you a return authorization, and either store credit or a refund. Note that in order to maintain our prompt attention to our customers, we charge a 15% re-stocking fee for any returns not of our error.

As our stock can move quickly, items that are back-ordered will usually be back in stock within 7-10 business days. Call or e-mail us for back-order issues - sometimes our online stock manager is not up to the minute on new stock shipments, and your item is in stock after all.

While our online web store is administered in Southern California, we have only a partial amount of products on hand at that location. Call or e-mail us first to see if we can arrange to have you pick up your order.

If it is past the scheduled delivery time, and you have not yet received your merchandise, give us a call at (805) 522-5475, or e-mail us, and we will do a real-time track of your package to check it's status.

The high cost of fuel, rate hikes from the major shipping carriers and trying economic times have affected all of us who ship products to customers. If the shipping charges seem excessive for the size of your order, just give us a call at (805) 522-5475, or e-mail us, and many times we can work with you to offer a less expensive shipping alternative.

While our online web store is open for business 24 hours a day, our shipping center is open Monday-Friday. Any orders placed after hours on Friday, or over the weekend, will ship out the following Monday, if there are no back-orders. We are closed on major holidays, and will ship out your products to you on the next business day.