T-shirt Purchasing Tips

Are you in the market for a custom screen printed t-shirt or an embroidered polo shirt? There are many causes for these. Regardless of the reason, everyone wants the best price and quality that they can receive. You should consider that the lowest price is not always the best value or quality. Because of that, we recommend that you research the silk screening company that you are considering to use. Is that company listed on the list of Better Business Bureau with a good rating? Are there any reviews, positive or negative, online of their performance? Yes, it may seem like a gamble to find the best company for your custom tee shirts, but the more positive information you have, the better chance that you will have to receive quality product with on time delivery. Make sure that you are actually talking to a St. Louis based T-shirt printing company. There are a lot of companies that have a website which gives the impression that they are based locally but in fact they are based out of state.

We suggest that you acquire at least three quotes from three different St. Louis silk screening businesses. In this way, you can assure yourself that you will receive a fair price. Make sure you communicate with each of them the exact thing you want to accomplish. What type of t shirt do you need? What image(s) and how many colors will you be using? This is to ensure that each company is quoting the exact same thing. An open line of communication is a big deal on your part and on the part of the screen printing business.

One of the things that our company provides for our customers is a virtual proof of the finished tee shirt. Believe it or not, this is not always the case for every company. This proof will show you exactly how everything is laid out and the images. It is at this point that corrections can easily be made if needed. When you receive your completed custom shirts that is not the time to find and correct mistakes.

There are many St. Louis screen printing and embroidery companies that you could use and we well know that. We are asking for an opportunity, though, to quote your requirements for custom tee shirts. We know that we can do a great job for you. We are available to take your calls at any time. Give us a call today.

Posted in T-Shirt Printing St. Louis Posts | Leave a comment

When Purchasing Your Embroidery Machine

If you have ever entertained the thought of starting up your own
custom embroidery company. Here is something to consider when
researching what type of embroidery machine you should purchase?
Should I look for a brand-new piece of equipment or would I be better
off buying a used machine? I would have to say that it is all relevant
to the price as well as how well that particular piece of equipment
was maintained. An embroidery machine is similar to a car, where at
the moment it is driven off the dealers lot, it will depreciate up to
25%. I feel that you are much better off purchasing a machine that is
3 to 4 years old where the lion’s share of the depreciation has
already happened assuming that the equipment has been well maintained.
So many people make the mistake of taking out a substantial loan in
order to purchase their embroidery machine before they have the
clientele to justify that monthly payment. Why not purchase a used
embroidery machine for a small fraction of what you can buy a new one
for? Another thing to consider is how many sewing heads will I need?
Every year there are trade shows in almost every major city, with all
the different manufacturers. This is an excellent place to at least
compare apples to apples when buying new equipment. Here is something
to be aware of at these trade shows. One of the things that bothers me
in particular at the shows is the sales representative who is trying
to convince the uneducated shopper that he can make a good living with
a one head machine. This simply is not true. A one head embroidery
machine is only capable of sewing one item at a time. Therefore, your
production capability is extremely limited. Do not fall for this. The
initial investment for a single head unit is obviously less than a
multiple head unit, but if it only lends itself to a small amount of
T-shirts for finished caps a day, then how was that a good value? You
get what you pay for.

I personally would recommend the purchase an extended service contract
when buying a new machine. To not have one is like playing Russian
roulette. It?s not a matter of if your embroidery machine is going to
eventually breakdown but it’s more like when you’re equipment
eventually breaks down.It?s only a matter of time.The manufacturers,
engineer these machines with planned inefficiency. They take into
consideration how many hours that particular machine will run
effectively before things start to wear out. If you don’t have that
warranty, then you might have to pay for a technician to not only fix
and replace the part that malfunctioned, but you could quite possibly
have to cover his traveling expenses and overnight hotel stay if they
don’t have a repair office in your city.

Posted in T-Shirt Printing St. Louis Posts | Leave a comment

Headwear Embroidery

Headwear embroidery is an enormous piece of the overall embroidery industry. It appears that the application of caps far outnumbers all other blank good products. That being said, applying embroidery to a finished product is much more difficult and normally is accompanied by a much higher spoilage rate than traditional shirts and jackets. Why? Because shirts are flat and finished caps have to be sewn on a radius.

Keep in mind that no matter how accomplished the operator is when it comes to applying the logo, he is never any better than the software that tells the computer how to sew it.

A logo that was digitized to be sewn on a radius will always work on flat goods, but that same image that was digitized for flat apparel will not always work on a radius.

The operator is never any better than the software that tells the machine what to do.

The most common problem that is incurred is registration issues. Sometimes the image will have a tendency to shift out of position. Trying to take a round surface and flattening it out, lends itself to distortion.

I have found that investing in the proper hooping frames can lend itself to keeping problems to a minimum. They cost a little bit more upfront, but will quickly pay for themselves by offsetting the amount of misprints.

Even after investing in top quality hoops you may still have problems.  The curve of the finished cap must perfectly meet the curve of the  frame and if it doesn’t you were most likely to incur problems.

 

Posted in T-Shirt Printing St. Louis Posts | Leave a comment