New T-Shirt Designs from Great Dane Graphics for 2012
Dec/111
It’s been said many times in the decorated apparel industry that the design is what sells the shirt. Great artwork with a theme or genre that is current and popular can’t be kept on the shelves, but dated artwork that looks like the same old thing can’t be sold except as a clearance item.
For this reason, the success of any decorated apparel shop depends on offering great, cutting-edge artwork. And one of the best things about Transfer Express is that we offer a comprehensive library of new and traditional designs that gets updated and expanded all year long. No matter what graphics your customers are requesting, we will have them in some form or fashion.
We are excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Dane Clement of Great Dane Graphics and are releasing new fresh customizable designs over the next few weeks. Be on the lookout. We will be releasing a few designs at a time. Here’s a sneak preview of what you can expect.
New Layout QTS-55
Customized New Layout QTS-55
Why do our top customers buy from us?
Dec/110
Recently I was listening to a webinar by Jeff Gitomer who has written many great publications about marketing and has a weekly email newsletter, Sales Caffeine. He challenged each person to ask your best customers, why do you buy from us? As he said, if your top customers buy from you for these reasons, others will want to for the same reasons. Your customers have written your marketing materials. This is a great exercise for your own store as well.
5 reasons our top customers buy custom transfers from us:
Speed – all commented on how fast our service is, and not only how quickly we get it out the door but also, especially for those on the west coast, how fast it arrives with Speedy Air service, 2 day air for the price of ground.
Reliability – as often as speed, customers commented that not only is the order fast, but it ALWAYS ships on the day we tell them it will.
Education – many of our customers complimented the many education resources we offer, all at no charge, videos, blog tips, webinars and innovative website.
Choices – we are known for our Easy Prints®, and they are ever growing with the largest collection of professional created art that can be customized.
Ease of Business – every company has a system, but customers complimented our dealer service team, the speed we reply to emails and get back to them with quotes sent via upload.
Layout QAL-219
The Ins and Outs of League Business
Nov/110
Yesterday with Doug Wilcoxson of Bomark, we hosted an all day seminar on the ins and outs of league business here at Transfer Express.
Ben Reutter and Chris Ulrich of Transfer Express hosted an all day seminar on league business.
Doug discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the league business. The advantages are a reputation in the community, many uniforms to decorate and the stability of the league business even during down times. The disadvantage is a lot of business all with the same delivery demands, add-ons, and low margins.
He reviewed ideas for overcoming these disadvantages such as getting them to buy an extra uniform right from the start, the use of transfers so that you do have the one extra to apply in seconds and using the delivery as an opportunity to advertise for more profitable business.
He also emphasized the importance of getting 50% down when ordered, and the rest on delivery because leagues have all of their money paid when sign up ends before the season starts, and as the season progresses payment for grass cutting, lights, umpires, etc may drain an ill planned budget.
Doug from Bomark explains the ins and outs of league business at an all day Open House Seminar hosted by Transfer Express.
Doug also brought samples of the uniforms distributing by Bomark. He will be presenting this same seminar at upcoming ISS shows, so if you are at a show it is a great investment of time in your business.
Embroiderer Offers Tips for Success When Selling At On-Site Events
Oct/110
Marjorie Corrow has found that a great way to supplement her custom embroidery business is by traveling to events where she sets up a table or tent and sells a variety of decorated sportswear to the attendees.
Although she is primarily an embroiderer, she has found that custom transfers allow her to offer greater variety and she loves the ability to press designs on demand, which means she is not stuck with a lot of printed inventory at the end of the day.
Her business, Life’s A Stitch Embroidery LLC, Niskayuna, N.Y., returns to many of the same events year after year and she reports, she has customers who can’t wait to see what she will have new each year.
According to Majorie Corrow, president, Life’s A Stitch Embroidery, Niskayuna, N.Y, exhibiting at a conference generates sales not only during the event, but afterwards as well as sometimes she will run out of a size and color, and the customer will order it and have it shipped.
But while the money can be good, there are things to know ahead of time before deciding if this might be a good proposition for your decorated apparel business.
One of the biggest rules is if you are coming back to an event you have done before, while you do want to bring any designs you had leftover from last year, but you do not want to offer them printed exactly the same way on the same style of apparel.
Corrow feels that her efforts at creativity are a big key to her success. “I typically do one or two samples to put on display. I always try to do one that is really cool and not your typical center chest imprint. The goal is to do something attractive and different and give people ideas,” she says.
Two of Corrow’s most popular items at conferences are hoodies and flannel pants. She uses transfers on the pants as it’s much faster, easier, and cheaper than using a big embroidery design or appliqué.
Because she brings a heat press and designs with her, she also can offer some customization to her clientele. “They can tell me what they want, and I do it right in front of them. I will cut up little bits of the logos and put parts of the logo in one place and another. I’m not afraid to experiment. I’m very low key and happy to do what they want.”
The decorator also makes sure she offers at least one exclusive design each year.
“With permission, I take the conference logo and get creative with it, and I put that on a signature piece. So every year at the conference is a new signature piece from me,” she says.
Ideally, the embroiderer wants to have some extra designs on hand for the inevitable follow-up orders. “Post-event orders happen frequently, and I encourage it,” she says. “Customers will want a sweat shirt in a color or style that I don’t have.”
Ganging designs on a page when ordering transfers also helps keep costs down.
“I try very hard not to overbuy transfers,” she says, “and I may pay a little more as a result. But I’ve become pretty sharp about how to place them on the page to get the most bang for the buck.”
And in some cases, running low on a design can actually be a plus. “Sometimes it creates a perception of ‘hurry up they are running out’ and that enhances sales,” she notes.
Of course, it’s not possible to perfectly guess how much you will need for any given event, and having some leftovers is a cost of doing business. “If I have anything left, I mark it down, bring it the next year, donate it, or give it away. Regardless, I get my money out of every conference.”
Expect to pay a fee for the opportunity to exhibit at a conference, says Corrow, and she also offers a cut of the sales on items with the conference logo or some other arrangement that helps the organization make money. “I do not make megabucks at these, but it is my way of helping non-profit groups in other ways besides a cash donation,” she notes.
You also will need permission to use the conference name and logo on merchandise and if she is going to offer cut up designs, she makes sure she has permission from the conference in advance to do that.
Embroiderer Caters To Conferences With Print-On-Demand Transfers
Oct/110
Conferences are a great niche for custom transfers because they allow you to offer a customized shirt without committing inventory. You may be left with some extra designs, but these can be used for follow-up orders after the event or for next year’s gathering.
By visiting a website like http://www.allconferences.com/, almost any decorator can easily identify if there are any worthwhile conferences near them that would make it feasible to pack up a truck or van with shirts, designs, and a heat press and spend a busy weekend selling logoed merchandise.
For Marjorie Corrow, president, Life’s a Stitch Embroidery, LLC, Niskayuna, N.Y., (http://tinyurl.com/6k6tzsw) custom transfers have been a profitable decorating method to use as she travels to conferences held by Christian youth groups and child abuse prevention organizations. Although Corrow is primarily an embroiderer and brings a few pre-embroidered items with her, the majority of her merchandise is printed onsite.
One lucrative niche that Marjorie Corrow, president, Life’s A Stitch, Niskayuna, N.Y., caters to is conferences. Although she is primarily an embroiderer, she has found that transfers allow her to easily expand her offerings and increase her overall sales.
“I invest in a lot of blanks and about $200 in transfers,” she says, “and I use them for a couple of years. For example, I have two logos I use every year for my Christian youth group.”
One secret to success in catering to conferences is knowing what to bring. Corrow selects a nice variety of apparel appropriate to the event, which typically includes T-shirts, sweat shirts, caps, and women’s tops as well as miscellaneous little things.
“I usually have hoodies and T-shirts with the conference logo on the front chest, down the sleeve, or down the leg. I also bring a selection of blank flannel pants. I typically buy a lot of closeouts that I don’t pay a lot on. I have a good relationship with the wholesaler, and it will let me return closeouts,” Corrow says. “Of course, you have to be at a certain sales volume, and you have to return goods within a certain amount of time. But it allows me to send back apparel that isn’t logoed even though I have to pay the shipping.”
“I have a pretty good feel for how much and what sizes,” the decorator notes. “I only bring things I can sell in subsequent years. That is something that you learn over time.”
Corrow has found that even though she’s often bringing back an old design, she can still sell another piece to last year’s customer by changing the garment it’s applied to.
“For a prevent child abuse conference, I have a design that is hands with spread fingers and thumbs entwined in different colors, sizes, and configurations. They form a U-shaped necklace, and I apply it to the neckline of either a scoop-neck ladies’ shirt or a regular T-shirt.
“This conference is mainly women in helping professions, and the hands symbolize helping. They absolutely love it, and every year I put the hand design on a new piece,” she says.
Each year, Marjorie Corrow exhibits at a Prevent Child Abuse conference where one of her most popular designs is intertwining hands, which she embroiders on women’s wear and bags. She uses transfers for hoodies, flannel pants, and doggie Ts.
Heat Printing Zone at SGIA featuring Ted Stahl
Oct/110
Visitors to the SGIA Expo in New Orleans will experience many interactive exhibits, from hands-on demonstrations to product giveaways. Don’t miss out on your chance to interact with industry pioneer and Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame member Ted Stahl.
Ted will be hosting question and answer sessions in the Stahls’ Heat Printing Zone on Wednesday, October 19 and Thursday, October 20 at 1:15 pm. Ask Ted any questions you may have on heat printing and garment decoration and benefit from his over 35 years in the garment graphic industry.
So get to the Heat Printing Zone and see Ted – he wants to hear from you.
Find the complete schedule of events in the Heat Printing Zone here.
Magic at the SGIA Expo
Sep/110
To most consumers, garment decoration is a mystery. Somehow, somewhere, people take plain shirts, jackets, and hats and Shazam! make them into great-looking apparel. You can see the magic happen firsthand at the 2011 SGIA Expo in New Orleans, October 19-21. Nobody will be wearing top hats or capes, and no rabbits will be pulled from hats, but there will be hands-on demonstrations, informational sessions with industry experts, and even prizes and giveaways.
It’s all happening in the Stahls’ Heat Printing Zone. There you’ll find refreshments, samples, demonstrations, and forums with world-class experts. You’ll learn how to decorate your customers from head to toe – literally. Topics include printing on headwear, creating graphic T-shirts, and customizing shoes, as well as discussions on industry trends and innovations. Plus, you’ll have the chance to win a Hotronix® Fusion™ heat press at our Friday drawing.
And don’t forget to visit our other areas.
In booth #1245 you’ll be able to see samples of Transfer Express’ screen printed transfers and get more information on our products.
The Digital Apparel Zone(#3125) will have live demonstrations of cut and sew equipment, heat transfer and print/cut technology, and cutting-edge techniques in digital apparel decoration.
Cap off your day with a visit to the Screen Printed Apparel Training Zone (#3319). Each day at 3:30 pm Josh Ellsworth of CAD-CUT ®Direct will demonstrate the use of screen printed transfers and heat press machines, as well as a thorough review of heat applied materials.
Stahls’ is Heat Printing, so be sure to visit us at the SGIA Expo and on Facebook.
Facebook Marketing Tip No. 1 – Show Off Your Shirts On Facebook
Sep/110
While more decorated apparel shops are understanding the worth of putting up a Facebook business page, many are still struggling with what kind of content to post. To make your Facebook a viable business tool, you must find the right balance between fun and interesting vs. promotional information.
People are on Facebook for mostly social reasons, and they do not want to be bombarded with what is going to be considered advertising for a business. However, there are a number of ways to communicate what services you offer without being offensive or blatant.
One of the easiest ways to promote yourself on Facebook is to show off your work. When you finish a job that you’re proud of, make sure you take a photo of it and post it up on Facebook. Tell a little bit about it. Good examples are what was the purpose of the shirt, who did the artwork, and how it was decorated. Even better, see if you can get customers to shoot a photo of a recipient or their customer wearing the shirt.
If you think about it, having a shot with your customers happily wearing shirts you created is probably one of the greatest testimonials you can get. Even without copy stating “I love my shirts from The ABC T-Shirt shop,” the photo says it all.
All shops have favorite customers with whom they have a great relationship. Consider asking some of your best customers if they wouldn’t mind taking a photo sometime of some work you’ve done for them. It’s a painless, inexpensive way to gain some valuable exposure for your business, and your customers will probably be flattered to see you post their shirts on Facebook as well.
Put photos on Facebook of customers wearing their shirts.
Tips for Screen Printing Custom Artwork: Tip 3 – Converting Text to Curves
Aug/110
One of the questions we recommended in Tip 2 that you ask your customers when they provide artwork was to ask about the fonts and to make sure they were converted to curves/outlines. We will cover that in more detail this week since it is probably the most important aspect when sending in custom artwork for screen printing.
Text in artwork needs to be “converted to curves”. This means that once the text is converted, it is no longer text. It becomes a shape or in other words, a piece of art. The benefit of this is that no matter which computer the file is being viewed on, it will appear the same. It is no longer dependent on having the font installed on each computer. This ensures that your artwork looks the same on our computer as it did on yours and the computer your customer created it on.
To convert to curves in CorelDraw®:
- Select your text
- Click the ‘Arrange’ menu
- Choose ‘Convert to Curves’
The 'Convert to Curves' option is located under the 'Arrange' menu in CorelDraw
Make sure you do this for all text that is in the file.
To convert to curves (create outlines) in Adobe Illustrator®:
- Select your text
- Click the ‘Type’ menu
- Choose ‘Create Outlines’
The 'Create Outlines' option is located under the 'Type' menu in Illustrator
Again, make sure you do this for all text that is in the file.
Making sure that your text is converted to curves is extremely important. Watch our video tutorials on converting text to curves and then also reducing the node count afterwards.
