Statement of Principles:

Custom Ink believes in the power of custom products and apparel to bring groups and communities together. We want to help our customers create products with designs that are meaningful and unifying, while also recognizing our customers have diverse viewpoints and perspectives, which are reflected in the designs they create.


We use the following standards to balance our customers’ own goals and freedom of expression with the potential impact on others and the general public. We take our role as an expression platform seriously and strive to fulfill it responsibly.

Content Standards:

Custom Ink’s Content Standards provide guidance for customers in designing custom products. Our Content Standards use a sliding scale from “no” to “go” to account for the range of potential designs, so we can work with customers to create a design that meets these standards. The descriptions under each category are not meant to be exhaustive, and the ultimate decision on whether or not to approve a design will always rest with Custom Ink’s Content Standards team. Custom Ink regularly reviews these policies and updates them as appropriate.

NO – Custom Ink will not print designs when we are reasonably confident that they:

  • Violate the intellectual property rights of others (see intellectual property policy)
  • Constitute libel or fraud or otherwise violate the law
  • Threaten or encourage violence against individuals or groups (with potential exceptions as noted in “Slow”)
  • Depict graphic violence, including self-harm (with potential exceptions as noted in “Slow”)
  • Constitute or include “hate speech,” i.e., abusive, threatening, or demeaning words, symbols, or images on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation
  • Encourage hatred or harassment of private individuals (with potential exceptions for public figures as noted in “Slow”)
  • Threaten public figures or their families
  • Dox or share private information about an individual without authorization, including phone number, address, social security number, or financial information
  • Promote, feature, or encourage the use of hard drugs
  • Feature explicit sexual content or nudity of a non-artistic/health/medical nature
  • Include sexually suggestive images or text involving children
  • Encourage animal abuse or cruelty, as typically defined by law
  • Promote, feature, or encourage underage drinking, smoking, vaping, or marijuana use
  • Exhibit gross insensitivity to individuals or communities in grief or mourning

SLOW – Custom Ink will scrutinize and may not print (or may require changes to) designs that:

  • Include defamatory statements
  • Use profanity or inflame hatred against public figures or their families
  • Depict people as animals (particularly in a manner that dehumanizes individuals or encourages violence)
  • Include crass vulgarity, lewd language, or swear words
  • Feature less-explicit sexual content or nudity, including images of an artistic/health/medical nature
  • Have an overtly sexually connotation or tone, including strong sexual innuendo
  • Include violent events, terms, or images, such as historical images of violence (with a potential exception for authorized military activities) 
  • Promote, feature or encourage illegal activity
  • Defend an alleged violent criminal or criminal act
  • Advocate for one party in a pending legal dispute
  • Might cause public anger or harm
  • Include other content that would be offensive to the Custom Ink community

GO – Custom Ink will print designs that:

  • Use language and images appropriate for adults and children of all ages
  • Create a sense of community and are not likely to offend individuals or groups
  • Engage in civil and constructive dialogue on important public issues 
  • Share political perspectives that do not violate the terms above, including controversial or unpopular viewpoints
  • Support intellectual property rights by using authorized images and content, including those owned or legally authorized to be used by the customer

For Fundraising we must be highly confident all aspects of the campaign follow our standards--including the contents of the design, as well as the title, description, and beneficiary field.