WHAT DOES IT TAKE to thrive in a world of increasing Amazon-speed expectations? For decorators, the answer is crystal-clear: Rethink production by embracing automation and leaning into on-demand fulfillment, or risk being left behind.

“2026 will be the year decorators who’ve invested in automation and connectivity will start to pull away from those who haven’t,” says Jayson Tompkins, chief digital officer at STAHLS’ and founder of Fulfill Engine.

For those shop owners willing to adapt, the opportunities have never been greater. That gap will widen based on who acts on the opportunities now.

“Decorators should educate themselves on the current market shift, look at their business, and identify and implement technology and processes that solve their customers’ pains and needs,” says Ross Hunter, president and partner at ROQ US. “Now isn’t the time to be complacent and point fingers at factors that are out of our control, like geopolitics and economics. Our industry, as we know it, is changing, and the opportunity is to recognize it and be at the forefront of change.”

In 2026, more decorators will begin to automate production tracking and decoration routing via QR or barcode-driven workflows, shown in use here at USColorworks.

Automation and Print-on-Demand
Are the New Standard

The biggest opportunities for decorators going into 2026 are in technology integration and automation. “The availability of intuitive e-commerce has made it easier than ever for decorators to scale without major capital investment,” says Carleen Gray, CEO of GroupeSTAHL. “By leveraging technology, decorators can increase efficiency, capacity and product offerings — even outsourcing decoration through certified partner networks without needing to purchase additional equipment.”

By linking software, production and logistics, networked fulfillment eliminates friction between order intake and output.

“Those leveraging systems to connect sales portals, suppliers and production lines will gain scalability and speed that used to be reserved for enterprise-level operations,” Tompkins says. “There’s also growth in brand-on-demand programs — powered by corporate, influencer and retail collaborations — where small decorators can become fulfillment partners for national brands.”

With speed the expectation across the board, print-on-demand (POD) fulfillment is fast becoming the norm among decorator offerings.

“E-commerce isn’t just for consumer brands anymore — it’s becoming the infrastructure for B2B decorators,” Tompkins says. “By 2026, print-on-demand programs and white-label online stores will be a standard part of a decorator’s business model. This shift is already well underway.”

Fulfill Engine, for example, has enabled decorators to run private-label portals for schools, teams, franchises and influencers, all automatically connected to production.

POD has been a regular part of doing business for St. Charles, MO-based Shirt Co. for several years and continues to grow. “Everyone wants the ability to order one specific shirt with a specific design, and POD works for this,” says owner Connor McDonnell. “Using automation with ordering, as well as artwork printing and sizing, is key. You can process more orders with fewer people.”

And don’t forget that POD packs profit power because it’s not just single pieces. “It’s dozens, or even hundreds, of shirts for teams, leagues, and businesses,” says Josh Ellsworth, chief revenue officer at STAHLS’. “Screen-printed transfers give you the flexibility to deliver on those jobs without burning screens.”

POD has become a cornerstone of Monroe, NC-based USColorworks’ (USCW) business, growing from 3,000 to 5,000 daily units at launch to 32% of all output today. During peak periods, the shop now pushes 6,000 POD units a day, with year-over-year volumes doubling or tripling. By expanding into hard goods, multi-technique decoration, and automated kitting, the team has scaled POD into a repeatable, high-volume growth engine.

“Because companies can come to us for on-demand, we’re also getting their bulk orders,” says USCW founder and owner Rodney McDonald. “We’ve become a one-stop, one-vendor solution.”

Overall, consumers expect to see more products, less waste, and fewer transactions and inventory management, whether it’s a run size of one unit or 10,000 of one item.

“The ability to offer white-label stores to your customers isn’t just a must, but it’s also a recurring revenue stream for your business, like a gym membership,” Hunter says. “This also goes beyond decorated apparel. The technology behind launching these stores will also allow you to broaden your product offering to include promo and paper products by linking you into a network of other decorators with other specialties.”

The next frontier is smart merchandising: AI-assisted store creation, dynamic product recommendations, and integrated fulfillment across multiple facilities. “Decorators who offer store setup, merchandising, and fulfillment as a package will create long-term client stickiness that far outlasts traditional order-based relationships,” Tompkins says.

Looking ahead, customers are pushing for technology-connected, automated solutions. “They’re also looking for more decoration techniques, personalization options and hard goods available via POD,” McDonald says. “Plus, corporate programs are merging recognition programs and marketing programs.
Customers are quickly adopting POD fulfillment models. Decorators who can handle this in an automated process will be big winners.”

Screen printing still makes a lot of sense for large runs at USColorworks.

How Screen Printers
Can Stay Competitive

With direct-to-film (DTF) and other transfer types booming, many traditional screen printers are asking: How do we stay relevant? However, for printers willing to tweak their service offerings, there’s ample room to grow.

“Keeping screen printing relevant will be a challenge,” McDonnell says. “Transfers are improving fast, as customers are past their old stigma. DTF is proving just fine for smaller runs and on-demand stores. Screen printing still makes sense for large runs, but with today’s labor, equipment and cost pressures, screen printers need to go all in on transfers if they want to stay competitive.”

Ellsworth agrees. “Screen printers know time is money,” he says. “Not every job makes sense to set up the press for. With screen-printed transfers, you can turn around last-minute team orders, small leagues or event runs fast.”

Overall, heat-press printing offers a wide range of creative and operational advantages. “With its flexibility, decorators gain access to a wide variety of finishes and applications, from high-end patches and emblems to reflective, metallic and textured transfers,” Gray says. “It’s fast, clean and versatile, and can be applied to almost any substrate:  hats, bags, shoes, uniforms, performance wear and more.”

DTF is a powerful tool, but it’s not a replacement for everything. Screen-printed transfers, such as heat-applied plastisol or silicone, can deliver unmatched durability and color vibrancy, especially for retail or athletic wear. Traditional screen printers can compete by leaning into what they do best.

“That’s high-volume efficiency, texture and premium quality,” Tompkins says. “Hybrid workflows that combine screen-printed transfers for bulk or repeat designs with DTF for one-offs are already proving cost-effective and operationally flexible.”

Similarly, at USCW, McDonald believes that screen printing, DTG, DTF and other transfers are part of a decorator’s toolbox. “Print shops today need a variety of decorating types to stay competitive,” he says. “Large shops should lean into what makes screen printing the most effective: large runs and quick setups.  Additionally, our job is to educate our customers and sell solutions, not capacity.  We’re the experts who need to show customers where DTF and screen printing each make the most sense.”

You can easily train your staff to use a heat press in hours rather than weeks, and the required space, staffing, and overhead are dramatically lower compared to traditional screen printing. “Decorators who want to stand out should look beyond a single method,” Gray says. “The future is about flexibility, finish, texture and dimension — and heat printing offers it all.”

In a market obsessed with DTF, Ellsworth leans toward balance. “Screen printing isn’t going away — it’s evolving,” he says. “Transfers are designed to help you keep your doors open, deliver on time, and stay profitable in today’s competitive world.”

The Rise of Emblems
and Patches

Emblems, patches, and specialty finishes, such as Liquid 3D, are gaining traction and will continue to grow in popularity over the next year. In part, that’s due to retail-inspired decoration, such as patches, becoming identity carriers. “Brands are using them for tactile, premium storytelling,” Tompkins says.

McDonald sees the lines between retail and promo continuing to blur with these imprinting techniques. “All of these techniques are helping give promo an elevated retail feel,” he says. “This presents an exciting opportunity for higher margins. Smart shops will lead the way in new decoration types.”

As it becomes easier for shops to produce one-piece POD orders, emblems and specialty finishes will sell even faster. “Higher-quantity minimums in the past have deterred us from ordering these types of decoration,” McDonnell says.

In 2025, Tompkins expects wider usage of hybrid decoration, such as embroidered emblems on DTF-printed backdrops, along with lower minimum order quantities, thanks to digital cutting and automation. Even smaller decorators will be able to access on-demand embellishments through connected fulfillment networks.

“As decorators automate production tracking and decoration routing via QR or barcode-driven workflows, these high-touch products will become more scalable, opening the door for personalization at a premium level,” Tompkins says.

Heat printing offers a wide range of creative and operational advantages. Photo courtesy of USColorworks.

The Tech Sparking
Shop Growth

This year and into 2026, labor challenges in the industry are just as big as they’ve always been. “Finding good, skilled labor is a constant battle,” McDonald says. “Newer, digital equipment makes that even harder. Costs continue to rise, both in labor and supplies.”

Supply chain fragmentation is another challenge, as customers ask decorators to fulfill from multiple product sources, decoration methods and fulfillment points while maintaining consistent quality and branding. “The shops that win will be those who simplify the chaos with software-driven workflows and standardized data,” Tompkins says.

Labor and supply chain issues connect with the next challenge: capital investment requirements. “Staying competitive in 2026 requires ongoing investment in equipment, software and space, often faster than you want to commit,” McDonald says. “We’re seeing automation in the form of faster equipment that reduces labor needs. With DTF, there are new machines that can heat press 300 garments an hour at screen-print speed.”

Case in point: Mooresville, NC-based Swell Ink added the Hotronix Stampinator 480 to its ROQ presses in 2023 and quickly expanded to three units after seeing the results. The attachment gave the team more flexibility, from stamping white underbases instead of flashing and pre-pressing garments to applying transfers, smoothing textured fabrics and curing specialty finishes in-line.

“The first one was so eye-opening because we saw all the things we could do that we couldn’t do before,” says Mike Wesolowski, Swell Ink’s vice president of production. “The Stampinator is on another level and an attachment that can really change screen printing as a whole. It’s a game-changer. Our prints look and feel better, what comes out of the dryer is smoother, and that’s a real competitive edge.”

Shirt Co. added a ROQ Impress, an automatic heat-transfer press for high-volume garment production up to 500 an hour, capable of handling various transfer types, including DTF, screen print and vinyl. “This will help scale our transfer application,” McDonnell says. “Automation and low employee count are our goals for 2026.”

The biggest impact will come from software automation and connected production workflows, not just machinery. “Systems that bridge order intake, art approval, production and shipping through real-time data will redefine profitability,” Tompkins says. “In short, decorators who think like software companies will have a competitive advantage.”

Hunter agrees that software investments are the top priority for printers today. “The ability to automate your ordering processes, have a comprehensive warehouse management system (WMS), deploy white-label webstores with ease, and run sales pipelines effectively is going to be integral to the future success of your business,” he says.

Pairing an effective tech stack with automated processes and the right tools will make printers more profitable while decreasing operating expenses. “You’ll need equipment that automates touches in production — folding, bagging and labeling — with systems like ROQ’s Fold-Pack-Label,” Hunter says.

Once systems are in place, automate the touches on press and in finishing. Printers can also look to automate DTF transfer applications using robotics like the ROQ Impress-Feed-Peel-Pull system, automatic catching at the end of the dryer, and automated pre- and post-press for bulk applications.

Some technologies to watch include AI-assisted art preparation and routing for auto-separation and mockup, barcode and QR-based production tracking for SLA-driven scheduling, and integrated fulfillment networks that enable decorators to collaborate via shared APIs.

“Our industry is finally embracing standards like commonsku and open API connections,” McDonald says. “This will lead to better inventory, faster service and fewer friction points for the end customer.  What used to be difficult or low-volume work for shops is now simple and efficient to process. This integration will define 2026.”

New Markets to Watch

Technology is changing who decorators serve as much as how they produce. For decorators, the next year won’t just be about keeping pace with orders — it’ll be about finding the right markets to lean into. From schools and trades to global corporate programs, the businesses that identify and serve emerging niches will gain a competitive edge.

Tompkins also sees these markets as being goldmines for decorators in 2026:

• Corporate and employee stores, as companies rebrand and outfit global remote teams.
•  Youth sports and clubs for always-on-demand customized gear, bags and accessories.
• Creator and influencer merch, as microbrands become fulfillment clients, not competitors for decorators.
•  Hospitality and events that need short-run branded apparel for pop-ups, conventions and resorts.
• Healthcare and education that give steady, high-volume repeat orders where fulfillment consistency matters.

In the past, there was a clear delineation between corporate promo, sporting goods, and retail. “Those boundaries are disappearing, and decorators should focus on expanding their customer base and reducing the seasonality and risks of individual markets,” McDonald says.

Nearshore manufacturing will continue to accelerate, favoring decorators who can produce quickly and locally. “Retailers and distributors are rebalancing away from 100% overseas sourcing, as a lot of big companies are moving toward 80/20, which is a huge increase in domestic decoration,” McDonald says. “This will give them faster turn times and more focused products. Connected POD will be a huge advantage for decorators next year.”

Additionally, sustainability practices will also become standards. “That’s why decorators offering localized, made-on-demand production will attract brands wanting to reduce waste and shorten lead times,” Tompkins says.

Looking Ahead With Optimism

While there are always challenges, the opportunities far outweigh them. “The key is staying adaptable: embracing new systems, upskilling teams, and letting technology work for you instead of against you,” Gray says. “Those who modernize and adopt connected solutions will position themselves to grow faster and more profitably than ever.”

For decorators, the message is clear: In 2026, adaptability will be a major advantage for print shops. “Now is the time to look in the mirror and work on your business, not in it,” Hunter says. “Stop waiting and be a champion for change.”