Custom Embroidery & Screenprinting by Bender Apparel Graphics

How to choose the best golf shirts?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:29:00 +0000

The definition of the term "best" can mean different things to different people. It all depends on whom you ask. So, when faced with the difficulty of choosing the "best" golf shirt, be sure and consider that the answers will vary. Some define the "best" as the most fashionable. Some will give answers based on what they find most comfortable. Still others will base their opinion on the type of material the shirt is made of. This will present a couple of options of golf shirts available and thus hopefully provide readers the opportunity to define the "best" based on their own tastes.

Golf shirts exist in every color of the rainbow, in all different patterns. They are also made in a variety of different materials, including cotton and polyester and are available in men’s (up to 6X in some styles), ladies and youth sizes. And maybe the best thing about golf shirts is that they can cost as little or as much as you are willing to spend. Golf shirts come in short sleeves or long sleeves. Some have collars and some don’t.

Up until a few years ago, it was considered a major fashion mistake to wear anything but a collared shirt when playing golf. Many golf and country clubs did not (and some still do not) allow golfers to play at their courses if the golfer wasn’t wearing a shirt with a collar. Things began to change when pro golfers began wearing golf apparel with mock turtlenecks. Mocks come in long sleeves and short, and they tend to be made out of lighter-weight materials. Fashionable and comfortable, mock turtlenecks certainly present a great option for golfers.

For the perfect combination of style, comfort and quality, golf shirts made of what is called ringspun combed cotton two-ply double mercerized material (yes, it’s a mouthful) allow an easy transition from a day at the office to an afternoon at the golf course. Lightweight and durable, most double mercerized shirts have a slight shine to them, providing for a clean, crisp look. The shirts look expensive and generally are. Don’t be afraid to spend a little extra money for such a high-quality item. Durability and versatility ensure that these shirts are well worth the cost.

The great news is that no matter what feature you find most appealing, there is a golf shirt available that will suit you perfectly. So, if you are looking to have your logo custom embroidered, we can help you find the ‘best’ golf shirt for your needs.

What are the advantages of pigment dyeing?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Your white t-shirt has its place. However, sometimes you need to break the mold and go for the irresistible lived-in look that can only come from a pigment-dyed tee. Incredibly soft, casual and comfy, the Authenic Pigment Pigment-Dyed Tee is the perfect companion to the best times of your life. Preshrunk and available for adults and youth, the unique pigment-dyed look just gets better and better with every wash.
Pigment dyeing is a process for coloring textiles which uses ground pigments, rather than a true dye. One of the primary advantages of pigment dyeing is its ability to adhere to a wide range of textiles, not just natural fabrics. The process of pigment dyeing can also be relatively cheap, depending on what type of dye is used and how it is applied. In some cases, the use of toxic pretreatment chemicals can be avoided, which makes pigment dyeing cheaper and more environmentally sound. Pigment-dyed garments tend to be less colorfast, since the pigment dye is a layer on the surface of a textile. As a result, the dye will start to fade much more quickly. This can be a disadvantage if it is not a desired effect, but it can also be used to create a specific "look" as is the case with fabrics like the denim used in jeans. Many pre-faded and "worn" garments are colored with pigment dyes to achieve this deliberately.
So, on your next order let us create a lived-in look with a custom screen print just for you.

5 Reasons Customers Choose & Continue To Use Bender Apparel & Signs

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:10:00 +0000

Experience:
Bender Apparel has been in business since 1990. We have grown from 500 to 6000 square feet of workspace in order to meet the needs of our past, present & future customers. We service corporate & small business customers, churches, schools, universities, and non-profit organizations.

Industry Knowledge:
Since we have been in the custom apparel and promotional products business for nearly 20 years, we anticipate your questions and concerns even before you have them.

Customer Service:
Our staff is always friendly, knowledgeable, and respectful. You may email us at sales@bendershirts.com or contact us at 888-222-9542 and we will be happy to answer any of your questions.

Quality:
All custom screen printed & custom embroidered garments, and promotional products are human-inspected for quality control. If you're not satisfied, we're not satisfied.

Guarantee:
All of our custom products are guaranteed. We require that you approve your artwork prior to production in order to satisfy & meet your needs.

Does Bender Apparel Donate to Non-Profits?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:00:00 +0000

This is probably one of the hardest things I deal with on a day to day basis. When it comes to custom screen-printing you are going to have a lot of custom screen printed non-profit custom t-shirts. That’s right; a lot of our customers are non-profit organizations. I do try to help some, but as you will see we don’t have a lot of room to discount our prices. We are already one of the lowest priced custom screen printers and custom embroiderers on the web. I will say that we proudly sponsor our state's Ronald McDonald Houses and our local Special Olympics.
I would love be able to give away more to some of hard work non-profit agencies, but it just is not feasible to help them all.
If you have any questions about this blog please contact me personally at 888-222-9542.
Berry Bender

Can I mix and match sizes in my order? Can I mix and match t-shirt colors/styles in my order?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:33:00 +0000

You can mix and match sizes as much as you need to in your order. Our quotes generally cover sizes Small - X-Large. There will be an additional charge for sizes 2X and above ($1.50 and up).
You can mix and match garment colors in your order. You can also mix and match garment styles in your order. For example, if you wanted to order 25 black Hanes Adult T-shirts and 25 black Hanes Ladies T-shirts with the same design custom screen printed on all 50 shirts, we could do that for you with no extra charges. As long as the design is the same and the ink colors/print size is the same, there would be no extra charges.
If you need the same design to go on white shirts and black shirts, it may be necessary to change the ink color so the design shows up correctly on the different color shirts. For example, black text that needs to go on white shirts, gray shirts and black shirts. The black ink would be fine for the white and gray shirts, but of course black ink won't show up on black shirts, so we'd need to change the ink color to white (or a different contrasting color). In these cases there is a $25 color change fee to cover the cleaning of the screens to get ready for the different ink color(s).

What types of art files do you accept?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:23:00 +0000

The better artwork you provide us the less we have to spend on custom art. We include an hour of custom art with every order. If it is over that we charge $35 per hour. Below is a list of common files we can easily work with.

* Adobe Illustrator (EPS, AI)

* JPG

* GIF

* TIF

* PNG

* Adobe Photoshop (PSD, PPD)

* Corel Draw (CDR)

* CDR

* CMX

* BMP

* PDX

If your file type is not listed above, please send it anyway. We will do our best to convert it into a file we can work with. If for some reason we can not work with the file(s) you have sent us we will notify you immediately.
How do I get my art to you?
You can email it to us at sales@bendershirts.com. You may also upload your art when placing a custom screen print or embroidery order at http://www.bendershirts.com.
Will I see a sample before you run my order?
We will send you an image layout proof of your final design for your approval before we start any production. If you have any questions regarding your artwork, please contact us at sales@bendershirts.com or call us at 888-222-9542.

How can Custom T-Shirts help my Non-Profit?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:48:00 +0000

Custom Screen Printing is one of the best ways to advertise or promote your organization if you are on a budget. I have one client that purchases 18,000 custom t-shirts from me so that they can raise money for a non-profit. That is a lot of money spent to raise money, but it works. Here is why. Businesses see that as 18,000 little billboards. That is, right on the back of every one of those shirts is my company logo and 10 or so others that paid good money to be on the back. I know that my logo will be seen by at least 18,000 people in just a few days. It also lasts. We did a September 11th shirt to raise money for the Red Cross. Just yesterday I saw one of those shirts being worn around town. That was six years ago. So, if someone is looking to get their non-profit logo out there at a low price per unit what better way than custom screen printing.

What is a good promotional item for summer?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:06:00 +0000

Summer is on the way and everyone is gearing up to go to the beach. All along the beach, viewers notice the waves, the people, and the beach towels. Having a pool party, a birthday party or promotional event? Make use of this exciting season by offering your attendees custom beach towels with a screenprint of your custom design or logo. You can even have your custom design embroidered on these products.

The Port Authority PT42 towels are made from 100% cotton terry velour, are highly absorbent and hemmed for extra durability. Get your custom beach towels at Bender Apparel and get on with the summer fun.

Offering Dog Shirts & Dog Tank Tops for Custom Screen Printing and Embroidery

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:00:00 +0000

We are now offering dog shirts and dog tank tops for custom screen printing and embroidery. Our dog shirts and tank tops allow you to customize them with your personalized message, logo, or design. Our dog shirt collection features:

Dog Ringer Shirt for small to medium sized dogs

Dog Tank Tops for small to large sized dogs

Dog Hoodies for small to medium sized dogs

Start designing your own dog clothing or use them as promotional items for your pet business. As always, you will enjoy our low pricing on our entire dog clothing collection. Use our simple no-obligation online quoting system to check pricing on all of our custom screen printing and embroidery products.

Chic Marketing Tatic with Custom Caps

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:22:00 +0000

At Bender, we’ve realized the importance of providing exciting promotional apparel that your employees, team or organization will want to wear. That’s why we offer a line of custom caps that can be embroidered or screen printed to show off your group’s message or logo.

Caps are no longer just a way to show support for your favorite sports team. Custom caps are a practical and stylish way to build awareness by promoting an organization’s logo.

Custom caps can be used as gifts, employee incentives and as giveaways at trade events. Well-made caps are durable items that your recipients will be sure to hang on to.

Bender offers a wide selection of custom caps that are affordable on any budget. We offer customizable embroidered caps, knit caps and toques in a variety of colors.

Our online quote system makes purchasing custom caps easier than ever, but if you need any help with choosing the right cap you can call us at 1-888-222-9542.

What are Promotional Products?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:18:00 +0000

Promotional products includes so much it is hard to know where to begin. Most people think of coffee mugs, pens and cuzzies. The best answer I can give you is any thing that has a custom imprint on it that advertises your business.

We now offer a full line of custom imprinted promotional products at www.bendershirts.com. From coffee mugs to calenders you will find it all.

Promotional products can be used in so many different ways. The best way to use some of the less expensive products is to just hand them out everywhere you can. Name recognition is what you are going after and what better way to have that than having a calender on someones desk with your logo and products printed on them.

If you have any questions about promotional products please call us at 888-222-9542.

Which Embroidery Machine is the BEST?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Well guys, this is one of those questions that everyone has an answer for. I will tell you what I have experienced. We started our custom embroidery business in 1990 with a Baruden and it was a definite lemon. The company came in and let us use a 4-head for a while, but I will always say that machine never ran right. We moved into Tajima and never went back.

I have been to many shows and the quality of a Tajima is evident even there. If you look at some of the other brands you can see more plastic parts, usually seem louder and just dont seem as sturdy as the Tajima Embroidery Machine.

Custom Embroidery is not an easy thing. It takes years to master custom digitizing and the ability to know what to sew on what fabrics. The last thing you want is an underperforming machine to mess that up.

If you have any questions about our custom embroidery please let us know.

Red House Tailored Shirts

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:24:00 +0000

Red House Apparel is one of the finest apparel makers I have used. From their silk shirts to their non-iron shirts. I love them all. I usually dont pick out one company to push, but I have been wearing this brand for 6 months now and I have been very impressed. The price point on this brand is a little higher than the next, but they are worth every penny.

The non-iron shirts achieve that superb looked effortlessly. They have different cuts and different patterns. I have other brands I like, but Red House is my favorite at this time.

If you have any questions on Red House or any other custom embroidered apparel please give us a call at 888-222-9542.

Why Custom Embroidered Hats Outlast Most Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:26:00 +0000

When choosing a promotional item for your business or organization you need to think about the marketing impact that the item will have. One of the best promotional items is a custom embroidered hat, cap or toque.

Using embroidered baseball caps or embroidered toques as giveaways not only makes your customers feel appreciated, but they can provide free advertising as your customers walk through the mall, park or any other public venue. Also realize that people are more likely to use your promotional hat, then say a custom mouse pad. You advertising dollars will also go farther since an embroidered hat never dates and will also outlast many other forms of advertising.

What I like of Custom Screenprinting

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 02:32:00 +0000

I was just thinking tonight that I really like my job. Sometimes Sunday nights watching football I think to myself, I would love to be able to sleep in tommorrow. I must say that I would have alot harder time with it if I didnt have the job I do. I enjoy custom screenprinting. Yes, this is the only job I know, but it is alot of fun.

I enjoy speaking with new people from all over the world who are looking for custom apparel and being able to help them meet their needs. Custom screenprinting always offers up new and challenging ideas. I must say there are times that make me think to myself how are we going to get all of this done, but we seem to find a way. Screenprinting has gotten alot easier with the technology age, but customers are also wanting more out of their custom screenprinted apparel.

I will talk more about some of the benefits of owning a screenprinting business a little later. Right now I have to finish the Colts - Chargers game. Have a great night.

What is Embroidery Digitizing Mean?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:22:00 +0000

Using digitizing software, a skilled embroidery digitizer transforms an image or text to stitches, creating the image in a file format an embroidery machine can read.

Well that is how we would define it but there is alot more to it than that. Just as typing words into a word processor does not make one an author, being able to open digitizing software on a computer does not make the operator an embroidery digitizer. Embroidery digitizing is not a click-the-button-and-sit-back process. Digitizing an image for embroidery requires an artist's ability to see the big picture and the smallest of details. Experienced embroidery digitizers mentally dissect each image, breaking it out into sections and layers, noting how each section relates to the others, how the colors blend and merge and how the shadows play with the light to create the mood or atmosphere the image evokes.

As you can see it takes alot of thought and creativity to be able to get the custom embroidery spool rolling :) If you have any questions about your custom embroidery logo or about embroidery digitizing please give us a call toll free at 888-222-9542

Embroidery Process

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 17:05:00 +0000

Custom Embroidery consists of two steps.

The creation of a computer program using specialized software to control the embroidery machine.
Using this computer program to custom embroider the logo repetitively onto custom apparel.
The first step, called embroidery digitizing, is typically a one-time process. It requires relatively clean artwork as a starting point. While, a business card, letterhead, or a decal will suffice as this artwork, camera-ready or computer generated graphics from a program such as Corel Draw or Adobe Photoshop result in truer finished embroidery. The digitizing process involves converting artistic elements into embroidery objects, and can become expensive for complex, detailed, or large graphics.

The second step, the actual custom embroidery, consists of first fixing the area of the garment to be embroidered in a device called a hoop. Next we attach the hooped garment to the embroidery machine so that it can be embroidered. Finally we remove the backing material used to stabilize the fabric during embroidery.

Once this is done we have a custom embroidered logo that is ready to be worn. If you have any questions about the embroidery process please let us know at 888-222-9542.

How many colors can I custom embroider?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:39:00 +0000

With custom embroidery at www.bendershirts.com you can embroider 14 colors at no additional charge. With custom embroidery we use tajima 6 head machines which has 14 needles on each head. Each needle holds a seperate color, which gives us alot of options on custom embroidered logos.

Most logos come well under the 14 color maximum, but if you have a custom corporate logo to place on you custom golf shirts we can do it. The best part is we dont charge you any more for the additional colors. As long as your logo comes under the 12,000 stitch maximum you will be charged exactly what www.bendershirts.com quick quote says.

If you have any questions about custom embroidery please give us a call toll free at 888-222-9542.

What size do you Custom Screenprint Youth Tees?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:50:00 +0000

In most custom youth t-shirts you have four different sizes. They range from youth x-small to youth large. With shirts in this size range Bender Apparel likes to custom screenprint a eight to nine inch logo. This would be for either a full front custom print or a full back print. We do use our judgement on each order. For example if you only order youth x-small custom tees then we would recommend using a smaller logo.

The norm for custom screenprinted youth tees is 8 inches. There are alot of conditions that can change that sizing. One of the main things is if you are printing adult size shirts and you want to throw in a few youth large shirts. We would recommend at that time custom screenprinting the adult logo on the youth large t-shirts. This will be a little big, but it will save the customer a good amount of money.

If you have any questions about custom screenprinting youth size t-shirts then please give us a call at www.bendershirts.com.

What type of Presses do you use?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:56:00 +0000

At http://www.bendershirts.com/ we use MandR and we also have Lawson. The most desirable is the MandR press, but they come with a pretty high price tag. A normal screenprinting shop can typically go with an eight color screenprinting press. Eight color presses will cover most jobs, but we use 10 color presses to handle some of those complex jobs that are out there. The MandR offer a lot more bells and whisles, such as pressure controls, electronic indexing, and more control of printing from the printing station. I will say that we started with the Lawson presses, but will buy nothing but MandR from here on out.

When it comes to automatic presses you get a lot more control of the print from the M&R which in turn produces better quality shirts and we like that. I can go on and on about MandR and probably will in some later post, but for now I will leave you with this. If you can afford MandR – Buy MandR.

Why does the cost per shirt change with quantity?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:59:00 +0000

In custom screenprinting price is always based on quantity and I will do my best to explain why. I would like to take an example of an order that we just completed to discuss the reasoning behind this.

We just completed an order that was for 500 shirts with a 2 color front and a 2 color back. If you refer back to some of my previous post on the printing process you will see some of what I am going to discuss in greater detail. With this order we had to develop film, burn screens, setup on press and print samples to get it ready to print. This all took about 2 hours to get it ready to print. That would have been the same on 36 shirts. We are able to split that cost across 500 shirts rather than 36. The printing is actually less time consuming on most orders than the prep work to get it to press. Just think on that 500 shirts we completed all the printing in about 3 hours and it had 1000 prints. This would give us a total of 5 hours on that job. On the 36 shirts we would have about 30 minutes in printing. So 464 more shirts only took 2.5 hours more to complete.

I think now that you see how much time goes into the setup you will understand the quantity pricing schedule. If not please give me a call personally and we can discuss, that’s what I love to do anyway.

What size is a custom sceenprinted left chest?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:17:00 +0000

We like to use our judgement on this question. I think different designs need different sizes. For example a customer had a logo that was very narrow, so I recommended using a 4.25 inch wide design. This would make the design larger than normal in the width, but not in the height. Normal sizing is 3.5 inches, but if I made her design 3.5 inches wide it would have only been 1 inch tall. I think that is too small. Most designs we custom screen print are at the 3.5 inch size, but we always like to be able to help the customer in deciding if that is the best size for them.

If you have questions about the sizing of your custom screenprinted left chest logo please give us a call toll free at 88-222-9542.

Automatic Sceenprinting Presses compared to Manual Press

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 02:24:00 +0000

There are a lot of differences between a manual and an automatic press, but we are going to hit some of the major differences today.

The main difference is in the speed of the printing. With a manuel press you have to pull every color by hand which becomes very time consuming on a multiple color job. So lets take a 3 color logo for an example. On a 3 color logo you would have to pull every color before one shirt is complete. On an automatic you can set up all 3 colors and set your index time to 11-14 seconds depending on the design and every time your machine indexes you have a completed custom screenprinted t-shirt. On average you can print 300 shirts per hour no matter how many colors are in your logo, on a manual press if you have 6 color logo you could lower you output to 25 per hour.

Another big difference is in the quality of the print. One of the concerns my customers have is in the thickness of the print. With manual printing the pressure is controlled by the printer. Most of the time the printing is a lot thicker on manual printing because the printer is allowing too much ink to pass thru the screen. With automatic printing you adjust the pressure with a guage which makes the print much thinner and makes the shirt easier to wear.

We will discuss other differences later, but these are the main 2 reasons automatic presses are much better to have for custom screenprinting.

4th Process in Custom Screenprinting

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:06:00 +0000

Well we are finally ready to custom screenprint t-shirts. With the hard work behind us we now are ready to set up the screens on the press. This is done in different ways depending on what type of screenprinting press is used. At www.bendershirts.com we used primarily automatic presses. This means that the printing is done by the machine rather than by hand. There are some advantages to using automatic press which we will tackle in another blog.

On the automatic press we place in screens in a sequence that best fits the design. Then we align the screens with the registration marks that were printed on each film. Once we have the marks aligned we place the ink in the screen. Now that the screens are filled with in we put in clean squeegees and run a test print to make sure pressures and alignment are correct. If there are any problems they are fix and another test print is run.

We now have a sample for our quality control representative to approve. At this point we can begin the printing. On our press we average about 300 shirts per hour. We now have a finish order that is ready to ship.

This is a general idea of the printing process. You can now see that custom screen printed t shirts is a pretty complex process that is very time consuming. At bendershirts.com we do our best to make sure your order is handled with care and every shirt goes out with top quality.

What size is a custom screenprinted full back?

noreply@blogger.com (Berry Bender) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:55:00 +0000

Bender Apparel Graphics has the capability to print up to a 16 inch full back. This size however doesn’t work will on small shirts. We usually print a full back at 12 inches. 12 inches gives you a good print area for a normal logo. The 16 inch logos are usually used for printing large designs seen in nascar and things like that. 99% of our full back prints are printed at that 12 inch size and we rarely have any complaint about the sizing.

If you have questions about custom screenprinting you full back logo, just give us a ring at 888-222-9542. One of our friendly representatives will be more than happy to help you with your screenprinting size.