Best piece of equipment in the shop in terms of bang for the buck is my folding safety box opener. The opener has a nub to split the tape on the top of the box, so you don’t cut the shirts. (We once did work for a big retailer and they made us put cardboard…
Art feeds the soul and is our connection point and even our purpose. Art heals us. I have made a career out of being artistic. In some aspects, the landscape is changing for commercial art with new Ai technology. Ai generators may forever shift the fine art landscape as well. I spent a month in…
There’s a lot to consider when designing for t-shirts. They fit on human bodies, which are not flat like the computer screens they are usually designed on. The shirts themselves aren’t perfectly straight either, before or after they come off the press. Learn what to do and what to avoid so you don’t end up…
Sometimes an observation is proven wrong with experience. I’m here to tell you that this one rings true again this year. Vacant stares, silly mistakes and absences seem to be the holiday norm right now at our factory. Needing or wanting to get more critical work done doesn’t matter, Christmas time’s a comin’. Here’s the…
What’s the most basic screen room set up you can get away with? What will the screen room of the future look like? Co-presenters @Stan Banks of T-Shirt Side Hustle and our own Rick Roth talked with Kevin Kauth (aka @EmulsionGuru ) of Chromaline, Keith Perkins of Saati, and Brian Giddens of KIWO about everything you need (or…
New Monthly Column by Michelle Moxley! Michelle Moxley works as Director of Innovation for M&R. She graduated from The Art Institute of Washington with studies in graphic design and animation. She has worked in a variety of production settings in R&D, production art and fine art capacities. Michelle is one of the most innovative minds in our industry and…
Gildan recently released their 3rd quarter financial report. My take-away for our industry is that they have record sales and substantial profits in activewear. They are not hurting from supply chain or inflation issues as one might have imagined. You can read the entire press release below. Gildan Press Release Gildan Activewear Reports Strong Results for…
It doesn’t really matter how fast your press goes if you take too long to set up jobs. If your press isn’t spinning, you aren’t making money. It’s as simple as that. At the Impressions Expo in Fort Worth, Danny Gruninger of Daybirds Printing talked with Rick about the tools and processes he uses to…
You can’t make a good screen print with bad screens. We pulled some technical pros in for this discussion, Art Dobie from Chromaline, Bill Smith from Saati and Gerry Charde from KIWO join Rick for this Shop Talk session from Impressions Expo in Atlantic City, March 2022. We’ll be bringing more Shop Talk sessions to…
Tom Davenport and Brett Bowden are leaving the Ink Kitchen management to devote more time to their company MADE Lab as well as other pursuits. Pam Ikegami and Rick Roth will carry on with the Ink Kitchen. All four of us remain friends and supportive of each other’s efforts and will collaborate in ways large…
