It isn’t often that our first commercial screenprinting jobs are documented. Usually we get into this business in a sort sideways move. We help somebody out or make shirts for ourselves and never really think it will turn into a business. Somehow lo and behold eventually we end up finding ourselves in the business. I…
My friend Gaylen has a phrase that I go to at least a couple times a week. He says, “pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered.” That is some good homespun wisdom. If you want customers long term, you don’t want to overcharge them. Somebody gives you fifty percent of your business and if you…
10% That could be the article, just 10%. In thirty years of printing, once I saw 30% of a crowd at an event or congress buy shirts. That was in a perfect confluence of great positive energy and a fantastic design. Mostly I see 5 to 10% no matter how good the design is.…
We’ve been figuratively and literally snowed in for the past week. Some jackasses hacked into our site and we have had a devil of a time getting back on track. The problem is stemming from our web hosting provider, not something targeting us specifically. Hey, it’s nice that it isn’t personal, but frustrating because we can’t…
Thousands of shirts sit in New England warehouses. Seattle’s Kearse catches a ridiculous pass that should have fallen to the ground. Printers in New England groan, remembering the insane catch (and last of very few catches he ever made) by David Tyree in 2008 which robbed the Patriots of the Super Bowl that year and…
Nine recent questions I have received whether on forums, calls, or at shows: Q: What is the standard over/under on good shirts? A: You are free to make up whatever you want, but we usually tell people 1.5% per location is the industry standard. 300 shirts printed two sides on customer supplied goods means 9 shirts…
There is an interesting article in the New York Times on the post tragedy selling of things, particularly t-shirts In particular. They focus on the terrorist killings of the newspaper staff in Paris and all the shirts and other items for sale related to that. Folks want to express themselves on an issue, and that statement might…
The Patriots have been good to us, remarkably six AFC Championships, and we hope four Super Bowls. That can be a lot of shirts printed in the slow New England month of February. The history for us has been up and down. There was the ecstatic night in 2001 when the Patriots pulled out the amazing…
This is the third post of our pre-show Ink Kitchen advice on folks to check out at Long Beach ISS show Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week. Come by The Ink Kitchen “Know-It-All” booth #157 which will be located on the far left side of the show floor. We have some cool stuff for you, experts…
The Hanes Beefy T was born in 1975, 40 years ago. Hanes has collected vintage printed Beefys from back in the day that are now on display at the PPAI show and will be at the ISS Show in Long Beach later this week. Hanes is also giving away Beefy T’s with a modern yet vintage-looking print (printed…
