FAQ — Dark Ink

ABOUT US

Dark Ink is a specialty release site run by Acme Archives located in Burbank, CA. Our artwork has been officially licensed through Lucasfilm, The Simpsons and Marvel (Our Twentieth Century Fox, DreamWorks, Microsoft/Halo, Saban/Power Rangers and Iron Maiden licensed prints are no longer available) All prints come with a certificate of authenticity (some third party prints may not have certificates). Please note that Celebration exclusives do not come with certificates of authenticity. More artwork can be found at our other site: Acme Archives Direct

**PLEASE NOTE WE DO NOT GUARANTEE ANY DELIVERY TIMES FOR DOMESTIC ORDERS OR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS DUE TO UNPRECEDENTED DELAYS WITH THE POSTAL SERVICES BOTH IN THE US AND INTERNATIONALLY**

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR MY ORDER TO SHIP?

Orders generally ship within 2-3 business days unless noted otherwise on the product page (ie timed releases or pre-orders). Orders placed during releases or sales take longer to ship (up to a week additionally). We don't ship partial orders and will hold an order until complete before shipping. Once an order is shipped, an email notification with tracking number is sent. Orders are shipped Monday-Friday.

HOW IS THE ARTWORK SHIPPED?

We recommend for international orders to choose International Priority as the safest way to ship. We do not guarantee any number requests. All prints are rolled.

All prints are shipped rolled unless otherwise noted on the product page. Prints are shipped with kraft paper in sturdy shipping tubes. Orders for 3 prints and under are shipped in 3" wide tubes. Orders for 4 prints and over are shipped in 4" wide tubes. If placing an order for more than 7 prints, we recommend separate orders to minimize possible damage. Orders with more than 7 prints are not guaranteed mint.

Specialty items like character keys, pin sets or the X-Files litho set are shipped separately and can not be combined with rolled print orders.

Small pins are shipped in a 5" x 10" padded envelope (First Class Mail) or a small box (Priority Mail/Fedex). If pins are ordered with prints, the pins ship taped to the top of the tube without packaging/backer card.

Some countries may not be receiving international mail due to COVID-19 you can find updated lists of countries not receiving mail here on the USPS site.

CAN I COMBINE SHIPPING ON ORDERS?

**AT THIS TIME WE ARE NOT ABLE TO COMBINE SHIPPING ON ORDERS**

If you would like to combine shipping on orders, please contact us as soon as possible via our contact form with the order numbers you would like combined. If the orders have not entered processing, we more than likely will be able to combine them for shipment. Combining orders will add to the processing time as they will be manually processed. Notes added during check out to combine orders DO NOT guarantee that we will see them in time to combine orders. Shipping refunds typically take 24-48 hours. Please note that we will not combine shipping on more than 6 items. Timed editions/Pre-Orders cannot be combined with any newly placed orders or outstanding orders. Orders that have loyalty discounts applied cannot be combined.

CAN I REQUEST A SPECIFIC NUMBER?

If you would like to request a specific number, please contact us via our contact form with the order number and the number you are requesting as soon as possible. We don't guarantee that we can fill number requests. Number requests added in the notes section during check out do not guarantee that you will receive that number. We cannot guarantee any number requests for Celebration Art Show pre-order prints.

DO YOU SHIP INTERNATIONALLY?

Please make sure that your country is accepting shipments from USPS - click here to see current USPS restrictions

We do ship internationally via USPS First Class International Mail & USPS Priority International Mail. International customers are responsible for any customs fees assessed by their country. Customs can delay a shipment from 3 days up to a month depending on the location. Unfortunately we can't do anything to speed up customs processing.

Please note that prints with dimensions over 24" (such as 24" x 36") may need to be shipped via USPS Priority International Mail as the postal service in some countries have dimension limits and won't accept tubes longer than 24" when shipping USPS First Class International. Please check your country's requirements to select the correct shipping method - we do not reship items returned to us that are rejected because of dimension limits.

Currently we are not shipping to the UK and encourage ordering from our partner gallery in the UK, Pulse Gallery who also carries our products and ships internationally.

WHAT SHIPPING METHODS ARE AVAILABLE?

ORDERS ARE TAKING LONGER TO SHIP VIA USPS. PLEASE CONTACT US WITHIN A TIMELY MANNER IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT PACKAGE DELIVERY. IF SEVERAL MONTHS HAVE PASSED AND WE HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED ABOUT A MISSING PACKAGE IT MAY BE TOO LATE TO HAVE THE PACKAGE FOUND.

US orders ship via USPS Priority Mail with signature or no signature options or Fedex Home Delivery. At select times, US orders over $100.00 are eligible for Free Shipping which is USPS Priority (no signature). Please note that San Diego Comic-Con pre-orders are pick up only and can not be combined with other products on our site for free shipping.

International orders ship via USPS First Class International Mail or USPS Priority International Mail.

Pins shipped via the First Class Mail option are shipped in a padded envelope.

International orders are subject to import duties, taxes and charges which are not included in the item price or shipping charges. **These charges are the customer's responsibility.**

Please check with your respective country's customs office to determine what the additional costs are prior to shipping. Customs values will not be marked below value or as gifts because US and International government regulations prohibit such behavior.

Please note we do not charge VAT on orders shipping to the EU, these charges are the customer's responsibility upon delivery.

We currently do not offer local pick up. Please note that once an item has shipped, we can't make changes. Please make sure that your shipping address is correct when you receive your initial order confirmation.

Orders that can not be delivered and are returned to us will not be refunded shipping charges. We are not responsible for incorrect addresses or unclaimed items. If a returned order is requested to be reshipped, additional shipping charges will apply. When an order is shipped, an email with the tracking number is sent to the email address listed on the order. The tracking number is provided so the customer will be able to see an estimated date of delivery, failed delivery attempts and customs delays as well as other helpful information through the carrier's site. Once a package leaves the US, we recommend tracking the package through the destination country's website as USPS may not update or show customs info. USPS only delivers to the destination country's local mail service and is not the actual final delivery service.

Orders shipped via USPS First Class US/International Mail are not insured and will not be refunded or replaced if the package is damaged or lost. Orders shipped via USPS Priority Mail (no signature required) will not be replaced if the package is listed as delivered on the carrier's site. Exceptions may apply on a case by case basis.

UK CUSTOMERS - if your First Class International package is showing delivered on the USPS site, it most likely means that it has been delivered to the postal office in the UK. Please use your tracking number on the Royal Mail site for final delivery details.

DISCOUNT/PROMO CODES

Please note that discount codes (including rewards discounts) are not stackable. Only one discount can be applied per order. Discounts can't be applied to orders after they have been placed. Some items may be exempt from discount codes which will be noted on the product pages.

WHAT TYPES OF PAYMENT DO YOU ACCEPT?

Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Paypal. Payment is processed when the order is placed.

ARE SOLD OUT ITEMS RESTOCKED?

Since our prints are limited editions, once a print is marked sold out, it means all prints in the edition have been sold and there are no more available in the edition to sell. Limited editions are not reprinted. A print may be temporarily marked out of stock if we run out of inhouse inventory and are expecting to receive more inventory in the near future (for example, we are waiting for an artist to sign prints or we are waiting for more prints to be shipped from the printer).

ARE THERE LIMITS ON HOW MANY PRINTS I CAN ORDER?

Some new releases may be limited to only 1 or 2 prints per customer (we check addresses and payment emails). This information will be noted on the product page. Our general stock items without quantity limitations listed are limited to 4 prints per customer. Orders that circumvent our quantity limits will be canceled and refunded in their entirety without notice and may be banned from future purchases.

Please note: Adding an item to your cart doesn't guarantee purchase. You must fully complete the checkout process before an item is considered yours.

CAN I CANCEL OR RETURN MY ORDER?

All sales are final.

WHAT IF MY ORDER ARRIVES DAMAGED?

Please contact us within 10 days of the delivery date using our contact form if you have received damaged artwork (do not send images unless we request them). We request that you do not call us about damaged prints as that will only delay replacements - using our contact form is the quickest way for a resolution.

Replacements are usually issued with the same number as the damaged piece. If we don't receive a response after 14 days when a replacement request is initiated, we will cancel the request. Replacement prints are sent without certificates unless the certificate is reported as damaged as well and a replacement is requested. Please keep your tube when requesting a replacement as we may request the print to be returned or need additional information from the tube.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Silk screen printing utilizes a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of polyester or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance. Ink is forced into the mesh openings by the fill blade or squeegee and by wetting the substrate, transferred onto the printing surface during the squeegee stroke. As the screen rebounds away from the substrate the ink remains on the substrate. It is also known as silk-screen, screen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing. One color is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multicoloured image or design. There are various terms used for what is essentially the same technique. Traditionally the process was called screen printing or silkscreen printing because silk was used in the process prior to the invention of polyester mesh.

An offset lithograph print is created by creating a plate with the image to be printed. Color images are produced using a four-color separation process, in which four different plates are made for the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks; when the plates are printed, the colors blend together visually, creating a color image. This printing technique takes advantage of the fact that oil and water do not mix. The plate is brushed with rollers coated in water, and then with rollers covered in ink. The ink is attracted to the parts of the plate which were exposed earlier, while the water keeps the unexposed portions clear so that they do not smear or transfer ink. Then, the plate transfers the ink to a rubber roller know as a "blanket," and the blanket rolls across the paper; typically the paper is fed between the blanket and another roller to ensure that the image stays crisp.

A giclee print is a high-resolution reproduction done on a special large format printer. Giclees are printed with archival quality inks onto a variety of substrates such as convas and fine art paper. The French term "Giclee" literally meaning "spray of ink," is used to describe these prints. Precision nozzles spray up to a million microscopic droplets per second onto fine art paper. The giclee printing process provides excellent color accuracy and highly detailed prints.

Unless otherwise noted, all prints are numbered and come with certificates of authenticity. (Star Wars Celebration prints do NOT come with certificates)

An authorized signature means that the artist has provided us with a copy of his signature and authorized us to sign the edition with an autopen signature (a mechanized way of signing the artwork).

We have made every effort to display as accurately as possible the colors and images of our products that appear at the store. We cannot guarantee that your computer monitor's display of any color will be accurate.

HOW CAN I SUBMIT ARTWORK?

If you would like to submit your artwork or get more info about becoming one of Acme/Dark Ink's artists, please email us at artsubmissions[@]acmearchives.com. Please do not submit artwork via our contact form.