UPS and the Teamsters union representing 340,000 workers are in negotiations for a new contract. The Teamsters are demanding some better working conditions and some higher pay. The current contract expires July 31, 2023 and the union members have already overwhelmingly voted to authorize the Teamster leaders to call a strike if necessary. Our garment…
I had the pleasure of visiting Midnight Prints and Bill Heintz in New Orleans and even got to hear his great band The Bills. I have been very lucky in my life to have been able to visit many many shops from some of the biggest with dozens of giant autos, to people printing 12…
It is always very interesting to see what is offered at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival for merchandise. The music is the best it could be as is the food, and the merch is no exception, also good stuff. Close to 500,000 people attend over two long weekends and besides seeing everything from…
Dye migration is when the color in a fabric (usually polyester or a poly blend) “migrates” into the ink you have printed. Just the other day in an airport I saw a group of people all wearing the same red golf shirts and the prints on them all were pink to varying degrees instead of…
We use Newman Roller Frames and have always had trouble keeping track of what mesh is on them. “Permanent” marker is erased after a few screen washes. You can’t etch the metal as the mesh on any frame might eventually change. A tip of the proverbial cap to Erik at Saati for this trick We…
Ink Kitchen went old school into the future at the Impressions Expo in Atlantic City. We did some great live poster printing, in keeping with analog hand-done artwork being more and more appreciated in a world filling up with digital work. Recent shows indicate how our industry can go into a community and make a…
A visit to Ikonics (Chromaline) illustrates some trends in the screenprinting world: 1. The screenprinting world is splitting into high tech and automation versus DIY, side hustle, small crafty shops. 2. The screenprinting world is consolidating. Kornit bought Tesoma. Alpha bought NES, Broder and other distributors. Gildan bought Comfort Colors, American Apparel and Alstyle.…
I had a great tour of Los Angeles Apparel in Downtown Los Angeles. With barely any notice they gave me the run of the place and let me talk to anyone. Their claims of making all their shirts and treating their workers with respect are ABSOLUTELY true. Even after many years in a somewhat volatile…
The customer says, ” I sent you the color, why doesn’t it match?” and then it starts… Here are probably not all, but many of the reasons color matching for screen printed t-shirts is so difficult. Customer’s Dream and Aspirations for the Color 1. We have customers that send us computer images and expect t-shirts…
Ink Kitchen is sponsoring hand-done poster printing at the Impressions show in Long Beach. The posters produced will be sold (suggested donation $10) to benefit a non-profit called Care Closet serving unhoused folks in Long Beach. You can watch them being printed and purchase one at the walkway between the main hall and the back…
