The Source is Sharprint

Is Printing on Polyester Possible?

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:00:00 +0000

*Above is an example of an instance when dye migration occurred. The color of the design was white, but dye migration caused the red tint.

Being in the decorated apparel business, we are often asked whether or not we can print on certain types of fabric. In almost all cases, the answer is, “Yes, absolutely we can – not a problem!” However, not all fabrics get along with ink so well, which alters our response to “Yes, but…”

Polyester is one of the most challenging fabrics to print on. It’s advisable to stay away from 50/50 blends in a lot of cases.

Why is it a problem?
The reason polyester can be a struggle to print on is because of a reaction known as dye migration. Dye migration is basically just as it sounds; small dye particles moving from one place (fabric) to another (ink). This causes an unwanted change or tint in ink color.

When does the problem occur?
Dye migration occurs during what is known as “curing”. The chemical process is a little more complex, but curing is the drying of screen printed inks. During the curing process, the garment is placed on a conveyer belt, which runs under a radiant heat source set at 320 degrees. Once the ink is exposed to the 320-degree heat, it is “cured”. However, the heat is the cause of the migration. Once polyester is exposed to heat around 300 degrees, dye migration begins to occur. Since the heat is necessary for the curing process, the screen print industry is always looking for ways to combat this undesirable result. To date, there is no solution guaranteed to work in all cases.

How we deal with the problem?
Unfortunately, when printing on polyester, you will almost always see a slight change in color. To achieve the best quality possible, we use two different approaches:

One-stoke White – This is a specially formulated white ink that can be used as an underbase to help block dye migration. Once this layer of ink is laid, any color plastisol ink can be layered over it to give the garment the colors that you are looking for.
Gray Underbase – This is thicker ink that dries at a lower temperature, which helps to limit dye migration. Because it is thicker ink, we tend to use it only on Dri-FIT Performance Polyester shirts.

For more info and details, just get in touch - we’d love to hear from you.

Author

Jake Paquin

The Inside Scoop on Inside Tags

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Heat-Transferred or Sewn on Tags?

Aside from being wearable, one of the most common characteristics of apparel is the inside tag. So common in fact, that most people probably don’t think twice about where or how that tag got there. Unlike my gut instinct may have led me to believe, tags do not grow on shirts. Nope, there is actually some labor involved and it all begins with you and/or the designer.

The first decision is what type of tag should go on their garment. The two most common types are sewn on and heat-transferred tags. Due to the ease, lower cost, and comfort that comes along with it, the more popular choice tends to be heat-transferred tags.

However, more retail driven clients tend to prefer sewn on tags. Not all decorating manufacturers offer this service, but 2 high quality companies that do provide tag-sewing services are PFI Fashions or AI Industries.

Other companies, such as ourselves, are able to provide the service to those clients who would like heat-transferred tags, and can get you going with a few simples steps:

Requirements (from client):
Submitting Artwork

The client submits their artwork to us, which can include the company name, garment size, logo, etc. (any type of personalization the client would like)
The artwork can be no larger than 3½ x 3½ inches.
Font size must be at least 8 points.
The artwork must be one-color.
We can get amazing detail in the positive space in the design, but small detail in the negative space can get lost.

Steps (taken by decorating manufacturer):
Transferring Artwork

Print the artwork onto film.
Burn the film onto a screen.
Screen print onto transfer paper.
Apply the heat transfer.

For more information and details, just get in touch - we’d love to hear from you.

Author

Jake Paquin

Embroidery Companies Happy to see Ban on Plastic Bags

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Santa Monica Puts Ban on Plastic Bags

By announcing a ban a plastic shopping bags, Santa Monica has helped contribute to the world that is constantly striving to become more eco-friendly. They weren't the first city to put the ban on plastic bags, and they certainly won't be the last.

The ban will become enforced beginning on September 1, giving stores in Santa Monica 6 months to use up and/or get rid of all the plastic bags that they have in stock.

Customers will have the choice of using either recyclable paper bags or reusable grocery totes. However, there will be a 10 cent change per bag for those customers who choose to use paper bags. For this reason, it is likely that most shoppers will purchase a grocery tote to avoid the extra charge each time they head to the store.

This is great news for embroidery and decorating companies, since stores will want to have totes available to sell to their customers with their logo placed on it.

As more and more cities introduce the ban of plastic bags, the more and more business decorating companies will see.

Author

Jake Paquin

Hot Apparel for the Spring Season

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:13:11 +0000

The 20th of March marked the first day of Spring, and with every new season comes... NEW FASHION!

If the following clothing styles match what's in your closet, then you're all set for a stylish spring. If not, well, you have some shopping to do.

How to Stay in Style this Spring

Stripes
Up, down, thick and thin, both men and women will be hitting the streets this Spring wearing stylish patterned apparel. Whatever direction your stripe, you'll be wearing them in style.
Here's a thought...
Now that there are "all-over" presses for oversize printing, create your very own striped pattern and have your sorority, summer camp, or senior tees custom printed!

Performance Apparel
Whether you're on a run, on a bike, or on a couch, performance apparel provides you with an extreme level of comfort. Wrinkle-resistant, smooth feel, and stretchy fabric are just a few of the reasons that this sporty style is desired by men and women of all ages.
Performance fabrics can be found in anything from long-sleeve, short-sleeve, tank tops, jackets, and more.
Group Mentality!
You've got your game face on, now get your team gear on. Screen-print some warm-ups with your mascot and personalize them with a name and number. You'll need to be cautious when considering screen-printing on polyester. Be sure to stick to light tees with dark prints.

Photo by Eflon

Author

Jake Paquin

Jacob McConahay: A Child Thinking of Other Children in Need

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Jacob McConahay is a 7 year old boy who is battling stage 4 Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. This is a very aggressive cancer that has spread from Jake's leg to other areas of his body. Jake has had and continues to receive chemo treatments, though none of the procedures have helped yet.

However, fighting his own battle with cancer isn't the number one worry on Jake's mind. After spending many hours at the Riley Hospital, Jake became focused on helping and making sure that all the other children at the hospital were happy.

After being asked by his mother, Tosha, what he thought the kids at Riley needed, Jake responded saying that every kid needed a Pillow Pet. He went on to say, “I want all my friends at Riley to have Pillow Pets because doctors sometimes have scary things to say.” His mother added, “Because they don’t feel like playing games or doing the artwork all the time since the chemo makes them very sick.”

Jake’s words and compassion for his friends have touched the hearts of many people. Thousands of Pillow Pets have been collected and donated to the Riley Hospital, putting a smile on the face of a truly amazing young man, Jake McConahay.

Jake’s story has pulled on the strings of many hearts, including ours here at Sharprint. We would like to help Jake in his journey of putting a smile on the faces of all children battling an illness. We are collecting and taking Pillow Pet donations until April 15th. On Easter Sunday (April 24th), we will be delivering all the collected Pillow Pets to the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

To date we have collected over 400 Pillow Pets, but the sky is the limit and with your help every child in the Children’s Memorial Hospital could be holding a Pillow Pet of their very own this Easter. What is happening to these children is an adult's worst nightmare. They didn't ask to be sick, nor do they understand the disease or the cure which makes them unbelievably tired at best. The donation of a Pillow Pet is a small cost to pay to bring a smile to a child's face. Hopefully, we all can contribute in some small way.

If you would like to donate a Pillow Pet and have Sharprint drop it off to the hospital, please contact Guy Whalon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Author

Jake Paquin

Promotional T-Shirts at Sporting Events

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:52:35 +0000

Every year, when the time is right, fans of all ages make their way to a highly anticipated sporting event. No matter if it’s the Superbowl, the Final Four, WrestleMania, or the World Cup, one thing is for certain, there will be a large crowd in attendance. Although each event is different in almost every way, there will be at least one guaranteed similarity; promotional t-shirt sales.

Promotional t-shirts sell like wildfire at sporting events. Why? Because people want a souvenir to remind them of the great and possibly once in a lifetime experience that they had.

An event that just occurred, which called for over 25,000 screen printed shirts, was the WWE WrestleMania tournament. However, each of the 25,000 prints were not the exact same. Though people want to buy a shirt at these types of events, they also want a few options to choose from. This results in shirts being printed for each individual wrestler; such as The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, John Cena, Edge, and The Outlaw. Shirts simply promoting the tournament were also printed, giving the fans the choice to choose between their favorite wrestler’s shirt or a tee featuring the whole event.

Most of these promotional t-shirts are printed at a high quality decorated apparel manufacturing company, providing the fans with a long lasting take-away. And the next time that you’re asked where you were when the The Undertaker defeated Triple H to extend his WrestleMania win streak to 19-0, you can look at your shirt and say “I was there”.

Photo by: Eschipul

Author

Jake Paquin

Printing a Vintage Looking T-Shirt

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:33:37 +0000

Everybody has that lifelong favorite t-shirt with the faded color, slight tear, and small but noticeable ketchup stain. Why do these tees continue to stay in the closet and out of the trash? Well, aside from the ketchup stain, people like the vintage, worn-out look.

Using specialized inks, decorating manufacturers are able to give a brand-spanking-new shirt the look of an old-worn-out tee.

The three types of inks that give printed t-shirts a vintage look and feel are water-based, discharge (which is water-based inks for dark garments), and soft-hand additives. Each ink has its' own advantages and disadvantages, and the decorating manufacturer should consult with the client to select the ink that will give the best results for what they wish to accomplish.

Soft-Hand Additives

About
- Sometimes referred to as Chino or Fashion Soft, this ink is a plastisol mixed with PMS ink.
- Prints on light garments only. Inks tend to be a little more transparent than the PMS counterparts.
Advantages
- Creates and leaves the printed t-shirt with a "soft-hand" feel.
- Using this ink, the print stays truer to the design.
Disadvantages
- Not for use on dark garments. The use of an under-base would negate the soft feel of the print and because the inks are more transparent, they tend to have a water-color look when printed on a white base.
- Some clients prefer water-based because of the notoriety it has received in the fashion industry, and though technically it is not water-based, the print result is the same or sometimes better.

Water-Based Inks

About
- This ink is too transparent for dark shirts and should only be printed on light garments.
Advantages
- When dealing with these inks, colors tend to look flat, giving the garment the vintage look that many people are attracted to.
- After the ink is cured, the t-shirt is left with a "soft-hand" feeling and the print gets even softer upon the first wash.
Disadvantages
- These inks need to be kept moist; if they aren't, the water will evaporate and the ink will dry in the screen causing damage to the stencil of your logo or design. To deal with this issue, have a production member regularly mist the ink or keep a humidifier beneath the screen.
- Due to the fact that these inks dry so quickly, it is best to keep under a 5-color print job.
- Hard to hold detail of screen printed designs or logos.

Discharge Inks

About
- This ink should only be used on dark colored and 100% cotton fabric.
- Discharge ink is water-based ink with an activator.
- The activator is a chemical component that removes fabric color while simultaneously replacing it with the pigment to produce the desired screen print colors.
Advantages
- Like water-based and soft additives, discharge ink leaves the finished garment with a “soft-hand” feel.
Disadvantages
- Any fabric printed with discharge ink should be washed before wearing due to the chemical nature of the product and potential to irritate sensitive skin.
- Different colored shirts respond differently. Vibrant colors such as royal, purple, and red, discharge less perfectly. Discharging effects vary from dye lot to dye lot and is impossible to predict exact results.
- Natural tendency to dry around the edges of the stencil, altering the look of the design.

For more information and details, get a hold of us!!

Author

Jake Paquin

“Never Regret Getting Older, it’s a Privilege Denied to Many”

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:54:02 +0000

Ravenswood Health Center Can't Stress Enough the Importance of Health

“Never regret getting older, it’s a privilege denied to many”

Dr. Jason Fennema of Ravenswood Health Center preaches these words and is passionate about educating people on the importance of health. Ravenswood Health Center attends summer festivals to spread their knowledge on such an important subject that many people over-look. They have recently decided to take their actions a step further and have begun to hold lectures at local companies and business.

Today, Sharprint was graced with the presence of Dr. Jason Fennema, Dr. Sam Ahmadi, and Santana Hutchinson. They gave 2 lectures, back to back, assuring that every Sharprint employee would be able to attend one or the other. Ravenswood Health Center was generous enough to provide us with plenty of healthy Subway sandwiches, apples, oranges, and bottled water. To help achieve their goal of making sure that everyone walked out with a bit of new knowledge, employees were given a handout that provided quality information on the spinal column and nervous system.

Aside from the handout, we would like to share some of the other valuable information that was passed on to the Sharprint family.

#1 & #2 Killers in America

Heart Disease
Cancer
Many of these deaths could have been prevented by better health habits.

#1 & #2 Disablers of Americans

Smoking
Type 2 Diabetes
People who do not maintain a healthy lifestyle end up spending a large sum of money on health-care.
50% of all bankruptcies in America result from the inability to pay for medical bills.
Here is a fact that might paint a better picture on just how unhealthy America is becoming: Starbucks spends more money on their employee's Health Insurance than they do on coffee beans.

Stress is a Silent Killer

3 Sources
- Emotional (anxiety, money, health)
- Physical (poor posture, lack of exercise)
- Chemical (fast-food, soda)
3 Stages
- Alarm (stress identifier)
- Resistance (body begins to try to adapt)
- Exhaustion (body is unable to maintain function)

Staying Active

Light Workout: 5 days a week – 30 minutes each day.
Moderate Workout: 3 days a week – 30 minutes each day.
Early morning workouts are the best time to burn fat.

Eating Habits

5 small meals a day
A whole hearted breakfast to follow an early workout is key
Eat colors that come from the ground. They are filled with phytochemicals (reds, greens, and oranges)

“One should eat to live, not live to eat.” – Socrates

Get Some Sleep

7 hours of sleep per night is recommended
No caffeine after 4pm
Don’t watch tv or be on your computer ½ hour prior to heading to bed

Love & Laugh

Decreases stress by as much as 75% within a 30 minute visit
Laughter increases immune response

Go out and live a healthier lifestyle and remember “never regret getting older, it’s a privilege denied to many".

Author

Jake Paquin

Underbase, Under Where?

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:04:23 +0000

Unveiling the Mystery of the Extra Screen

Your logo consists of 3 colors, yet you’re being charged for a 4-color screen printing job. What? Why? Are decorating companies trying to pull a fast one on you? Though at first you may think otherwise, the answer is, no they are not.

If they aren’t pulling a fast one on you, then what and where is that fourth color coming from? That mysterious fourth color is actually what decorating manufacturers call an underbase, white underbase, or a flash. An underbase is a necessary technique used in the screen printing industry.

An easy comparison to make about the purpose of underbase ink is to that of painting a wall. If you have a dark colored wall and you want to paint another color over it, you must first paint the wall white so that the color you are looking for will show. Once the white paint (ink) is layered over the dark wall (garment), any color can be placed over the underbase.

The base is usually white ink that is used on dark colored t-shirts for designs or logos that call for bright, vibrant colors. Though white is the most common color when dealing with an underbase, it isn’t the only option. Depending on the color that the customer is looking for, decorating companies will use various colors as an underbase. For example, a pink underbase may be used when trying to achieve a skin tone look and greys are often used for printing on polyester fabrics.

It’s important to note that not every design or logo that is printed on a dark colored t-shirt needs an underbase. It depends on how the customer wants the end product to look. It is possible to print red over a black t-shirt, however, the red will not be bright, but in some cases that is exactly the way that the customer wants the design to look!

Certain ink colors are more transparent and require an underbase on mid-tone colored shirt. For example, when using royal blue ink, if an underbase is not used, the shirt color will change the tone of the ink. Some inks are more opaque and don’t require the use of white underbases on mid-tone shirts. Pinks, for example, print perfectly fine on a gold shirt color with no white below.

Talk to your screen printer on how they use white underbases and see if they can avoid it for any of the colors in the design you wish to print. If you are flexible with the exact pantone color, you may be able to get a much nicer feeling print with only a minor change to your design.

Author

Jake Paquin

Pillow Pets: Putting Smiles on Many Faces

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:35:29 +0000

About 2 months ago, Sharprint’s heart was touched by the story of a young boy named Jacob McConahay and his quest to bring happiness to sick and suffering children. After receiving joy and comfort from a pillow pet given to him from his Aunt, Jake set a goal to provide all of his friends at the Riley Hospital with a pillow pet of their own. Jake didn’t end his journey once he reached his goal, but instead raised the bar and set out on a new mission to collect 1 million pillow pets to give to children all over the world.

We wanted to help Jake achieve his goal, so we set out to collect pillow pets to be donated to the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The next thing we knew, pillow pets were coming in left and right!!

We at Sharprint would like to thank our wonderful employees, families, and friends who helped contribute over 400 pillow pets. The children were thrilled to receive a pillow pet to call their own and every single one of you helped put a smile on the face of a young boy or girl.

Terry Spence, the Sr. Development Officer of the Children’s Memorial Foundation, helped distribute the pillow pets to the children and expressed her gratitude to those who helped make a difference in the lives of so many boys and girls in the form of a letter. We would like to share what Terry had to say, because we couldn’t have done it without all of your help!

“It was such a great pleasure meeting you today and having the opportunity to help you unload the many pillow pets received from the 1st Inaugural Pillow Pet Drive in honor of Jake. On behalf of Children’s Memorial Hospital, thank you.

Your hard work and dedication have placed many smiles on the faces of children at Children’s Memorial. Your donation will help calm the nerves of a child that has to face a chemo treatment, a needle prick or just in need of something to hold on to when they are unable to sleep.

Continue to dream big with us and witness the change of health care for this generation and future generations to come. Thank you for being the heroes for the children and families at Children’s Memorial.

Your support means so much!”

Thank you again for helping us help Jake. You have truly made a difference in the lives of many children.

Author

Jake Paquin

The Unwanted Mark of Screen Printing

Mon, 02 May 2011 18:43:34 +0000

The Cause and Solution of Pallet Marks

Every so often, screen printers are faced with certain obstacles they need to overcome in order to provide their customers with the best possible looking custom apparel.

One of these challenges is known as pallet marks. The pallet is what the garment is placed on during the actual printing stage. Just as the term implies, a pallet mark is when the outline of the pallet leaves a mark on the t-shirt that is being printed on.

There are three main factors that cause a pallet to leave a mark on a screen printed t-shirt: squeegee problems, flash temperature, and type of material.

Squeegee Issues
There are two different ways that a squeegee can cause pallet marks on a custom printed t-shirt. More common of the two is the squeegee pressure. If the pressure that the squeegee is running over the screen is too high, it could imprint an outline of the pallet on the garment. The length of the squeegee can also be the cause of a pallet mark on a screen printed tee. If the squeegee extends over the edge of the pallet, the pallet outline could possibly show on the shirt.

Flash Temperature
When you’re out in the sun for too long, you usually gain a little color to your skin. The same can be said for garments that undergo too high of a temperature during the flash. The flash is used to dry the ink during the screen print cycle to avoid printing wet ink on wet ink. If the temperature is too high, it can slightly scorch the pallet impression onto the garment that is being printed on.

Type of Material
In most cases, pallet marks occur on dark colored, cotton t-shirts. It is possible and likely to use the same squeegee pressure and the same flash temperature on both a light and dark garment, and only see pallet marks on the darker colored t-shirt. The only way to try and avoid pallet marks in this case is by using the correct squeegee size, pressure, and flash temperature.

Decorating apparel companies never want to send their customers a screen printed t-shirt with a pallet mark on it. That doesn’t mean that every pallet marked shirt needs to be tossed in the misprint pile, because pallet marks are removable.

More often than not, spraying the pallet mark with water and sending it through the conveyor belt of the dryer will remove the mark. Another option for removing the pallet mark is to simply steam dry it.

Author

Jake Paquin

A Blank Garment, Your Artboard

Mon, 09 May 2011 19:08:03 +0000

A painting begins with an empty canvas, a novel starts with a blank page, and a song kicks off without a single lyric. Then an inspiration, an idea, or a spark of creativity turns those blank spaces into works of art.

The same goes for decorative apparel. Before a design is screen printed or embroidered on a t-shirt, it is simply a blank piece of fabric. With that blank piece of fabric, the customer can do as they please. Some people like the clean blank t-shirt look, some prefer an all-over print design, and many others go with something in-between.

For those who feel most comfortable in a quiet tee, there are several e-commerce sites that offer blank garments at retail price. You can do some fishing around on the web to reel in the lowest prices on blank apparel. A great online apparel store with extremely low and reasonable prices to start your search is Apparel Builder.

If you’re one who likes a tee with a design that covers the collar, chest and sleeves, then you’re looking for an all-over print. If you like a simple logo or a design that doesn’t cover the entire garment, basic screen printing is for you.

A blank garment is your drawing board, it’s up to you how you present it to the world.

Author

Jake Paquin

How T-Shirts Supplied Water, Strength, & Life

Mon, 16 May 2011 18:07:07 +0000

A year ago, the students of Brooks Middle School started a group called Students Offering Strength. SOS was formed after the students heard the story of a village far less fortunate than most. The village, Ariang, located in southern Sudan, is the former home of Samuel Garang Mayuol.

What helped make this story touch the hearts of the young boys and girls of Brooks Middle School was that they heard the story from Samuel Garang Mayuol himself.

The students were shocked, surprised, and saddened by the words that they heard from Mayuol. After learning that the closest river to Ariang was a three-hour walk, Serena McDonald went on to say, “It’s sad that we take so many things for granted that many other people and countries take as luxury”. As a result from such a great distance to healthy water, hundreds of villagers were dying each year to a preventable disease known as cholera.

When asked how she would feel having to walk 3 hours to get access to healthy water, Brooks 8th grader, Bress Landau, responded, “I would not be happy.” She continued to say, “I’m use to having easy and quick access to water, wherever and whenever I want it.” Mayuol helped open the eyes of the students and introduced them to the unfortunate situation that takes place in other parts of the world. “Something that nobody should have to worry about” was the reaction of Adia Ivey, when discussing the long journey that these people take everyday to survive.

On a visit back to his homeland, Mayuol noticed people drinking dirty water from puddles on the ground. Right away, he knew what the people of Ariang needed and became determined to raise money to build a system of water pumps for his and neighboring villages. These wells would provide the people with a source of clean water.

The students of Brooks Middle School wanted to do their part in helping Mayuol raise money. They knew that by helping, they would be making a difference in lives of many people. Elisa Garcia went on to say, “I know I am helping people who really need it, but can’t do anything about it because they don’t have any money or the tools to be healthy.”

Last year the students raised $2,500 selling 100 custom SOS t-shirts. This year the students of Brooks Middle School were at it again! They reached out to Sharprint to screen print another batch of shirts and raised $650, selling 103 shirts, to go towards Mayuol and his quest of providing his former village with more and more wells.

Brooks Middle School teachers, Ms. Pat Gallo and Ms. Lisa Hendrix, lead SOS. Aside from raising money for such a great cause, they also incorporated Mayuol’s story in the classroom. The students were assigned to create a public service announcement to inform others of Mayuol’s mission to help Sudan. Ms. Gallo, a science teacher, was focused on educating the students on water as a basis of life. The student’s then revised and edited their work in Ms. Hendrix’s LA classroom.

The students didn’t take the project lightly and created some amazing works of art. Through poems, songs, and videos they expressed their emotions and feelings about what is happening in the village of Ariang.

Below are just two of the many great pieces of art that the students created:

Written by: Haleigh Callahan

The water you drink everyday
But what if it wasn’t that way?

You’d be mad
And sad
And thirsty for awhile,
Unless you walk for many miles.

Across the water we call the Atlantic,
For water,
Sudan is frantic.

If we all give
Better lives they can live.

Original music, lyrics, and video production produced by: Sam Chadri, Ben Scott, Sandile Mncwabe, and Derrick Griffin

If you would like to contribute to Mayuol’s mission of helping the people of Sudan, visit the website Hope For Ariang. You can also get in touch with Lisa Hendrix ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or Pat Gallo ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) if you would like to help this great cause.

Author

Jake Paquin

The Goods Aren't Good Without a PO

Tue, 24 May 2011 18:32:17 +0000

3 Things Your Decorator Needs Before Sending Your Order to the Press
*should be sent in this order*

Purchase Order
Blank Goods
Art Approval

One of the very first steps in the decorating apparel industry is purchasing the goods that need to be screen printed or embroidered on. Decorating companies are more than willing to order the goods for their customers, but there are times when customers will supply the garments themselves. This is certainly not a problem and 100% acceptable. However, if the customer does provide their decorator with the blank pieces, there are a few things that they should know and take into consideration.

The customer should ALWAYS send its printer a purchase order before sending the goods. Without a PO to match up with inbound goods, the decorator won’t know what or who those goods are for. The processing of the order will be delayed and until a PO is received, the received production is set indefinitely in a holding area.

A common term associated with the decorating industry is turn-around time.Turn-around time is the length of time it’ll take for the client to receive his or her decorated goods. If a decorating company promises a customer a 5 day turn-around time on an order, that customer should have to wait no longer than 5 days to receive their decorated goods. However, the 5-day count down doesn’t begin the second the customer submits their order. The clock start ticking once the purchase order is received, artwork is approved, and the goods are in house.

The customer should try his or her best to assure that the PO they send is correct. Changes in color, garment size, and/or order quantity will put a hold on the manufacturer’s ability to send the order to the press, potentially delaying the completion date.

Depending on the decorating manufacturer that the client uses, an art approval may also be required from the customer before the order can be sent to production. Though the turn-around time isn’t in effect until the client approves the artwork, an art approval is a good idea. Art approval assures that the spelling, location, imprint size, and PMS colors of the design are correct and ready to be printed. The quicker the customer responds, the sooner they will receive their goods.

Quick Tips for Placing an Order With Your Decorator

Be sure to send your decorator your purchase order before sending the goods.
Make sure the purchase order is 100% correct, as any changes will restart the turn-around clock.
Respond to your art approval email as quickly as possible. Once you approve the art and the goods are in house, your order can enter production.

What Should be Included in the PO?

garment color, style, and quantity break per size
decoration specifics
where the art can be accessed
ship to address
ship method
requested ship date
event date (if applicable)
is the customer providing goods? if so, where are they coming in from and what is the expected delivery date.
contact info

Author

Jake Paquin

What to Consider When Designing an All-Over Printed T-Shirt

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:14:04 +0000

An easy way to add instant value and eye-popping appeal to a t-shirt is to print an all-over design. You’ve seen this technique employed numerous times in the marketplace. Rock bands, zoos, sports teams and big box retailers all use hip designers to create background textures to create visual interest for the shirt. A simple one or two color all over print can spice up the shirt so dramatically, that the main elemental logo or design doesn’t need to be too elaborate to sell.

All-over printing only a few years ago was only accomplished by using expensive “belt-printers”. This was specialized equipment used for printing huge designs on t-shirts, but the machinery was so expensive only a few printers in the country used them. Today, refinements in printing technology make this technique possible on normal t-shirt printing presses by exchanging some press components and incorporating correctly built artwork. However, there still is a craftsmanship element needed to utilize this technique correctly, so be sure to discuss your needs with your Sharprint rep.

The main point of an all-over print is to visually spread the design elements throughout the shirt with a single print stroke on the press. This can just be textural – to add some visual “noise” to the shirt, or actual representational graphics. Another common theme is to repeat the main element in a tonal subdued manner to add some visual flair to the design. Listed below are some good starting points to consider for employing an all-over print for your next t-shirt order.

Use tonal elements to create interest. For example, printing your all-over design a shade or two lighter or darker than the shirt color will provide a good solid base to use for the main graphic. Think about using burgundy ink over a red shirt; or a light grey over white, for instance.
Think directional, as your background print can lead the eye. Maybe all elements of your all-over print point towards your main image. Maybe the elements swirl out from the main image. The placement and organization of the background can be a great influence to the rest of the shirt design. Have fun and play with some directional ideas!
Distressed graphics work best. Because the all-over print is going down over seams, collars and folds in the shirt there is going to be areas where the ink doesn’t print, puddles a little or looks less than perfect. Take advantage of this fact and create your all-over print to naturally incorporate these elements to disguise any production challenges. Besides, distressed graphics are hugely popular too.
Design elements arranged in a random pattern can be an effective tool as mixing and matching different items to form the background base can really play up the main image. For example, let’s say you are printing a shirt for a fishing tournament. The all-over print background would incorporate common graphic elements such as lures, hooks, bait, knives, bobbers, fish, nets, boats, motors, etc. These elements could be arranged to form a visually interesting background that the main design will print as a second location.
Create a pattern or grid for the main image. You can also “fake” the look of using a cut-and-sew fabric for the shirt by replicating the look with an all-over print. Plaids, paisley, checkerboard, stripes, dots, repeated company logos, symbols, etc. can all be used to simulate the look of a patterned shirt.
Your all-over print doesn’t have to be “all over”. This means that you could incorporate visual negative space around certain areas, or maybe the graphic is only on the top of the shirt and not the bottom. Leaving certain areas blank can be a great method of ensuring visual interest, as if the rest of the shirt contains busy elements the visual focus may be on the area that has some natural white space around it. Incorporating negative space can be really powerful if used correctly, and here’s where having a professional designer is really helpful.
Enlarge small elements in your main design to print huge as a background element. This can be done effectively with type too. Portions of the image could run off the shirt, and maybe even be hard to realize what the image is supposed to be. You are shooting for visual interest, and to support the main graphic. For example, for that same fishing tournament we could enlarge an illustration of the fish from the main logo 300-400% and make it a tonal one color element in the background. Maybe the tail or one of the fins would print off of the bottom and the sides of the shirt. However, when someone wears the shirt the huge fish in the background will really add interest and key visual support to the tournament logo that printed over it. This is how you stand out from the crowd!

Hopefully these tips have sparked some ideas for your next t-shirt project to use all-over printing to add value and interest. Break out of the rut of just printing your graphic on the front and back of the t-shirt!! Use an all-over print to spice up your order and increase sales. For more information, be sure to discuss your options with your rep at Sharprint today.

Bags in Today's World

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Almost everybody, everyday has something to carry. Whether it’s a phone, a set of keys, or a lucky rabbit’s foot, there is rarely a situation when somebody leaves their home empty handed.

In the past, when phones could only be taken as far as the cord would stretch and a computer would hardly fit in the passenger seat of a car, things may have been different. However, today’s would is full of convenient gadgets that people can’t leave the house without.

Since humans don’t have the luxury of 8 arms like that of an octopus, we are forced to find a way to haul around all of our goodies. The best way to do that is by using a bag.

With more people carrying bags on a daily basis, more bags are moving into and becoming a part of the fashion industry. No matter if you are heading to class, work, or the beach, there is a bag designed for the situation. Bags range from small to large, one color to rainbow color, over the shoulder straps to wrist-let straps.

Companies can take advantage of the necessity that bags carry today and put their name and logo on these walking advertisements. Whether it’s embroidery on a twill bag or a screen print on a silk bag, it’s a good investment.

It’s more common to embroider on a bag than it is to screen print. Decorating manufacturers have the ability to embroider on all types of fabric, just be aware that not all fabric holds embroidery the same.

How the design will end up looking on a garment is determined by the type of fabric that the design is being embroidered on.

Strong fabrics hold embroidery well. The best fabric to place your company name and logo on include:

Twill
Canvas
Poly Denier Nylon (bags and duffels)
Outerwear Materials
Caps
- The maximum embroidery height on most caps is 2.25”. Though most caps embroider well, caps such as trucker hats are better for screen printing.

Soft and flimsy fabrics require more underlay stitches to stabilize the custom embroidered design. These extra underlay stitches result in a heavier garment. These types of fabric include:

Rayon
Silk
Soft Pima Cotton
Dry Fit Fabrics

High pile fabrics hide the small detail of a custom embroidery design. To deal with this, decorators will add more underlay stitches so that the design sits more on top of the fabric. Another option that decorators have to assure the customer’s logo will stand out is to embroider the letters thicker. Examples of high pile fabrics include:

Fleece
Sweatshirts
Hoodies
Polar Fleece
Terry Cloth (beach & bath towels)

There are often times when the customer’s digitized logo will need to be adjusted for different types of fabric. The way a logo is digitized for fleece will not be the same as the way that same logo is digitized for canvas fabric.

Since bags often contain hidden zippers and pockets, it is important that the decorator has access to the actual bag that the customer wants to embroider on before digitizing. Once the decorator has the bag, they are able to check the hooping area. Areas of the bag with hidden zippers and pockets limit the hooping area, meaning less room to embroider the custom design or logo.

If you have any questions as to whether your design will embroider well on a specific garment, feel free to ask your sales rep.

Technology will continue to grow and provide people with more entertaining gizmos and as it does, bags will continue to be the way they are carried around.

Receive a screen printing or embroidery quote within the next 24 hours.

Author

Jake Paquin

Soft Hand Printing on Dark Garments

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:57:16 +0000

Printing soft-hand on dark garments is probably the single most challenging aspect of textile screen printing. The “hand” of a print is referring to the feel. The softer the hand of a print, the less you can feel it. There has been some really great improvements in the screen printing ink industry with ink additives and the onset of discharge printing. However, there is not a cut and dry solution for a bright print with a super-soft hand on dark garments.

The most successful soft-hand screen prints begin with the design. Usually the shirt color works with the art and is allowed to influence the print color. This allows the printer flexibility to use regular plastisol, soft-hand inks, or discharge depending on the complexity of the design and amount of detail.

A light blue print on a navy shirt is a good start to a soft hand product. On the other hand, white ink on red shirts will be very difficult to get a soft hand print.

Let’s look at the range of options and consider the variances in print quality.

PLASTISOL WITH UNDERBASE
This is the most traditional screen print method. You can expect the brightest print with the most amount of detail captured. The hand on this print will be the least soft.

PLASTISOL WITH NO UNDERBASE
Inks with more opacity can often be used with no underbase for a softer print, although it will not be as bright of a print. The shirt would likely influence the ink shade a little depending on the exact Pantone color printed. If you were printing yellow on royal, the shirt color would likely turn the ink a bit green. Tonal designs are great using this method and a lot of detail can be held with a pretty soft hand.

Here's an example of the shirt color influencing the print color while holding a good amount of detail. The print is fairly bright and the hand is fairly soft.

SOFT-HAND ADDITIVES
If you’ve been around the screen print industry for a bit, you’ve probably heard of some soft-hand additives - fashion soft, chino base, reducer - that can be mixed with a Pantone formula for a softer print. These inks have a hand comparable to water-based printing, but holds much more detail. These ink additives are only good for use on light garments though. When additives are added the ink loses opacity. In most cases, when printed on dark garments, the shirt color will completely over-power the ink color. Because the inks are so transparent, they look washed out when printed on an underbase, and the underbase negates the softness of the reduced ink. Perhaps a soft-hand underbase could be used, but this would really depend on the design and the desired effect.

Here's an example of a soft hand print on a light garment. Bright color, great detail, super soft.

WATER-BASED
More and more people are requesting water-based printing. Water-based inks are even more transparent than plastisols with soft hand additive. Vast majority of inks won’t be visible on dark garments. Water-based white and a handful of the more opaque inks can be used on darks for a really vintage, faded look. Water-based inks don’t hold detail as well as plastisol and aren’t necessarily able to be an exact Pantone match. These are factors to consider when designing for a water-based print and/or inquiring about a print technique.

Here's an example of how water-based can work on a colored tee. There’s not a lot of detail in the design. The shirt color is a medium-light tone. The final product has a vintage feel, so the shirt color influencing the red ink is exactly the desired affect. The blue ink is darker than the shirt, so there is no adverse affect there.

DISCHARGE INK
Discharge ink was developed specifically for soft-hand printing on dark garments. Discharge is a water-based ink that bleaches the garment weave while depositing pigment. The look of the final print is quite different from traditional plastisol prints. The end print is more muted, the colors are flatter, and the edges of the screen stencil tend to soften through the production run. Butt-to-butt registration is not guaranteed. Discharge is really great for vintage looking prints with lose designs. Tight logo style graphics aren’t ideal for discharge printing.

Only 100% cotton garments have the potential to discharge. That being said, the exact discharge-ability of a particular tee is dependent on the conditions of the specific dye lot. A dye lot is the entire batch of shirts dyed at the same time. This is done in the t-shirt manufacturing process. There are a number of variables that can affect the quality discharge that varies from lot to lot. A black Hanes tee you print with discharge in June may not match a discharge print you do in July. Many times, t-shirt manufacturers will batch a bunch of overstock colors and dye them all black. Certain color shirts are more difficult to discharge. Reds, royals, cranberry, purples, and teal colors are all very difficult to get a consistent predictable discharge color.

In general, discharge is a very unpredictable process, that cannot hold a lot of detail. If you would like to screen print your custom design with discharge ink, be prepared to be super flexible with the results. Discharge printing can really be fantastic for certain designs, but the right designs are few and far between.

Here's an example of a design that works great with discharge ink. If you desire a soft hand print on your t-shirts, get your printer involved as soon as possible to discuss your options to achieve the closest desired affect as possible.

Author

Tara Zanzig

Helping the "Kids In Need"

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Around the country, there are thousands of schools that lack the financial capabilities needed to purchase school supplies for their students and teachers.

In 1995, one foundation set out to change that. The Kids In Need Foundation is a charitable organization whose mission is to “ensure that every child is prepared to learn and succeed by providing free school supplies nationally to students most in need”.

Aside from providing free school supplies to students and teachers, the Kids In Need Foundation also awards grants to teachers for innovative classroom projects.

The Kids In Need Foundation has grown significantly since the beginning of its establishment. In 1997, just 2 years in, 5.5 million dollars worth of product was distributed to 25,000 children. Also, the Help-A-Teacher grant program found its first sponsor, Fred Meyer. During that program’s first year, $25,000 in grants of $250 to $1,000 was awarded to 37 teachers.

In more recent years, numbers have sky-rocketed. The Kids In Need Foundation, in 2009 alone, distributed 38 million dollars worth of product to 3,000 schools, 100,000 teachers, and 1.6 million students.

Each year there is an opportunity for the staff members of the National Network of Resource Centers to attend educational seminars and networking sessions at the Kids In Need Summit. This year, Kids In Need reached out to S&S Activewear and Sharprint to donate a batch of screen-printed staff member t-shirts for the event. S&S Activewear supplied Sharprint with the blank garments and Sharprint added the custom decoration.

Sharprint, a Chicago based manufacturer of decorating apparel, is proud to help, in the best way we can, the Kids In Need Foundation.

We understand and truly believe that every child deserves the supplies needed in order to learn and succeed. As Anne Frank quoted, “how wonderful it is that nobody need to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world”.

Lean more about how you can help and donate to the Kids In Need Foundation.

Author

Jake Paquin

The Mesh Matters

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:00:00 +0000

When printing from your computer to an ordinary printer, multiple heads spray the colors cyan, magenta, yellow and black in one pass of paper to create a multi-color image. When screen printing an image, each color has its own screen and the t-shirt or other garment makes a stop at each station on the press.

The actual “screen” is a frame stretched with mesh. Just as it sounds, “mesh” is a cris-cross pattern of thread. “Mesh count” refers to the number of threads per square inch - this is a similar concept to the dpi or lpi you refer to with an ink jet printer. Different meshes and mesh counts accomplish different things on press.

Discharge prints, especially those with fine detail, are among the hardest prints to sustain with high quality. They do have the ability to be very vibrant and hold great detail if the appropriate mesh is used. A particular mesh, known as S-Thread Mesh, allows ink to pass with ease through a greater open area than the standard T-Thread Mesh. The greater opening isn’t created by a lower mesh count (fewer threads per inch), but instead by using much finer and thinner thread.

Normally, in order to gain a good discharge color, the print should soak the shirt 50% of the way through the fabric so that the surface of the garment and the underlying weave is completely discharged. It’s important to note that different garments have different weights and weaves, which require specific mesh counts. The increased open area that S-Thread provides allows ink to soak the shirt, while the higher mesh count improves the detail of the screen printed design.

Using S-Thread with plastisol ink also has its advantages and will help to create a much-improved final screen printed design. As with discharge ink, prints will hold much more detail. However, a separate advantage when using plastisol ink on S-Thread is the outcome of a soft-hand print. The soft-hand print is the result of less squeegee pressure, since the ink is being laid on the surface of the t-shirt and not being driven into the fabric.

Get in contact with your decorating manufacturer to help determine which mesh-count is best and necessary for your custom screen printed design.

Author

Jake Paquin

A Screen Printing Experience for Kids

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:20:13 +0000

If you haven’t heard about the Rumble Arts Center in Humbolt Park, it’s about time you did.

The center isn’t just about providing affordable art experience for kids - it’s about bringing families together, strengthening the community and sharing in fun - and they do it right.

I’m not doing them justice with my description. Here - check out this video:

I get to lead a screen print workshop for the kids at the summer camp in a couple of weeks and I’m so excited that I get a little choked up thinking about it. Making art or music, in any capacity I could, has always been a part of my life and I don’t know how I’d have survived without it. To be able share what rocks my world so much with kids who may not have been exposed to it otherwise is really a huge honor.

I’m also really fortunate to work for a company that supports this kind of thing. Sharprint will be providing all the screens, inks, tees, etc so each kid can have the absolute best experience possible. Summer! Camp! Screen Print! Yippee!!

Author

Tara Zanzig

Effectively Embroidering Small Letters

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:19:32 +0000

In the decorated apparel industry, it is very important to capture the greatest level of detail possible to leave the customer with the end result that they expect.

With a professional digitizer and the appropriate machinery, it is possible to achieve very detailed and excellent embroidery results.

However, there are limitations to the amount of achievable detail when applying embroidery. When embroidering letters, it is important to follow a few guidelines and understand what will and will not work.

Just like in a limbo contest, you can only go so low before things turn ugly. The height of an embroidered letter should ideally be no smaller than a quarter inch. Trying to go any smaller than a quarter inch will likely result in sloppy, illegible text.

Both script and block fonts can be embroidered at a quarter inch. The type of stitching will probably be different, since the thickness throughout a script letter is not consistent. For example, the block ‘S’ below can be embroidered using a satin stitch (which is the most common stitch type when embroidering letters). On the other hand, the script ‘S’ below would use both a satin and walking stitch. The walking stitch, which is used to capture very fine detail, would be used on the thin areas of the ‘S’.

High pile fabrics (fleece, sweatshirts, hoodies, towels) cause another issue when embroidering letters. Small letters can become lost in the fabric, resulting in unreadable text. On a positive note, there are ways to deal with this problem.

One solution is to use a dis-solvable plastic topping known as solvy. Solvy is used to create a smooth foundation for embroidering custom designs. This topping is placed on the fabric before the sewing begins. The thread is then embroidered on top of the solvy, to help avoid the text from being buried in the fabric. The excess solvy, which wasn’t sewn over, can be ripped off the garment or misted with water, which will cause it to dissolve.

The second option is to use a small fill area, basically creating an underlay of stitches for the text to be embroidered over. When using this method, the tone of the thread matches with the tone of the fabric to give it the look that no underlay was used.

If you have any questions regarding embroidering letters, contact your professional digitizer today.

Author

Jake Paquin

The Artwork That Works in Screen Printing

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Digital art work used for screen printing can be categorized in two types - raster and vector. In this article, I’ll define both file types, go over some vocabulary, and show how you can differentiate the two.

Raster art is usually created in Adobe Photoshop and is composed of pixels. Pixels are little squares that vary in shade, tone, or color that make up an image. Resolution refers to the quality or clarity of the image. Higher resolution means the image is cleaner and more clear. When the resolution is higher, the image is created by more and smaller pixels. Low resolution (such as web images) are made of larger and fewer pixels making the image chunkier.

Thanks to Threadless and artist Ross Zietz for this perfect example of high resolution raster files! Check out the printed t-shirt!

Image on Left
High Resolution - Pixels are small. Lines and edges in the image appear smooth.
Image on Right
Low Resolution - Pixels are larger and more evident. Lines and edges are not smooth.

It’s important to note that up-sampling an image does not increase or improve image quality or resolution. An example of up-sampling would be opening a low resolution file in Photoshop and simply typing a higher number for the image size. In order for raster art to be useable for screen printing, the image must be created at a minimum of 150 dpi at the size the image is to print.

Vector files are usually created in Adobe Illustrator and are composed of paths. Vector files are the cleanest, easiest and preferred format for most logos and text images. Some vector images are composed of very complex gradients, layers, and/or effects. Be sure to check with your decorator to find out if any separation charges will apply.

Thanks once again to Threadless and artist Lindsey Bailey for this excellent example of simple and complex vector art for tees. Check out the printed garments!

Simple vector image.

More complex vector image using a gradient.

Many different colors and/or gradients turn simple vector components in to very complicated separation jobs.

One point of confusion occurs because eps is a file format in both Photoshop and Illustrator. Opening a raster file in Illustrator doesn’t necessarily convert it to vector paths. There is a simple way to determine whether or not your eps file is a true vector file or not.

With the image open in Illustrator, click the View drop-down menu and select Outline.

If your image converts to paths, you know you have a vector file.

If your image converts to a box with an X through the center, you know your image is a raster file.

For more information regarding art for screen printing, contact your decorator.

Author

Tara Zanzig

Why Wear Bamboo Clothing?

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:05:50 +0000

Soft. Breathable. Moisture-Wicking. Organic Fabric. These words all describe the little things that make wearing Spun Bamboo clothing great. But the BIG THING that makes Spun Bamboo so great is its benefits that can affect the entire global community.

Spun Bamboo plantations are harvested on a rotational basis. This means that while other crops, such as cotton, are entirely butchered at the time of harvest, causing bare soils to release more carbon into our atmosphere, Spun Bamboo plantations are harvested in portions at a time. Some part of the plantation will always be still standing, which is good for the environment.

Since bamboo grows like grass, harvesting bamboo is similar to mowing your lawn. As with other crops, replanting isn’t necessary, which results in reducing the carbon footprint even further.

Another benefit of bamboo is that it takes in 5 times as much green house gas and produces 35% more oxygen than an equal stand of trees.

Spun Bamboo plantations are also pesticide and fertilizer free, as bamboo flourishes on its own, and naturally resists pests. This is a great break-through compared to cotton, which uses more insecticides than any other single crop. This spraying harms the health of the soil and pollutes the ground water, lakes and streams. Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S. (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite, and trifluralin) are known cancer causing chemicals. Sadly, it takes nearly a pound of such chemicals to grow the cotton for one pair of pants and a shirt. Spun Bamboo provides an eco-friendly alternative to such pesticide-intensive crops.

It is important that the public learn bamboo is an incredible natural resource and that bamboo clothing in particular is beneficial to our environment.

Top Photo By: Mike Lowe
Bottom Photo By: Onno Textiles

The 7 Step Process: Applique Embroidery

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:34:37 +0000

There are many different types of embroidery, but one that really sticks out and sits on top of the others is a style known as applique embroidery.

What is Applique Embroidery?
Applique embroidery is the process of attaching different fabrics together using custom embroidery. This can create an awesome visual effect on your garment of choice.

What Fabrics Work Best With Applique Embroidery?
Just like a martini at happy hour, the stronger the better. Canvas material (backpacks, jackets, etc) is a very strong and sturdy fabric that works well with applique. Probably one of the most common places that one can find applique embroidery is on a varsity jacket.

The most common type of fabric that is used as the applique fabric is satin twill. However, just about any type of fabric can be used.

The Process of Applique Embroidery
The process of applique embroidery is very time consuming and is often more costly than standard embroidery because there are more steps involved compared to that of basic embroidery.

Here are some terms you should know when discussing embroidery - applique in particular.

Digitizing: (v) The process of converting a shape or design into digital stitches that can be translated by an embroidery machine.
Hoop: (n) A hoop is a plastic frame that is attached to a garment for embroidery. This frame helps stabilize the garment when it is being embroidered.
Hooping: (v) The process of attaching the frame to garment.
Applique Fabric: (n) This is the fabric that will be applied to the larger garment (larger garment being a bag, sweatshirt, varsity jacket, etc)

Digitize your custom design for embroidery.
Cut applique fabric according to embroidery design specs.
Hoop the garment to be decorated.
Load the hooped item to the embroidery machine and upload digitized file.
Outline the shape of the cut applique fabric in stitches on the hooped garment.
Place the applique fabric over the outline and tack down to secure.
Embroider the final design over the applique fabric. The final design generally has a satin stitch outline that firmly secures the fabric and conceals the cut edges.

Author

Jake Paquin

Beacon the Bear: Providing Children the Comfort They Need

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:00:00 +0000

3 years ago, a baby, just minutes after being born, was wrapped in plastic shopping bags and thrown out of a three-story window. The baby boy, who was named “Beacon Wilson”, after the corner of where he landed shortly after birth, miraculously survived the fall.

Chicago Police Detective, Jennifer Ryle, was assigned the case to figure out who was responsible for doing this to the newborn. For weeks Ryle would visit the hospital where Beacon was under care - rocking and singing to him.

It has been 3 years since the case that truly affected Ryle. “I will say this now, looking back: I did get very, very close to this case. I was very affected by it” Ryle told reporters.

Last year, after Ryle gave birth to her third child, Beacon flashed into her mind, which caused her to find a way to comfort other children in crisis. Her solution, a foundation in Beacon’s name to provide comfort to abused and neglected children by giving each child that police encounter a stuffed teddy bear.

As of now, the teddy bears, Beacon the Bear, will be given to officers in 2 of the cities 5 police areas on the North and South sides. The goal is to raise enough money to take the program city wide. The bears will be given to officers that are most likely to come in contact with children.

This story touched Sharprint’s heart. Everyday an incident occurs where a child is in great need of comfort. Each teddy bear cost $6.50, so for a small price - a huge difference can be made.

If you would like to donate or read more about this heart touching story, head to the Bears in Blue Foundation website.

Author

Jake Paquin

3 Keys to Perfecting Your Print on Polyester

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:12:00 +0000

As we explained in an earlier blog article, printing on polyester, can be quite a struggle and is one of the most challenging fabrics to print on. The main reason that polyester is such a hard print to perfect is because of a term known as dye migration.

Polyester has continued to grow in popularity over the years and is the most common type of athletic material. Since teams are always looking to customize their uniforms, decorators have had to overcome the obstacle of printing on polyester and the difficulties that it brings.

There are a few different techniques that decorating apparel manufacturers use to get the best possible print on polyester garments.

Dryer Temperature: Do not exceed 330 degrees. Inks cure best between 320-330 degrees.
Inks: Use a low bleed, high opacity polyester ink on all polyester products.
Stencil Thickness: Measure stencil thickness and screen mesh count to ensure proper ink coverage and clarity of the print.

It is also very important, when printing on polyester, to use the right inks, emulsions and chemicals.

Inks: Rutland High Opacity Polyester Low Bleed Ink
Emulsion: Autosol 9000
Emulsion Remover: CPS AquaStrip 21
Press Wash: CPS P-140
Screen Cleaner: Chromaline Series Type TX (XP-56)
Adhesive: Tek-Mar TB-10 Water Based Screen Printing Adhesive
Screen Mesh Count: 86 or 100 & 156 when dealing with halftones.

If you’re looking to customize your polyester garment, contact your decorator today!

Author

Jake Paquin

A Sticky Trick for All-Over Printing

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:35:57 +0000

In order to print over an entire t-shirt, the inside of the garment must be starched. This is the main difference between the basic screen print process and the process of all-over printing.

Starching is the action of spraying a starch-like mist to the inside of a t-shirt.

The purpose of starching a garment is to keep the insides of the shirt together during the printing stage of production. During production, each screen allows ink to be passed through onto the garment. When the screen is lifted, it is extremely important that the shirt remains flat and in place. If the shirt is moved or altered in any way, the print registration will not be consistent from screen to screen. Also, if the shirt lifts somewhat due to the screen pulling away, it can cause a wrinkle, which in result will cause a misprint since the ink will not be distributed smoothly onto the garment.

Basic screen printing does not require the same starching process since the shirts are pulled over the pallet. Instead, the pallet is applied with an adhesive spray to provide the same effect. When the shirt is pulled over the pallet. one side of the shirt is held in place by the starched pallet.

BASIC SCREEN PRINT
You can see the shirt is being held in place by the adhesive spray on the pallet and the insides of the shirt are not sticking together.

ALL-OVER SCREEN PRINT
Since the entire shirt needs to be exposed to the screen, the shirt is starched to keep flat as the screen lifts off the garment. Instead of pulling the shirt over the pallet, it is placed directly on it.

Though the starch used by most decorating manufacturers is non-toxic, all decorated garments should be washed before being worn.

Author

Jake Paquin

Vote For Your Favorite Design

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:12:05 +0000

Sharprint Employee Contest

Here at Sharprint, we see new, amazing designs everyday and it’s our job to bring these designs to life. From the screen to the tee - it’s what we do and we do it well.

Printing such awesome designs day in and day out for companies such as Threadless, Sharp Shirter and Roguelephant; it’s hard to keep your creative juices from flowing.

So instead of letting that creativity bottle up, we decided to hold a company contest.

The contest was open just to the production crew. The ones who mix the ink, burn the screens, run the press and inspect the garments. The ones who see all 40,000 custom designs each day.

They took their time to create a piece of art; please take your time to vote for your favorite design on our facebook page. Or simply vote below. Votes from Facebook will be added to votes from this article to determine the winner.

The winning design will be printed and the artist will receive a $50 gift certificate. Contest ends Friday August 26th, 2011 at 12:00 PM.

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Author

Jake Paquin

Welcome Sharprint's Newest Artist: Jake Saunders

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:01:51 +0000

In order to be a great screen printing company, great artist are essential. Not all art files work in screen printing, making it extremely important to have skilled, professional artist dealing with all art files and creating proofs for clients.

We’re thrilled to introduce our newest production artist, Jake Saunders, to the Sharprint team.

Jake is an artist hailing from Muncie, IN. He received a BFA and MA in Printmaking from Ball State University and a MFA in Studio Art from the University of Connecticut.

Jake’s job and responsibilities consist of creating proofs for new orders, creating custom designs and working with clients to get what they want out of their images. Jake has been with Sharprint since early June and has been working directly with clients to ensure that what they envision, is what gets printed.

When Jake is not working on art for his client’s decorated apparel, he is “painting, drawing, taking photos, making collages and getting smelly and dirty”. After asking Jake to briefly describe himself, he went on to say, “I’m vegan, near sighted, a cat person and I think I’m an Aries”.

Jake’s personal art has been showcased around the world; to name a few places: New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Atlanta and London. Check out Jake’s work for yourself on his personal website.

Author

Jake Paquin

Staying Warm During the Cool Weather

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:50:45 +0000

Kids are back in school and football is back on TV, which means summer is coming to an end and fall is soon to come. As you begin to pack up you tanks and shorts, you’ll need to start thinking about this year’s Fall fashion.

There’s no better way to keep warm during the cool days of Fall then by throwing on a comfortable jacket. However, if you want to stay in style, you’ll need to be wearing the most stylish jackets.

We’ve provided you with a couple of links to this years most stylish and embroider friendly jackets below.

SOFT-SHELL JACKETS
Soft-shell jackets not only look great, but they feel great too. Breathable, flexible and comfortable describe these jackets to the “t”. These types of jackets would make for great team warm-ups, as they hold embroidery very well.

WORK JACKETS
Work jackets are meant to keep the outdoorsman warm throughout the day and night. Though they do not provide as much breath-ability or flexibility compared to soft-shell jackets, they do provide a great level of comfort. Work jackets can easily be personalize with an embroidered logo or design.

Photo by Promodirect

Author

Jake Paquin

Save Time and Money with the Right Squeegee

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:04:09 +0000

Joe Clarke has been an adviser of Sharprint’s since we first stepped foot into the decorated apparel industry. Clarke designs, engineers and manufacturers new technology for the screen-printing industry. We have experimented with other vendor’s squeegees, but time after time we stick with the high quality sqeegees that Clark Product Renovation has to offer. Joe is a great resource, which is why we reached out to him to write a guest blog about an area of his expertise, squeegees.

Article Written By: Joe Clarke
Have you ever ran into the technical or financial issues listed below? Technical issues are those traditional problems that confront the operator on-press and result in unnecessary costs in both lost time and damaged goods. Financial issues lists the specific areas of costs associated with the technical problems on press.

Clearing the Mesh
Dimensional Accuracy
Wet/Dry Artifacts
Color Accuracy
Consistency
Set-Up Time
Time-to-Color
Cycle Rate
Stoppage
Scrap Rate

CLEARING THE MESH
The secret is to have sufficient pressure between the mesh and the printing blade. Smilin’ Jack™ [SJT] permits optimal off-contact settings without putting excess pressure at the edges of the mesh. The design of SJT will clear the mesh with less pressure and at higher print speeds than any traditional blade without popping the screen mesh.

DIMENSIONAL ACCURACY
Because SJT runs without buckling, there is very little drag on the screen mesh so image stretch in the stroke direction, or “creep” during the press run is minimal, even at lower tension levels.

WET/DRY ARTIFACTS
Every mesh count requires a precise and ideal ink volume. If we transfer excess ink, the image runs “rich” and exhibits wet artifacts—gain, blur, filling, mottling. If we transfer an insufficient amount the image runs “lean” and we find dry artifacts—streaks, faint images and mesh-mark texture. By using the prescribed mode with Dr.J [DJT] to precisely fill the cells and then the prescribed edge of SJT to transfer the ideal volume artifacts will be eliminated from the image.

COLOR ACCURACY
With SJT & DJT there are six discrete levels of ink volume, from minimum to maximum with four levels in between. This means if you ever get to press with a screen that is less than ideal, there is a very good chance you can achieve the proper color via volume control with the blades. Because the blades run at zero initial angles, there is no color variance during the press run to fill or transfer.

CONSISTENCY
Zero-angle, minimum pressure and maximum stroke speed with a bi-axial blade means the printed image consistency is unparalleled. Periodically wiping the screen will become a thing of the past. Whether it is corner to corner, shirt to shirt or shift to shift, JT and DJT will maintain a tight tolerance.

SET-UP TIME
Set-up time is spent on registration and eliminating wet & dry artifacts [see above] without having to go back for a re-shoot. Registration is simplified due to the low pressure with SJT, wet and dry artifacts are eliminated with the triple mode flood [SJT] and double-edged printing blade [SJT].

TIME-TO-COLOR
Time-to-color is always minimized with our six-levels of volume—three fill modes of Dr.J and two transfer edges of Smilin’ Jack™. Use our Navigation Table to help you select the right mode and edge at the outset or to “tweak” the color once on press.

CYCLE RATE
The key to precise and consistent ink transfer is high stroke speed and with SJT & DJT the blades will never again cost you quality. Run the flood and print strokes at maximum [with minimum angle and pressure] for the finest looking prints you have seen, from single hit whites to simulated process color and everything in between will have the sharpest edges, saturated color and the best fiber matte-down you’ve seen.

STOPPAGE
Traditionally we stop periodically to wipe the underside of the screens or to re-align an image that has drifted. Zero-angle printing makes wiping a thing of the past; a tight seal is made with minimum pressure instantly after the ink is transferred, even at maximum speed—there is no seepage! Regarding re-aligning the screen our minimal pressure means no screen shift during the run.

SCRAP RATE
The biggest single reason for scrap is a popped screen. Our “smiles” on SJT and DJT are based upon your minimum tension level, maximum off-contact distance and minimum frame width. Both blades adapt to the resistance of the screen at all points, in both stroke and perpendicular directions. You are likely to double the life of any and all new screens.

You can expect Smilin’ Jack™ and Dr.J to run hassle free for months and months so the cost of the pair is pennies per hour. If you have any questions or need additional information just drop us a line at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Uniting Chicago's Artist and Activist

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:57:52 +0000

The Global Alliance of Artists is a collective of visual and performance artists committed to solving social and environmental challenges on a local, national, and international level by leveraging artists and creativity inherent in communities.

The GAA participated in a study conducted by the Field Museum in 2008 that suggested artists and social/environmental activism organizations possess tremendous potential for collaborating on environmental projects. (PDF of results here)

Recently, the GAA launched a new initiative - Chicago Arts + Environment Xchange. The Chicago Arts + Environment Exchange is a two-part program consisting of 1) an online space where art and environment groups can learn about each others’ interests and post opportunities for collaboration, and 2) events where these groups can network, share information, and learn more about potential opportunities.

The topics covered at the launch ranged from education to activism, documentation to intergration, expression to impression. Here are some highlights:

Lora Lode discussed her Community Based Practices class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago that focuses on environmental issues, planting and recycling.
Chicago ReUse Warehouse
City Farm

Alex Gallegos represented Marwen - a non-profit community organization whose goal is to educate and inspire under-served young people through the visual arts.

Marilyn Jones of Consolidated Printing shared some history and insight from her 35+ years in sustainable manufacturing.

George and I attended the launch to provide information on eco-friendly printing and sustainable/recycled/organic apparel options, but soon realized that we as individuals and a company can have a greater positive impact on the community even beyond providing organic apparel and safe printing. With everyone we came in contact with ideas started to gel, so we’ll keep you posted!

Special thanks to Catherine Game of Global Alliance of Artists for organizing the event and creating the momentum!

Author

Tara Zanzig

Welcome Sharprint's Newest Account Manager: Garvin Hughes

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:08:31 +0000

We at Sharprint pride ourselves on our excellent customer service. We understand our customer’s expectations and always push to exceed them. This wouldn’t be possible without a wonderful customer service team!

We are excited to introduce our most recent addition to the Sharprint team, Garvin Hughes.

Garvin was born and raised in Chicago, but left the Windy City to attend Jackson State University where he graduated with a B.A. in Political Science.

Now back in Chicago, Garvin’s job and responsibilities as an Account Manager include quoting customer’s orders, establishing new accounts and providing fanatical customer service. He has been with Sharprint since August and is already considered the “jack-of-all-trades”.

When Garvin isn’t assisting and quoting customer’s orders, you can most likely find him quoting lines from his favorite television show, Family Guy - “Do you understand me Sir?” Garvin enjoys the color blue, traveling and meeting new and exciting people. In 5 years, he hopes to become an HR Director for a major corporation.

Author

Jake Paquin

Dark & Tee(licious)

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:23:47 +0000

This 4 minute video isn't about printing t-shirts.

This video is about production and process.
Repetition and rhythm.
It's Sharprint. Day-in and day-out.

Screen printing rules and the people I work with are absolutely the best.
That's what it's all about.

Author

Tara Zanzig

Why the Silk Slipped in Screen Printing

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:23:18 +0000

“BackRub it”. That’s what the world would be saying had Google not changed their name in 1998. Before cracking open an ice cold Pepsi Cola, we were all sipping on Brad's Drink. We no longer lace up our Blue Ribbon Sports, but instead, our Nikes. And the days of referring to the process of decorating a garment as Silk Screen Printing are over. It is now simply called Screen Printing.

So why did the word silk get dropped from the term silk screen printing? It’s really an easy answer. It’s because the silk got dropped out of the screen printing process.

Mesh is the fabric stretched over a frame to make the screens in screen printing. In the early days of screen printing, silk thread was woven to create this fabric. The silk fabric was stretched over a wooden frame. Today, most mesh is woven from polyester mesh and stretched over an aluminum frame.

Silk was replaced with polyester for a number of reasons:

Polyester is cheaper
Polyester is easier to produce
Polyester is a stronger material (less fragile)
Polyester can be made of different thicknesses

Many people still refer to screen printing as silk screening, although technically it’s not. However, all decorated apparel companies should know that screen printing is what the customer is referring to.

On the other hand, if I were thirsty and asked someone where I could find a Brad’s Drink - I’d probably have to BackRub it.

Author

Jake Paquin

Eco-Fashion Event of the Year

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:08:43 +0000

On Thursday, October 20th, Conscious Living TV presents the 3rd annual Vert Couture eco-fashion show & benefit, an official headlining event of Fashion Focus Chicago in the tents at Millennium Park. This year's charity beneficiary is Keep Chicago Beautiful.

The event will kick off with a "Sexy & Sustainable" VIP cocktail reception and green lifestyle lounge starting at 6:00pm featuring organic libations from Prairie Organic Vodka, New Belgium beer, Wild Blossom honey wine and delicious vegan appetizers provided by Karyns on Green. VIPs will also be treated to cutting-edge eco-art installations and deluxe eco-gift bags provided by the Green Goddess Boutique filled with lots of sustainable goodies and products.

This year's runway show will showcase a continuum of the most talented eco-friendly designers in Chicago on a runway backed by living green wall. Featured designers include Heart, Dollparts, Brenda Abdullah, Richard Dayhoff eco-mens underwear, Victoria Larkin, Rosina~Mae eco-swimwear, SilkUtopia and Lauren Lein, in addition to a host of eco-accessories by Mohop Shoes, Takohl Gallery, MKRISS and the Marty Casey Silver Elements Collection.

The event is produced by Michael and Bianca Alexander of Conscious Planet Media in conjunction with Culture 22.

Tickets to the event are $95 for VIP admission, which includes the cocktail reception and priority seating. General admission tickets are $35. Limited seating is still available - purchase tickets online at www.VertCouture.com.

Photo by Vert Couture

Step 1 of the Screen Printing Process: Submitting a PO

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:56:41 +0000

Customization is defined as, “to modify or build according to individual or personal specifications or preference.”

Customizing is what manufacturers of decorated apparel specialize in day in and day out. They recreate pieces of art on a garment based on their customer’s specifications.

In order to accurately produce a customized garment in a timely fashion, the customer must send their decorator a detailed description of their desired order.

STEP 1 OF THE SCREEN PRINTING PROCESS: SUBMITTING A PO
When placing an order with a decorator, customers can help things run smoothly by being sure to include:

Product Style
Product Color
Size Break Down
Name of the Design
Location of the Design
How the art will be submitted
Ink Colors / Specialty Inks / Special Instructions
Date Needed
Shipping Address / Shipping Method

If the customer doesn’t communicate all specific details of their order, the decorator can’t begin the printing process. This results in a longer turnaround time.

Below is a short video created to illustrate the issues that occur when a customer doesn’t submit all the necessary information on their PO.

Turn up the volume and enjoy!

Author

Jake Paquin

Inspiration & Insight: Interview with Dan Lachman, owner and founder of Sharp Shirter

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:03:44 +0000

We had the great fortune of starting to print for Dan Lachman of Sharp Shirter back in 2008. We see a lot of apparel lines that fizzle out or never really hit. Sharp Shirter is a real success story and we've been cheering Dan on as we've watched his line flourish over the years. He's a truly genuine person and super smart dude with great taste and a passion for what he does. It's truly an honor to print for him. I asked him if he wouldn't mind doing an interview for us and maybe share some secrets of his success for those just getting started. Of course, he was happy to oblige :)

1. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Purple

2. HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE APPAREL INDUSTRY?
My dad told me to apply myself. I had just finished the worst summer job ever being a camp counselor and decided I never wanted to work for anyone again.

3. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR CREATING A LINE AROUND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANIMALS AND HUMANS?
There wasn’t any focus when the line started. I would make whatever t-shirts came to mind. As soon as our Haymaker design was released, the company took off. Slowly I began to see that our customers were partial to designs with animals and I built on the whole animal vs human theme that started with the Haymaker. As I delved into the theme I realized that the relationship between animals & humans is really interesting. We have some animals that we hunt, others that we protect, some we own and some we wear. Similarly, animals view humans in a number of ways. Some are fascinated while others are fearful.

4. WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF RUNNING AN APPAREL BUSINESS? HOW DO YOU APPROACH ROADBLOCKS AND/OR OBSTACLES?
The most challenging part of the business is definitely finding a routine/schedule to live by. When I graduated from college in ’09, I thought the transition would be smooth from selling from my dorm room to a full-time career. Instead, I discovered that my entire life up until graduation was filled with structure. Even during summer vacation I knew in the back of my head that school was just around the corner. When that next step was removed every day felt like a perpetual Sunday with an open schedule of things that I could do but didn’t have anyone saying I should do.

After about a year I started a number of activities that helped me to create a structure.

1. I adopted a puggle, so 2 walks a day became a standard.
2. I started a morning workout regiment to help me feel productive and rejuvenated for afternoon work.
3. I began meditating twice a day. Transcendental mediation has truly helped ground me and focus my energies on the big picture. I no longer get upset over the small things in life.

5. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WITH A DREAM OF HAVING THEIR OWN APPAREL LINE?
Start as young as possible. There are always a dozen excuses of why you’ll start later. You just need to jump in and see where it takes you. Try and have about $3,000 ready to pump into the project.

Go slow. You might think you have a dynamite idea that everyone will want to buy but until you truly know your customers, save your money. Start by printing the smallest amount of items you can to test the market. You can always make more once it takes off. I made the mistake of going in too fast with my early designs and got stuck with a couple hundred crap designs in the basement. It took me a good year to get rid of them and move on.

Photo by Sharp Shirter

Author

Tara Zanzig

The Democracy of the Print and the Tee Shirt

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:59:05 +0000

As a college student, studying printmaking and fine art, my professors would always reference something called the “democracy of the print”. They were referring to the fact that woodcuts, etchings, lithographs and screen prints had the advantage over paintings and sculptures in the respects that they are relatively inexpensive and exist in multiple. Even to this day, a person of an average income can afford a print by Picasso, but not a painting. That print would not only enrich that person’s life, but that of many others due to the fact that it exists in hundreds of other places.

I argue that the tee shirt brings the notion of the “democracy of the print” to its peak. The tee shirt is so inexpensive that nearly anyone can own an entire collection or make one with their own design. And, due to the versatility of the screen print (and now direct to garment printing) nearly any image can be imprinted upon one. The tee shirt is the ultimate (and somewhat untapped) in artistic potential energy, able to proliferate messages through multiplicity, low cost, mobility and public visibility all while retaining a status as a covetable object.

The screen print with the tee shirt as canvas potentially makes the owner a mobile gallery. The owner multiplies the voice of the artist with every person he or she passes on the street. The tee shirt has the potential to reach far more eyes and minds, far faster, than any museum show through a relative legion of walking canvases.

If The Starry Night, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon or even, say a Diego Rivera mural had been on tee shirts instead of canvas or wall, would this have diminished their significance? Perhaps the context would have changed, but the message would have been the same and would have traveled farther, faster and would have been available to nearly anyone who wanted it in their lives. I argue that the tee shirt very well may be the most democratic, if yet somewhat unrealized, art form.

Author

Jake Saunders

Screen Printing the Same Design on Different Size Tees

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:36:33 +0000

Since February of this year, I have been working with Sharprint and have evolved into the “online guy”, managing our social media and company website.

Though I am not mocking-up, separating or printing designs, I see, hear and learn a lot about the way a garment is decorated. I found this very interesting since it was something that I really never thought twice about before working here.

If I could go back in time and ask my younger self, “Jake, that logo on your very unstylish sweater, how did it get there?” I would probably respond along the lines of, “My mom bought it that way, duh.”

As you can see, younger me, as well as most people who don’t work in the decorated apparel industry, do not realize the complexity and number of steps taken to decorate a garment.

Though I am still learning new knowledge on a daily basis, one thing that I found very interesting during my early days here at Sharprint, is that no matter the size of the garment, the size of the design stays the same.

Let me explain.

It’s obvious and a well known fact that t-shirts range in size. Hold a ladies small next to a men’s double-XL and you’ll clearly see a difference.

What might not be as well known, is the way that screen printing companies print on different size t-shirts.

Due to the way that the screen print process works, each size t-shirt is printed with the same size design. Many customers often question why the design cannot be scaled to different sizes based on the size of the garment. Since the screens are burned to create a screen stencil from the image on the film, this is not possible.

It is important for customers to know this, so that they know how the design will look on each size t-shirt.

Let’s go back to the thought of holding a ladies small t-shirt next to a men’s double-XL. Imagine placing the same size logo on both of the garments. What may take up the majority of the ladies tee, will only take up a portion of the men’s.

The size that the art is scaled to, before printing the film, is up to the customer. If the customer has no preference, the screen printing company will most likely scale the artwork using standard guidelines.

Were you as oblivious to this as the younger me? Let me know in the comment section below!

Top photo by Threadless

Author

Jake Paquin

Make Your Own T-Shirt!

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:08:12 +0000

Every one has a great idea for a t-shirt. When some one I’ve recently met finds out I work at a print shop, inevitably the conversation goes like this:

“You know what would make a really great t-shirt? (Insert idea here)”

Sure, there is some cost involved to bring these brilliant t-shirt ideas to fruition if you want them professionally printed. Whatever you do, don’t let dollars stop you from making your idea an actuality. There are 3 easy ways to make your own t-shirts for nothing or next to nothing:

SHARPIE
Grab a blank tee you already have and draw or write on it. A lot of the best ideas for t-shirts are clever phrases or smart little visuals. Keep it simple and your idea will be easily understood. The drawing or lettering doesn’t have to be perfect - and in my opinion, shouldn’t be. That’s part of the charm! My very first custom made shirt was an undershirt of my dad’s with “genius” written on it - I wrote the “g” backwards, of course. I’ve made scores of these cute word shirts to date.

SPRAY PAINT
Want to make a few t-shirts for you and some friends? Stencils are super easy to make out of heavyweight paper or card stock. Cut out the stencil, then spray it on a t-shirt. The paint won’t wash out and the soft edges are a real cool aesthetic. I had a little comic zine back in Greensboro, NC and wanted to make some tees to give to my closest friends. A stencil, some paint, and a Hanes 5-pack got me a handful of consistent, yet unique Auscar Morbid tees.

HAND PRINTING
You can get a starter screen printing kit together at your local art/craft store for about $50. Use cheap thrift store tees or recycle your own - turn ‘em inside out if you want a blank canvas. If you’re prone to having great t-shirt ideas often, you may want to go with your own set up so you can bust out some t-shirts at a moments notice. I’ve lead some “print-at-home” workshops this year and we’ve used this method. Being loose and open-minded about the finished tee can result in some real happy accidents and killer tees!

I still make t-shirts all the time using these different methods even though I have the latest technology at my finger tips. The point is to have fun and share your ideas. T-shirts don’t have to be a big production. After all, it is just a t-shirt :)

Author

Tara Zanzig

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Plastisol Ink

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:22:51 +0000

ARTICLE 1 OF 2 Article by PNEAC
Plastisol ink is a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) based system that essentially contains no solvent at all. Along with UV ink used in graphic screen printing, it is referred to as a 100% solid ink system. Plastisol is a thermoplastic ink in that it is necessary to heat the printed ink film to a temperature high enough to cause the molecules of PVC resin and plasticizer to cross-link and thereby solidify, or cure. The temperature at which most plastisol for textile printing cures at is in the range of 149 °C to 166 °C (300 °F to 330°F).

Plastisol is the ink of choice for printing of finished goods such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, and tote bags.

ADVANTAGES OF PLASTISOL INK
Plastisol can best be described as a “user-friendly” ink because it is very easy to manage. Plastisol can be left in the screen for extended periods of time without clogging the mesh. It is ready to use right out of the container more than 90% of the time. In most applications, it can be printed wet-on-wet, which allows for increased production speeds. It comes in formulations that can be printed on light and dark fabrics. And, in most municipalities, the disposal of waste plastisol is a very simple process.

Plastisol does not “dry”. In order for a compound to dry, there must be evaporation of some kind of solvent. Since plastisol has little or no solvent, it cannot dry. Because of this characteristic, plastisol can be left in screens, the lids can be left off of the ink containers (although keeping them covered is a good practice to keep lint and dirt out of the ink). And ink left at the end of the job can be returned to the container for reuse without any adverse affects. This last practice is a great benefit in reducing waste product.

Plastisol is extremely versatile in that most printers never have to amend the ink. They are able to use it direct from the container without ever adjusting the viscosity or the strength. Plastisol comes in strengths from transparent to very opaque and most printers will have the various versions available to use, depending upon the type and color of fabric they are printing on. The various opacities of ink also vary greatly in price with the most opaque being the most expensive, mainly due to the cost of the increased pigment. So, good shop management dictates that the proper opacity be applied to each fabric in order to be cost effective.

DISADVANTAGES OF PLASTISOL INK
Since Plastisol is a thermoplastic, it will remelt if it comes in contact with anything hot enough. For that reason, plastisol prints cannot be ironed. If an iron touches a print, it will smear the ink.

Plastisol ink also creates an ink film that can be felt with the hand. The higher the opacity of the ink, the greater the hand. This heavy hand is considered a disadvantage at the consumer level.

One of the most important practices when using plastisol ink is to keep the ink clean. What this statement means, is that it is very beneficial, and cost effective, to keep plastisol colors from being contaminated by dirt, lint, or even other colors of ink. By maintaining clean shop practices, there will be a great reduction in ink waste. Clean ink can be returned to the original ink container for reuse. There is no degradation in the quality of plastisol as long as it is not mixed with other colors or contaminated with foreign materials.

Plastisol that has been contaminated with other colors can still be retained in a separate container for blending with other waste ink. Often times this waste ink can be used to create new colors or, it can be over pigmented with fresh pigment to create a dark color, such as black, for use on less critical jobs. With good plastisol ink management, waste can be reduced to a very small percentage.

Plastisol product that is unusable is not considered hazardous waste in most municipalities as long as it is solidified (cured). The best way to achieve this cure is to heat the waste container itself to 160 °C (320 °F) for a period long enough to cure the ink all the way through. In practice, a one gallon container of plastisol will cure all the way through in approximately one hour.

If the plastisol needs to be disposed of in an uncured state, then hazardous chemical regulations usually apply. For either cured or uncured disposal, it is recommended that you always check with local regulatory agencies.

The biggest environmental hazard in the use of plastisol comes in the screen and equipment cleaning steps. In order to emulsify the ink for easy removal from screens, squeegees, flood bars, spatulas, and work surfaces, it is necessary to use some type of solvent. The waste ink and the solvent must be disposed of properly in order to minimize environmental impact.

The screen printing industry has been very proactive in the creation of products that can minimize the impact of these cleaning processes. Solvents are available that are “more” environmentally sensitive than the traditional petroleum based solvents. In addition, there are many types of filtration and cleaning systems available to capture inks and solvent residues to minimize the solids that are discharged into the sewer system.

ARTICLE 2 OF 2
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Water-Based Ink

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Water-Based Ink

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:50:51 +0000

ARTICLE 2 OF 2 Article by PNEAC
Water-based inks are defined as those that utilize water as the main solvent. That does not mean, however that water is the only solvent. It is significant to note that many water base inks contain “co-solvents” which may even be petroleum based solvents. The reason these co-solvents are used varies, but one of the key reasons is to decrease the time and heat necessary to cure the ink film on the fabric.

Water-based ink is the ink of choice for the printing of yard goods; either in piece form or on the roll.

ADVANTAGES OF WATER-BASED INKS
Water-based inks are a good choice when a “soft hand” is desirable. A soft hand is the condition where the ink film cannot easily be felt with the hand when passed across the surface of the fabric. This affect is often used as an argument for why water-based is preferable to plastisol as plastisol has more of a hand than water-based.

Water-based ink also has the advantage of being an excellent ink system for high speed roll-to-roll yardage printing. Such printing is done on large sophisticated equipment that has very large drying (curing) capacity.

Water-based ink also is a good choice where ink penetration is desirable, such as in towel printing. Towels have a high nap fabric that must be printed in a manner where the ink penetrates or wicks through to the base fabric for adequate coverage. Water-based inks that are designed to wick into the fabric are excellent for this application. Ink wicking is not a desirable affect in most other fabric printing as it will destroy the design and registration of multiple colors.

DISADVANTAGES OF WATER-BASED INKS
Water-based ink is much more difficult to cure than plastisol. A shop that is interested in printing water-based ink must have the drying capacity to remove the water. The dryers used for water-based printing tend to be larger than those needed for plastisol. In plastisol printing, the ink film must only reach the cure temperature for a brief moment. With water-based ink, the temperature must be reached and then held until all of the solvent (water) is removed.

There are water-based ink that will air dry but they are usually only acceptable for craft level printing as the room required for curing greatly reduces productivity. Many water-based inks can also be more quickly cured with the addition of a catalyst that will assist the heat in the curing of the ink by continuing the cure even if all of the water is not removed in the dryer.

The disadvantage of a catalyst is that once it is added to a water-based ink, it creates a time limit or “pot life” where the ink must be all used in a certain time or be discarded. Most catalyzed water-based ink pot life’s are between four and twelve hours.

Since water-based inks contain water as an evaporative solvent, care must be taken to prevent the ink from drying in the screen. If water-based ink is left in open mesh for even a short period of time, it can clog the mesh and ruin the screen. Practiced water-based ink printers must always be conscious of how long a screen sits between prints to prevent the ink from “drying in”. While modern water-based inks are less prone to this phenomenon, it is still a concern.

In addition, when a water-based print job will take more than one day, the ink must be removed and the screen cleaned with to prevent drying. The ink is then put back in the screen on the next work day and the job is continued.

Water-based ink is also much more aggressive than plastisol towards the emulsion that is used to create the screen stencil. Emulsion manufacturers all make “water-resistant” emulsions that must be used for water-based printing. If standard emulsion is used, the water-based ink will destroy the stencil by melting the emulsion is as little as a few minutes. Even when the proper emulsion is used, screen life tends to be much less with water-based printing than it is for plastisol printing.

WATER-BASED INK CLEANUP
There is a common misconception that because water can be used for cleaning screens, squeegees and tools, that the waste water can just be discharged in the sewer. However, the water-based ink is not just water. There are pigments, binders, thickeners, and sometimes, even co-solvents in the ink residue. Screen cleaning systems that can at least capture the solids are still recommended.

In addition, water-based that has not been catalyzed can be returned to its container for reuse. If the ink has been catalyzed, it should be considered hazardous waste unless it can be dried out (all water and solvent removed) before discarding. If it cannot be dried, it should be disposed of as hazardous waste.

READ ARTICLE 1 OF 2
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Plastisol Ink

What's the Big Deal About Printed Tees?

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:49:52 +0000

We crank out t-shirts and apparel all day over here at Sharprint. Everything from give-away tees to high end fashion garments. Each item has an intentionally designed, well thought out purpose - whether it’s to commemorate a charity race or launch a new product. Decorated apparel is huge - no denying that - but what’s the big deal?

Clothing has a very basic function - coverage. Climate and availability are some obvious and relatively uncontrollable factors that influence the clothing we wear. Apparel isn’t just about function, though, so why do we wear what we wear?

Let’s start at the beginning. Think back to when you were dressing yourself for the first time. I took a survey of people with young children and compared their responses with my own memories of picking out my clothes for the first time. When you’re little, it’s all about favorites - color, patterns, shapes, and characters. Think pink tutu over jeans, Star Wars pajama top and cowboy hat. The apparel pieces in little kids outfit selection tend to evoke feelings of happiness. Since they have to be covered, kids chose to be covered in fun.

As we start to get just a little older, something happens. Other factors begin to affect our decisions about what we wear. Factors like friends, parents, media, morals, the rejection of these things and/or any combination of them. What we wear becomes a less emotional choice and a more intellectual decision. Is this when growing up begins? Why the change? Let’s explore some ideas in the next couple of blogs.

Author

Tara Zanzig

Putting Your "Hand" to the Challenge

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:24:40 +0000

Have you ever put on a decorated t-shirt and immediately felt like you were wrapped in cardboard? Though that may be a bit of an exaggeration, I have experienced and worn t-shirts that were incredibly uncomfortable due to the design printed on the front of the tee.

Thankfully, the hand of a print today truly outshines the hand of a print 3-4 years ago.

Printed t-shirts, now a days, have the ability to feel like there isn’t a single drop of ink on the garment at all - which got me thinking - would the blind-eye be able to identify the difference between a blank and decorated t-shirt?

To answer my thought, I decided to put a few of my co-workers to the test. Blind-folded, they were to feel the garments and distinguish which t-shirt was which. Placed in front of them was a t-shirt printed with chino ink, a t-shirt printed with discharge ink and a blank t-shirt.

QUICK BREAKDOWN
CHINO INK: Plastisol ink mixed with soft-hand additives.
DISCHARGE INK: Utilizes an activator that bleaches the dye out of the t-shirt and deposits the pigment of the ink.

Check out the video and see how they did!

Author

Jake Paquin

Why Do I Wear What I Wear?

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:46:54 +0000

Tara’s recent blog article, “What’s the Big Deal About Printed Tee’s?”, got me thinking about why I dress the way I do. So I looked down to see what I was wearing. A blank black hooded sweatshirt, which was covering a navy blue t-shirt with the University “M” smack dab in the middle - a University whose sport programs I am a fan of.

This made me recall a brief moment from my previous weekend. A few friends and I got together to watch the UofM football game and one of my buddies came dressed in a plain long sleeve tee.

Why was this noticeable? Because he was the only one out of us who wasn’t wearing a UofM decorated garment. Can anyone call themselves a true fan if they don’t represent their team during game-time? Honestly, in my opinion, you can’t.

To get back on topic, one of the reasons I wear what I wear is because I am a fan of a certain team (GO BLUE) and I want others to know it!

One of my favorite places on earth is at a tailgate. Thousands of people gathered together to cheer on one team or the other. And there is one thing that easily distinguishes which side of the ball each individual is on.

That one thing is a big deal. That one thing is the screen printed tee.

Author

Jake Paquin

On I (heart) NY

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:38:48 +0000

I (heart) NY. Everyone knows what I’m referring to and its not just a rip off of pop art genius (and fellow Hoosier), Robert Indiana. Its not necessarily the best tee, but its definitely the most recognizable. Its the Mona Lisa of tee shirts. Its the official garment of NYC (even though no one there wears them). But, what is so special about it is that it effectively communicates universally and in an iconic American visual language that transcends its stuffy high art influences.

The tee is the go to New York memento. It serves as a conversation starter, a souvenir and often, bragging rights for those who bring one back from to their small towns in the Mid-West. What differentiates the tee shirt from another souvenir is the direction of the projection of its sentiment and the generalization of those elicited thoughts. A souvenir, which is tied to an idiosyncratic thought, is thus rendered ineffective in communicating to someone not sharing that experience. The tee, in general, is contradictory to the general nature of a souvenir as it is used to tell everyone else something.

If one sees the I (heart) NY shirt, what comes to mind (assuming that person has never resided in NYC)? Yellow taxis. The Statue of Liberty. 9/11. Crappy slices of pizza. People yelling at each other on the street. Seinfeld episodes. It projects the generalized outsider vision of New York, a perception not tied to any specific event, personality or object. And it does this better than any other visual stimuli. Its right up there with the crucifix, the swastika and the golden arches.

Once, while in NYC visiting galleries and museums, I attempted to keep track of how many places I saw selling this shirt from my vantage walking on the street. I lost track (not enough fingers and toes). But I specifically remember one place that sold them 4 for $5. Save your money, anyone can buy one of the most pervasive and potent pictures ever created in America for $1.25 off a card table in Chelsea, which is across the street from a gallery that sells paintings by little know artists for $10k a pop. The I (heart) NY shirt is equally as important, aesthetically effective and socially relevant as a painting in a museum could hope to be, but unlike those paintings, you can have one (or 4 for $5).

Author

Jake Saunders

Digital Printing - May the Force be with you!

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:53:36 +0000

We've been tinkering around with our digital printing (aka DTG or Direct to Garment) toys for a bit now and I gotta say, we've gotten pretty darn good at it! Let me tell you - it's a whole different world from screen print or embroidery.

Our next series of blogs will cover a bunch of things we've learned so you can stay on top of the advantages, limitations, art requirements, etc in regard to the newest t-shirt printing technique.

You can look forward to discussions on:

the differences between printing digitally on light garments and dark garments
file prep
cautions - digital is not the best print method for some designs
cheers - digital IS the best print method for some designs

Let us know if there are any specific questions you have and we'll make sure to get those answered. Until then, enjoy our fun little video that shows the digital printing process!

Author

Tara Zanzig

How DTG printing differs from light to dark garments?

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:44:47 +0000

There’s a lot that is the same about printing light and darks. Shirts must be 100% cotton. The artwork needs to be submitted in the same way. The ink on the shirts must also be cured whether the tee is a light or dark color, so what’s the difference? The main difference is a step in the process called pre-treating. Only dark t-shirts get pre-treatment.

Pre-treating is spraying a starch like liquid substance on the garment, then heat pressing the tee to dry. The liquid acts as a substrate primer for the white underbase. Without pre-treating the white under base print sinks into the shirt and neither the white or any CMYK print colors on top are visible.

The image above shows how pre-treatment affects a digitally printed white underbase. The top portion of the design was pre-treated. The bottom portion was not. You can see how much brighter the white is in the pre-treated area. This creates a much better surface for the color print application.

Because of the pre-treatment, you may notice a slight discoloration of the t-shirt around the printed image. This is normal and disappears after the first wash. To best preserve the color of your print, it’s best to wash the garment inside out in cold water and dry on the delicate cycle using the cool setting.

Author

Tara Zanzig

File Prep & Other Tips for Amazing DTG Prints

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:37:02 +0000

Digital printing has some similarities, but is a bit different than screen print or embroidery in terms of file prep. Here's some suggestions to submit your file so that your end print looks like you want it to.

Use RGB color settings.
Illustrator files with fonts converted to outlines are recommended.
High res Photoshop files are also acceptable (150 dpi or higher at print size)
Be sure to eliminate any stray pixels in Photoshop.
White areas should be set to R 254, B 254, G 254
Black areas should be set to R 0, B 0, G 0
For smooth grey printing, use even numbers - i.e. R 60, G 60, B 60

Some colors don’t print digitally as well as others. Avoid bright, cyan type blues as well as purples and magentas. These colors tend to look muddy when printed.

Keep in mind that DTG printing is limited to 100% cotton garments. Garments with any kind of “coating” - such as stain-resistant aprons - should be avoided. In some cases we can print on 100% polyester - white only.

Be sure to wash the garment or t-shirt prior to wearing. You may notice a slight discoloation of the garment around the printed image due to pre-treating. This is a normal part of the printing process and will disappear after the first wash.

If you’re new to DTG, but want to get some tees printed up, be sure to have a conversation with your rep or an artist about what to expect. It’s best to have this discussion relating to the actual piece of art you’ll be printing.

Author

Tara Zanzig

T-shirts Tell a Story

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:33:25 +0000

You know that one dude who’s in his late fifties, has a big gut, long hair even though he’s balding significantly and always talks about how he saw Black Sabbath or some really cool band in their hay-day. Occasionally, that dude will break out his tee that he got when he went to see Pink Floyd when they toured on The Wall (which is a very snug fit after all these years) and we’re all at least a little bit jealous of this guy who can’t let go of his late adolescence.

This tee is the embodiment of everything he finds great. It’s a point of pride and its intention is to make it known that the wearer is part of a subversive and Bacchus worshiping subculture called Rock. Its intention is to make others wish that they could have been the wearer in the good old days (when sex and drugs were better or at least cheaper, more prevalent and no one got hurt from doing them, as he will inevitably profess). Yes, it was probably a good time.

The institution of the tour tee is an integral part of rock and roll culture which probably peaked out well before my birth during the fabled rock/disco wars of the 70’s, but I think that it has left an indelible mark on our perception of the live music experience. At one time, (in my lifetime) the tradition followed as such- one bought tickets at Ticketmaster in some record shop (do either of these things exist anymore?), went to the show, drank a few overpriced beers and stopped by the merch table on the way out for a tee with some grotesque image on the front and a list of cities and dates on the back. However, just like nearly every aspect of the music experience, this seems to have changed.

Maybe I’m loosing my edge, but I can’t recall seeing any tour tees for sale at any of the shows I’ve been to in the last few years save a few really big bands (You don’t know the how many ways one can blaspheme on a tee until you go to a Slayer show). When I was a kid I remember seeing them all the time. Maybe it’s just kind of a thing for high school kids and these older people wearing their Led Zep shirts just got stuck in their youth.

I think the tour tee was something idiosyncratic to Rock ‘n’ Roll proper, which has been dead for 20 years give or take (even the White Stripes are no more, lets all just accept this fact). Rock is dead and therefore, so is the tour tee. Maybe one day there will be a show in a museum of Rock shirts like there are shows of WW2 propaganda posters or dresses from the Victorian era. Lets hope.

Author

Jake Saunders

Why Embroidery is Awesome

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:15:52 +0000

If you stop by the embroidery department rarely, or are back there for only a minute, your experience may be a bit jarring. The sound of the machines can be quite intrusive. Noisy. Obnoxious.

Don’t leave so soon. Stay for awhile.

Watch the needles sew whatever it is they are assigned with perfect rhythm in co-ordination with every head on the machine. When one string breaks, each station stops exactly together. They begin again together just where they left off.

It’s almost as if the machines are running the operators. The ladies hop from head to head - repairing strings, hooping garments, and loading them as the embroidery machine requires. It’s really impossible not to be swept up in the flow.

Author

Tara Zanzig

The Difference Between Art Tee and Arty

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:55:38 +0000

Let’s say you’ve got a tee shirt with a design on it that you love. Just for the sake of argument, let’s also say that the design is in some way culturally relevant - such as the I heart NY t-shirt. Not uncommon. While we’re at it, let’s say you’re wearing this tee while enjoying a Saturday afternoon at the art museum and you’re looking at a famous screen print by Roy Lichtenstein that you happen love equally as much as the picture on your tee. Now, I ask you, which one is better or more important/relevant and why?

One justification for the high level of esteem (and prices) for fine art is the artist’s hand. There’s a romantic notion of the artist in his/her studio with a canvas and some paint, toiling in solitude, night after night and leaving a piece of soul in embedded in the paint. From a layman's perspective, this is one of the main things that differentiates fine from commercial art. However, since Andy Warhol's Factory, this notion has been challenged.

Consider Damien Hirst. Mr. Hirst is the richest living artist and shows his work in the bluest of blue chip galleries like Gagosian Gallery and White Cube as well as museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hirst is currently showing a series of dot paintings in 11 galleries worldwide, simultaneously. The shows will exhibit 300 of the estimated 1,400 dot paintings he has created over the years. The interesting aspect of these 1,400 paintings is the fact that Hirst himself estimates that his hand has painted only about 5 of these. These paintings are all conceived of and directed by Hirst, but executed by an army of assistants, working with machine-like precision.

Here’s were the justification for art’s (make that Art’s) high-brow, looking-down-the-nose stance crumbles. Hirst also has a line of screen printed tee shirts available at othercriteria.com. These shirts run at about $70. That’s expensive for a tee, but nothing for a Damien Hirst picture. A Damien Hirst dot screen print 38.5”w x 44”h costs $7700.

Both of these are screen prints, both of these are conceived by famed artist Damien Hirst, both have a relative (although somewhat immeasurable) amount of conceptual weight and both are produced in multiple (and could actually be reproduced indefinitely with no loss in quality) so why is one roughly 110x the price of the other? The reason is simple: Larry Gagosian can get $7700 and a tee shirt vendor can get $70. My contention is that we now live in a time and culture in which the value (all value, not just monetary) of high art, cheap tees, in fact all pictures no matter their origin or media must be judged on the same playing field because there’s potentially no difference aside from where the picture resides.

Author

Jake Saunders

T-shirt's Voice

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:57:22 +0000

Jenny Holzer is one of the icons of Post-Modern art. Since the 1970s, Holzer has been working in an unconventional medium, text. If one wasn’t familiar with Post-Modern art, he/she could easily see one of her works and not recognize it as art. Her works take form on virtually every substrate imaginable, everything from marques to condoms and from projections on the facades of high rise buildings to simple printed books. One of her mediums she’s been known to employ over the years to proliferate her subversive messages is the tee shirt.

Holzer is most known for one liner-like statements that are meant to elicit debate internal or otherwise. These texts are generally presented in very simple sans serif font in simple colors (usually white on black or vice versa). They are almost always level, no dressing, and at their most indulgent, scroll across an LED screen or the like. Her tees are in this vein.

Most famously, her shirt with the message “ABUSE OF POWER COMES AS NO SURPRISE” confronts passer-byes with a simple, one line message that does not point fingers, but prompts the viewer to do so. What is unique about the screen printed tee shirt as opposed to Holzer’s other mediums, is that the statement’s voice transfers from the artist to the wearer of the shirt (known or anonymous coupled with- female/white/26/punk rocker, black/male/54/businessman, Asian/girl/6/wealthy, etc).

This voice change serves to further compound the viewer’s response. If seen on a gallery wall, the viewer would consider who’s power is being spoken of from any context known or presented by or of the creator and their own preconceived notions. Seen on a person, the statement is seen as if spoken by the wearer and the “Abuse” is directed at or affecting the wearer first and not the creator or the potential subject implied by the statement. Wearing this art effectively obliterates the artist’s voice, transferring the statement’s origin to the wearer, who determines the context in which the statement is translated.

Author

Jake Saunders

Screen Print: New Kid in Town

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:37:34 +0000

Without screen printing, we couldn’t do what we do here at Sharprint. There are lots of ways to produce an image on a shirt. There are digital options, there is a long history of using relief printing, I’ve even seen etchings printed on a shirt and of course I guess we could sit around painting on them, but nothing is more versatile, efficient or effective as the screen print.

I studied printmaking in college and would often see very old prints on paper made from etching, before that there was engraving, earlier than that there were woodcuts and way way back, there were rubbings. Screen printing is often seen as one of the (relatively) new print medias in printmaking circles. Screen printing in art and popular culture really didn’t take off until the 1960’s, but what is surprising is that it’s origins actually began much further back than any other print media.

Screen prints are simply stencils that are held in a static and planar position by a sheet of porous material. Our modern incarnation was first patented by an Englishman named Samuel Simon in 1907. There are examples of stencils held together by strands of silk dating back to China’s Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD). This is generally cited as the earliest incarnation. However, there is a process in which a design is duplicated by forcing pigment through holes made in a piece of papyrus with a brush in Egypt as early as 2300 BC.

The process we practice here at Sharprint to make awesome new shirt designs might use computers running at gigahertz and huge machines running on kilowatts but, in essence, it is the oldest form of making images in multiple. The essential differences are plastisol inks instead of organic powder and nylon mesh instead of paper. We’ve only made improvements on the ancient Egyptians’ method of forcing pigment through holes.

Author

Jake Saunders

Sharprint Welcomes Zach Corn

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:39:12 +0000

We here at Sharprint would like to introduce you to our newest member of the team, Zach Corn. As our newest Customer Ambassador, Zach will be here to help you with all of your decorated apparel needs. So, let’s get to know Zach a little better...

The Zen diagram of Thrash Music/Youth/and My Career

It feels like since the day I was born it has been a constant struggle to find a healthy balance between the haggard, vagrant, miscreant lifestyle and the comfortable, bourgeois, upwardly mobile life I feel like I was meant to have.

When I first moved to Chicago I didn't know a lot of people aside from my room mate and his friends. They listened to soul music, drank a lot, and went to a lot of art shows. Good times, but I travelled a lot for work. Often I would come back from a week long trip to catch the tail end of a party. Over the course of that first year, I removed a lot of jewelry from holes in my face, became used to covering my tattoos with Banana Republic button downs, and even started trashing clothes when they had holes in them (GASP!). Some might call that growing up and I might even agree with them, but the thing that stung the most was my music. The gut scrambling, thought provoking, and maybe even a little bit obnoxious thrash music that had raised me wasn't fit for the crowds that I frequented. Maybe it was because peoples houses were a little closer together and neighbors a little less forgiving. One way or the other I lost a little bit of who I was.

Luckily, I was still in the decorated apparel industry...

I could be "Mr. Nice Guying" it up in my Khaki's and Blueberry Pique Polo shirt while my Hirax "Maniac" shirt was printing on our digital garment printer right behind me. Or maybe juggling a conversation with the buyer for a giant manufacturer and a conversation with a young couple about the best process for producing band tees. Being a part of the decorated apparel industry was helping me keep a foot in the world I grew up in. The world where tee shirts were always black and the music was always loud.

After a few years of that, I stepped out of the industry for a short period of time. It's surprising what 8 months working at an internet company can do to your tee shirt collection. I missed the smell of cooked tee shirts and spray tack. The sights and sounds of an eight armed tee shirt printing octopus hissing and spinning haunted my dreams. When I would see an old shirt I printed or noticed a new apparel company opening up in my neighborhood I knew I had to go back. Being a part of the decorated apparel industry hadn't kept me anywhere. I realized that putting studs on my jacket and sewing patches on to my clothes with dental floss WAS decorating apparel. Punk/Thrash/Metal was keeping me in the decorated apparel industry.

So here I am working as Sharprint's newest employee. Listening to G.I.S.M. on my headphones and sitting at a desk with a bunch of proofs pinned to the wall. Working with tangible objects that you can see and wear is a part of me. I have found my center. Holler at me if your band needs merch or you know of any good shows.

What's Big In Apparel Decoration?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:09:06 +0000

At the recent Long Beach ISS show there was a noticeable emphasis on dye sublimation printing. It is quickly becoming the favorite way to achieve all-over prints on t-shirts - even if you only want a few. Sublimation printing on t-shirts has a unique look that is different from screen print and tends to produce a lighter feeling result on the tee.

Advantages of dye-sublimation over other methods of textile printing:

Images are permanent and do not peel or fade.
Dye does not build up on the fabric.
Colors can be are extraordinarily brilliant due to the bonding of the dye to the transparent fibers of the synthetic fabric.
Truly continuous tones can be achieved that are equivalent to photographs, without the use special techniques such as half-tone screen printing.
The image can be printed all over the entire item, with no difficulty in printing all the way to the edges.

Disadvantages:

The printer speed is slow.
Any creases in the apparel during printing leave blank spots behind, although this is an accepted quality issue with all-over screen printing.
Garments must be 100% white polyester

Depending on the desired result you can have some fun printing on light colored tees or polyester blends for some cool affects.

Author

Tara Zanzig

8 Things You Should Know About Art for Screenprint

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:46:56 +0000

1. All shapes and sizes
First and foremost, submitting Vector art is always best. What makes vector art special is that everything is defined by shapes, as opposed to raster art’s pixels. This means the image never degrades at any size. A vector art image could be used for an inside tag, an all over print or a billboard without any pixelation or loss of quality. Vector images are very simple to change color, scale, orientation, etc. Also, vector images don’t need separations or the fees that go along with them, unless they are very very complex in color.

2. Changing Terrain
One often overlooked detail is the fact that the art being printed stays the same size, while the garment size changes. For example, if you wanted a design that goes around the collar, the collar is going to be a different size between a small shirt and a 2x and the art would need to accommodate that.

3. Bigger is better
Well... when it comes to raster art anyway. To print your images cleanly we need raster art that is created with at least 150 DPI at size. That is, if you’d like your raster logo to print 10” wide, the image must have been created at 10”w with 150dpi or more and not scaled up from a lower res file. Having some resolution to spare gives you flexibility with print size.

4. Its what’s on the inside that counts
The simplest file types to work with are vector files which are .ai, .pdf, .eps and raster images which files ending with .psd, .jpg, .tff, etc. Keep in mind it is entirely possible that a .ai file could contain raster art and that a .psd file could contain vector art. Think of the files types as boxes. A refrigerator box probably has a refrigerator in it, but there’s an off chance that there could be an angry raccoon in there.

5. What the font?
Text, when created in Photoshop or Illustrator, remains tied to the specific font associated with it on your system unless it is either rasterized (Photoshop) or expanded (illustrator). If we receive a file that contains unconverted text and we do not have that font, our systems will automatically replace it. Nobody wants to see Comic Sans when they wanted Trajan Pro.

6. Check it out!
The proofs we make with your art serve a dual function. First, they let you know details about what, where and how we are going to print on your garments. Second, they serve as a guide for our production to create your vision. So, if the proof states that a Full Front print is going to be 10” wide and you want it to be 8”, let us know.

7. A Horse of a Different Color
Inks are all at least a little transparent, especially dark blues (which its best to avoid if possible). If a garment is not white or very lightly colored, we need to lay down a layer of white ink to print on top of in order to keep the colors true. This is called an under base. It counts as a color on your order, so consider your color counts accordingly.

8. God is in the Details
The more specific you are with your needs, the better we can accomplish them. We want you to get what you want, but we won’t know unless you tell us.

See It For Yourself - Request a Quote Today!

Author

Jake Saunders

7 Screen Printing Artwork Musts

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:37:47 +0000

Screen printed t-shirts are awesome. Most times they look pretty cool, but the medium isn’t all encompassing. Follow this simple checklist of the 7 musts to make sure your art will print perfectly for screen print:

1. Check the level of detail. Most fonts are printable at 12 points or more. Line width should never be thinner than .3 points.

2. Assign Pantone colors. Pantone colors are the universal language for designers and printers and are used as guides to communicate the specific color you wish to achieve.

3. Be flexible with slight print color variance. Whether printing on light or dark color garments, there may be a slight variance in tone of the PMS color you called out and the PMS color that is printed. This is attributed to the difference is RGB color, print formulas and substrate.

4. Avoid Illustrator 3D graphics and gradient meshes. These graphics often don’t translate well from screen to screen print. Stick with simple color blends using the gradient tool to ensure your print will match what you design.

5. Use vector graphics whenever possible. These graphics maintain the original quality when scaled.

6. If using raster graphics, be sure the graphics are created at a minimum of 300 dpi at print size.

7. Consult a print graphic specialist or textile print artist. There’s an incredible amount of nuance to screen printing digital graphics on apparel. If you want to be sure your art will print just as you envision, ask an expert to review your art before placing an order.

See It For Yourself - Request a Quote Today!

Author

Tara Zanzig

Restaurant Uniforms Ahead of Garment Technology Trend

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:57:38 +0000

Advances in fabric technology makes it even easier to meet employer’s and employee’s uniform needs - particularly in the restaurant industry. This new technology allows uniforms to be less constricting, more stain resistant and easier to clean and breathe.

High performance fabrics commonly associated with athletic apparel can wick away sweat and moisture. This is especially beneficial for wait staff serving outdoor tables in summer months or in typically warmer climates. These textiles are known as hydrophilic fabrics. One brand you may be familiar with is Nike’s Dri-FIT.

Hydrophilic fabrics now available for restaurant uniforms are 100% polyester, however, the new knits are very different from the stereotypical 100% polyester garment associated with 1970’s fashion. These textiles use spun yarns for a truly cotton-like feel. Hydrophilic fabric is also soft and breatheable - perfect for active workers. The superior soil release qualities of these fabrics enable them to keep a new look wash after wash. Extremely durable, hydrophilic uniform pieces need to be replaced less frequently. This is an economical plus for employers. Hydrophilic fabrics are similar to 65/35 poly-cotton blends, although way more breathe-able.

A caution when designing a uniform line on polyester or polyester blends is the potential for dye migration. Whenever possible, print dark ink on lighter garment substrates.

Another fabric that can be more comfortable for active workers may be stretch based for flexibility. Many restaurant owners looking for new options are checking out pre-washed stretch denim.

Lycra® has traditionally been incorporated into fabric blends to add stretch. It’s not a perfect option because it’s rather hot to wear - especially if the employees job requires a lot of activity. A unique wicking Lycra® is available to increase comfort.

Flame resistant uniforms enhance safety, but are notoriously warm to wear for extended periods of time. Fabric improvements have made today’s flame resistant apparel more breathable and comfortable than that of the past, however, still not completely ideal for active employees. Nomex® is an example of one of the more advanced and comfortable flame resistant uniform fabric. A flame resistant finish can be added to a fabric that will also increase color retention.

Fabrics for active employee industries such as restaurants have made great advances and will continue to become more functional and comfortable for employees. Stay tuned for updates!

Author

Tara Zanzig

[Infographic] One Color All Over Print Layering Technique

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:33:32 +0000

One thing that plagues us as printers of apparel is those pesky seams. When the squeegee passes over a seam, it disrupts the constant and even pressure it applies. The resulting print will be uneven in the area immediately surrounding that seam.

This problem is exacerbated in all over prints where the image is printed... well, all over every seam. However, Carlos Ballesteros, our production manager, and his crack team of printing gurus have recently made serious improvements in printing all over prints on our Prerunner press, affectionately known as the “One Armed Bandit”, simply by layering the press bed with some stuff he found around the shop.

By providing a little bit of give on the underside of the garment, Carlos has found a way to produce much more even one color all over prints. When the squeegee passes over seams, the substrate gives instead of the squeegee, resulting in more even pressure.

Author

Jake Saunders