Beers, Burgers, and an Industry Icon

WITH THE PRINTING United Expo being held this month in Las Vegas, I have been reflecting on my early years of attending the industry’s largest trade show and the many experiences that have left an indelible impression on me. The first was a show from the former association called Screen Print ’85. It was held in Indianapolis and was where I first met industry innovator and friend to all, Joe Clarke.

Based on the meetings I had had with the association staff and the shirts I printed at their 1984 show, I was asked if I would be willing to speak at the next show. It was held during the Textile Graphic Session and the title was “Printing Lights on Darks — Two Opposing Views.” I was going to give my views on how to print on black T-shirts and Joe Clarke was going to give his.

Although we had very different views, the session was super successful. The purpose of these seminars was to get screen printers to think about ways to make better prints. Over the years, I gave Joe my input on many projects he worked on. I made it a point to let him know whether I thought something he invented would or would not work and why.

Fast forward to the SGIA Expo ’91 in New Orleans, which also hosted the annual Academy of Screen and Digital Printing Technologies’ meeting. As members, Joe and I were looking forward to catching up and chatting about the latest industry happenings. But we didn’t get much of a chance to talk to each other at the meeting, which isn’t uncommon. Instead, you usually end up speaking to whomever is at your table.

Joe mentioned that he had a new type of squeegee and wanted to discuss it with me. But I never had the chance to talk to him during the show as we were both busy running around and doing the things you do at a show. By accident, we bumped into each other at the airport. Since we had time to kill, we decided to get a drink and talk.

A New Type of Squeegee

It was at that airport bar that Joe told me about his latest invention, a squeegee he called “Smiling Jack.” The blade had a reverse-curve groove cut into it so it would flex and help promote even pressure. He sent me two models of blades. One was a soft blade and the other was a harder one. The idea was to get the pressure even on the pallet. I thought it was a good idea for graphic applications since those printers printed on hard surfaces and could build in consistency. But I didn’t see a future for it for textile screen printers.

Textile printers working with an automatic press tend to put too much pressure on their pallets, and eventually they become slightly curved because the shaft holding the pallet in place sits under the center of the pallet. For Smiling Jack to work, a printer would have to adjust for a variety of variables. These included determining if the pallet had a slight curve or not, as well as whatever the screen tension and off contact was. I don’t think he was able to get too many textile printers to buy into the idea, but he did have some success with graphic printers, especially those using a cylinder press.

Joe and I remained friends for a long time and talked whenever we met at trade shows. He is missed by so many of us in the industry and his inventions changed the lives of screen printers worldwide. RIP Joe!

Bad Decisions and Business

My next memory is a lesson learned the hard way by so many of us trade show “junkies.” They are fun times, but you pay for them. Some shows you never remember and there are those you can’t forget. Screen Print ’94 in St. Louis is one of those I can’t forget for many reasons. I quickly learned that there is a fine line between socializing and working.

This was the show where I put together a deal for the largest shop I’d ever consulted with and set up in the history of Bullseye Screen Printing Supplies, my former company. It was a graphic shop in Minnesota that specialized in four-color process printing on vinyl for Sea-Doo.

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Because of the need for exact accuracy, the shop had to be climate and temperature controlled. This is the first and only shop I have ever put together that needed this level of control. The relative humidity had to be held at about 75% and the temperature at 70°, or the other way around — I’m still not sure.

It was a half a million-dollar deal, and I was excited about it. So, I offered to meet the clients involved to discuss the details. We agreed to have breakfast on the second day of the show at the hotel where I was staying, which was across the street from the convention center.

Food and Fun: A Bad Mix

At the end of the first show day, there usually were many exhibitor parties and the one that everyone spoke about was the Stretch Devices party because of the interesting foods that were served. Owner Don Newman always has been known to do interesting things and this party was no exception. I love trying unusual foods and looked forward to seeing what was offered, contrary to what most people want — plain, old American food. Don didn’t disappoint me, but many other attendees were wary of the culinary fare.

There always were plenty of libations and, after having a great first day, we all drank way too much. The gang from the Imprinted Sportswear Show staff was at the party as well. Most of them were not adventurous eaters and, after a lot of drinking and staying out until about 2 a.m., the show director called for a stretch limousine since there were several of us.

We all got into the limo and many of the staff still was hungry since they didn’t care for the different foods served at Don’s event. So, we had the driver pull up to a White Castle restaurant and ordered about 30 sliders. When you have had too much to drink, everything sounds good.

Early the next morning, I was to meet with my clients for breakfast. But I wasn’t exactly on top of my game; I still was a little drunk from the night before. The new clients ate while I drank coffee. During our meeting, one of them asked if I had a seminar to present that morning. I looked at my watch and panicked. I responded that it started five minutes ago! I hurried across the street to the convention center and as I entered, I heard someone over the loudspeaker paging my friend and Academy member Scott Fresener to ask about taking over my seminar since I was nowhere to be found.

When I finally arrived at my room, I was blown away. They had taken down the partitions between three or four rooms because of the huge number of attendees. It was estimated to be a crowd of about 500, although the official count was listed as 350. But to my surprise, it was the highest attendance of any seminar at the show.

As often happens, we had a few issues during the seminar. Being dehydrated from my antics the night before, my lips stuck together, which was my problem. The attendees’ problem — especially the ones in the back — was seeing the samples I was showing. I thought to myself that even if they had binoculars, they probably couldn’t see what I was showing. It kind of defeated the purpose.

That day, many attendees came to my booth to see my samples, so I was correct that they were hungry to see them up close. I spent the better part that day sitting in the corner of my booth nursing a hangover. When you’re young, you do stupid things. When you’re stupid, you repeat them. I vowed to never repeat that night again, even though it was a lot of fun.

I really can’t say that I remember anything more about that show, but I did learn my lesson. At shows since then, I certainly have felt better in the mornings for wrapping up my evenings early and refraining from acting like I was in a college bar. But with my good behavior, the “fun” factor was never as present at future shows as it had been at that event in 1994. All I know is that the show was held in St. Louis again in 2002, and it was not memorable. For all the right reasons, I’m sure!

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