Skip to main content

Blog Page 9

Chromaline/Ikonics

It seems like a very opportune time to highlight the brand Chromaline as we are going into the Long Beach Impressions show. The Chromaline booth is #2324 if you are attending the Long Beach show.   I’ll get to what it means in a moment but the focus in Long Beach for them is an…

Adding Promotional Products to Your Decorating Business

Just because you can’t print a specialty item in your shop, that doesn’t mean you can’t sell it to your customers. Membership in promotional product organizations like ASI and PPAI is inexpensive and gives you access to suppliers, education, discounts, networking, marketing resources and more. This Shop Talk from the 2022 Impressions Expo Fort Worth…

Long Beach Impressions Expo: Equipment to Check Out

One reason to attend the  Impressions Expo in Long Beach is to see equipment in person. This show has plenty to see. Here are some things worth checking out and some folks that I think it is advantageous to meet in person. In general, most folks will benefit from checking out all the transfer options both…

Long Beach Here We Come

The Long Beach Impressions Expo (formerly called ISS) is coming up January 20-22. It feels like there is quite a buzz about it and probably a dozen people who I thought were not going decided to go in the past couple days. It feels like everybody’s autos and dryers are worn out and they want…

Selling What You Love. How to Do Your Best Work (and Get Paid for It)

Let your interests drive your niche and you’ll find customers you love to work with. John “Johnny Bomb” Herrera tells us how he became the go-to merch guy for Texas barbecue shops and how you can find your niche and be excited about your business. He doesn’t have the biggest shop in Texas or the…

Best Piece of Equipment in the Shop

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…

30 Days Rubbernecking AI Generators

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…

Art for T-Shirts and T-Shirts as Art

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…

World Cup of Shame

The New York Times reports that some World Cup soccer (football) jerseys are being made my workers with pay of $2.27 per day. You read that right, not by the minute, not by the hour, $2.27 per day. There is no standard of living in the world that supports paying people that low, even Myanmar. …

The “Visions of Sugarplums” Effect

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…

No more pages to load