Connect with us

Screen printers are known for their workmanship. Whether they’re producing with DIY kits, powering through some heat presses, or operating a full-blown screen printing warehouse, they rely on trade-specific skills in order to succeed.

But as any small business owner will tell you, it takes more than physical capacity to thrive. Print shops that succeed do so because they also lean on intangible qualities and core values that help them provide a better service.

The photos that follow illustrate 11 such qualities and values that can be  found in the DNA of successful screen printers.

Creativity

Screen printers are known to be a creative bunch, and Boogeywolf has packed all that artistic energy into a 1995 Chevy G-Series G10 van, which serves as his work space. The owner of the e-commerce shop, who goes by “Mr. Wolf,” has one vision for his brand: “to create things that I would love to wear.”

Boogeywolf prints range from simple phrases to character sketches, all referencing the horror genre and screen printed with white ink onto black T-shirts, tank tops, and hoodies.

In less than a year, Boogeywolf has established itself as the go-to vendor serving the online “horror fanatic” community – and a shop truly set apart in the screen printing marketplace.

Read more.

Salesmanship

The pandemic has caused the screen printing industry to rethink many aspects of doing business, not least of which communication.

Alison Banholzer, owner of Wear Your Spirit Warehouse (Huntingtown, Maryland), says COVID has prompted her to refine the ways in which she connects with clients.

“Rather than going back and forth in emails, we’re able to schedule a 15- to 30-minute Zoom meeting to iron out all the details of an order,” she says. “Now, with COVID, and everyone being ‘forced’ into virtual meetings, our customers have become accustomed to the practice and it’s a great way to communicate.”

Read more.

Digital Savvy

Consistent, creative marketing is imperative for any consumer-facing small business, as the folks at Vantage Brand Company (Fremont, Ohio) will tell you.

Having recently discovered the tremendous potential of TikTok, the shop amassed over 103,000 views of their content in less than two months.

“Just off of one video hitting 10K, we got two leads,” says Bailey Mezinger, social media manager. “Now, periodically, those videos are still getting hits and we’re getting leads from it on a consistent basis. At least one a week.”

Read more.

Flexibility

The “Amazon effect,” is a major driver for the screen printing industry, and frankly, most industries, today. Consumers want it how they want it, when they want it (which is right now).

Family Industries, a Los Angeles-based shop specializing in live screen printing events, has the ability to print 7000 shirts a day. Even while producing that volume, the shop makes personalization a priority, offering customers sundry options with the help of a customized app.

“People can design, drag, and drop different options. There’s personalization, they can create text in the app, and then [we] print out thousands of different items for the client onsite,” says owner Max Hellmann.

Read more.

Self-Confidence

Deonjala “Dee” Williams, the founder of Dee’s Sweet Tees, began screen printing as a side hustle” while managing a thrift shop at the same time.

Eventually, her decorated apparel business took off, prompting her to make a life-changing decision that has since paid off.

“I knew I wanted to print T-shirts for myself full time, but I didn’t know what that would even look like,” she says. “The day I handed in my resignation letter to my ex-supervisor was one of extreme nervousness and faith.”

Read more.

Opportunism

While COVID’s impact on the industry is self-evident, the crisis also presented opportunities to screen printers who looked for them.

At the outset of the pandemic, Iris Sautier, owner of La Bourgeoise Serigraphe (Montreal), joined a fundraiser benefiting the homeless. She offered prints at an all-time low price to make them more accessible to everyone, and the project turned out to be a big hit.

Designers from around the world sent her their designs, and Sautier sold 500 prints in less than a month. “The silver lining for offering my giclee printing services at a bargain price: the best advertising I could dream of,” she says.

Read more.

Poise

Every successful screen printer knows how to respond to pressure in order to meet deadlines.

That pressure is dialed up (way up) in hot-market printing – the apparel industry term for when a contract printer takes on the hefty (and often chaotic) duty of printing souvenir or keepsake items for the winning team in a championship game.

With the participants usually determined by other semifinal games, it’s difficult to do much advance planning. Being able to work quickly and efficiently and stay cool under pressure is key. It takes a certain type of shop to thrive in this high-stakes environment.

Read more.

Foresight

Signworx (Raleigh, North Carolina) was a traditional sign shop until co-owner Michael Wright got a bright idea to add direct-to-garment printing services.

His business partners were initially against the venture, but after five months of painstaking research, Wright won them over and purchased a AnaJet MP5i direct-to-garment printer.

The goal was to see a return on the investment in a year. They did it in six months, and today, they earn enough money for the monthly lease in just a week.

Read more.

Heart

BLOC Screen Print (Cincinnati) was started with the goal of providing skills to people who have experienced addiction, incarceration, and other challenges. Those who come to work at the shop spend 8 to 16 weeks learning skills and developing their work ethics.

Jim Green, BLOC Screen Print’s director, likes to tout the success stories of the people who have come through the shop.

He recalls one man who spent 18 years in prison and came to BLOC upon his release. With the life and work skills learned, he was able to land a full-time job, get his driver’s license, and buy his first car. “He changed his life,” Green adds.

Read more.

Social Consciousness

After an energy audit by a local utility company, Envision Tees (Dubuque, Iowa) set out to reduce its environmental footprint.

Envision installed sensors in the light switches in every room to conserve power. They began reusing boxes, packing materials, reject prints, and more. Some changes were simple. Others were monumental, such as an installation of 72 solar panels, which CEO Tom Rauen estimates offsets about 40 percent of their energy use.

“You can start small,” he says. “Shut off your computers at night. That’s saving energy; that’s helping the environment; that’s reducing your electrical costs.”

Read more.

Persistence

The pandemic understandably produced a feeling of uncertainty the industry has never experienced before, but that anxiety only brought out the best in the screen printing team at ECI Technologies (Watertown, Connecticut).

CEO Edward Cook observed employees turn their fear into more understanding and empathy for each other.

“Everyone, without being asked, has just started to help more,” he says. “I see new leaders emerging who were not evident before. It’s a wonderful thing. Everyone is rolling up their sleeves to help the team.”

Read more.

11 Photos That Show What It Takes to Be a Screen Printer

11 Photos That Show What It Takes to Be a Screen Printer

Screen printers are known for their workmanship. Whether they’re producing with DIY kits, powering through some heat presses, or operating a full-blown screen printing warehouse, they rely on trade-specific skills in order to succeed.

But as any small business owner will tell you, it takes more than physical capacity to thrive. Print shops that succeed do so because they also lean on intangible qualities and core values that help them provide a better service.

The photos that follow illustrate 11 such qualities and values that can be  found in the DNA of successful screen printers.