Shooting for Basketball Printing Profits
Dec/110
The NBA Strike has been settled, college and high school basketball has begun and local recreational teams are getting started as well. Now is the time to help these teams with uniforms and apparel.
We can help you uniform the team to start. Reversible jerseys are especially easy with custom transfers. See our new video! Most basketball uniforms only use the digits 0-5 when numbering keeping your costs low—a pack of each digit will number an entire team! Don’t forget to offer printed bags, all basketball players carry their shoes to the court and our CAD-PRINTZ™ Opaque work great on the popular nylon cinch bags.
Reversible jerseys are easy with custom transfers.
Even greater profits are available from spirit wear. We have 120 layouts ready to customize for your team’s fans. Use Easy View™ to make the team up a flyer to pass out to family members.
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.
5 Trends Team Dealers Need To Watch and Tools to Help Meet Those Needs
Jul/110
Decorate your full uniform with Transfer Express - uniform front, names, numbers, helmet stickers
In the July issue of Team Dealer magazine, the top 5 trends team dealers need to watch was listed:
- Rising Importance of Parents
- Rising Importance of Ecommerce
- Shorter Lead Times
- Growth in Stock Uniform Sales
- Spirit Pack Sales Soar
We have many tools to help you meet the needs these new trends create.
Our website becomes your website with our generic site you can use with parents—Easyprints.com. This site has no contact information and can be linked to your own site or used as an online reference for teams and their parents. So, even if you don’t have the budget for your own site, you can make the Easy Prints site your own. Include the site on your own business cards and literature with information on how to order.
Once your customer has used Easy Prints to choose a design, same day shipping is available for single color orders when ordered by 11 AM EST so you can offer your customers the shortest lead times possible. Once the custom transfer is printed, it can be applied to your in stock uniforms in just seconds so your customer is ready for today’s game.
To help with spirit sales we offer pages full of layouts and free online flyers that can be used as is or personalized for a specific team.
We also now offer 6″ 2 color numbers in 34 different color combinations.
New 6”-2 Color Screen Printed Transfer Numbers
Jul/110
We now have a complete line-up of two color 6” screen printed numbers (plastisol), perfect for youth leagues! These two color numbers apply in one, easy 4 second application with a heat press. These transfer numbers are available in our best selling Champ style, a varsity, athletic full block number style. The numbers are sold as low as just 31¢ per digit making them very economical. They can be purchased in packages of five, team oriented Express Packs (60 digits), or best value league size Number Kits (315 Digits). Order today before 3:00 pm eastern and they ship the same day!
New color combination for 2 Color 6" Champ screen printed transfer numbers
List of color combinations:
- Black/White
- Black/Gold
- Black/Red
- Black/Orange
- Black/Grey
- Black/Vegas Gold
- White/Gold
- White/Black
- White/Red
- Burgundy/Vegas Gold
- Dk. Green/White
- Dk. Green/Gold
- Dk. Green/Orange
- Dk. Green/Grey
- Dk. Brown/Orange
- Gold/White
- Grey/White
- Kelly/White
- Maroon/White
- Maroon/Gold
- Navy/White
- Orange/White
- Purple/White
- Purple/Gold
- Purple/Orange
- Red/White
- Red/Black
- Red/Gold
- Red/Grey
- Red/Navy
- Royal/White
- Royal/Gold
- Royal/Orange
- Royal/Red
- Navy/Orange
- Navy/Red
- Navy/Grey
- Navy/Gold
- Navy/Vegas Gold
- Navy/Columbia Blue
- Vegas Gold/White
How to Order Custom Transfers with Class Lists or Team Rosters
Jun/110
A customer from Michigan called last week wanting All Star shirts for several local leagues she had supplied uniforms. It is All Star season and this type of shirt is a best seller for leagues looking to recognize their all stars. Ordering a custom transfer with a list of names is easy!
If you are ordering a team roster we have many custom transfer layouts set up for easy online ordering. Just enter the team name or other personalization and type in the names where specified–Name 1 here, Name 2 Here, etc. Then just enter the quantity, color and size and submit.
If you are using a layout with a longer list or if your customer has sent you an electronic list of names there is no need to retype these. We have an area on our site to send name lists at www.transferexpress.com just click “Send us your artwork” The list of names should be in a single column, entered as you want them to be printed, for example Jimmy Smith, and saved in a .txt file. If you want to use this in an Easy Prints® layout, this can be noted in notes or you can submit all but the names through the online ordering just noted the names have been sent and include the reference number you received as confirmation.
Whether ordering online or sending us a name list to use in an Easy Prints layout, you get low Easy Prints pricing and same day shipping for 1 color orders placed before 11 am eastern. Good luck to all of your All Stars.
Team roster layout QAS-45 for All Stars
How To Outfit An All Star Uniform
Jun/112
Baseball All Star teams are forming and these teams will need uniforms. Start with the front of the uniform and dress them like pros! An entire layout category is dedicated to these players in our Easy Prints® collection. Many of these teams will want two or more colors on the print and our online design tool, Easy View™ can show your customers what the print will look like in two colors on their shirt. All Star teams frequently also add a number to the front of the uniform under the logo, especially script with tails layouts. If doing teen uniforms, our 4” numbers are perfect. For smaller youth, use 2.5” or 3” numbers ordered through our Express Names program. If using 2.5” numbers you can fit 10 digits in one strip, and for 3” numbers you can fit 8.
The All Stars will want to be recognized so be sure so to be sure to add an Express Name above the number on the back. The 2.5” size is best for teen uniforms and the 2” size is perfect for younger teams. The number under the name can be ordered in two colors to match the uniform front, and with Easy Prints® numbers it is one application in just 4 seconds. For teen uniforms, an 8” number can be used and for smaller sizes use a 6” number.
If your team has a sponsor this can be added to the sleeve. Add this as well as a cap size print for your team caps to the front logo and create a gang sheet – all three logos are printed on one sheet for a great cost savings.
Add an American flag to the other sleeve and your All Star is ready to play!
All Stars layout QAS-2 with front number
Helmet Stickers Are A Great Add On Sale
Mar/110
Whatever the sport—we have the helmet stickers to decorate and number the team. Our stickers apply easily to baseball, lacrosse, bike or football helmets and are full color! You can send us your own art to create a custom helmet sticker or use our Easy Prints® ideas and clip art—just let us know the colors and the size! The stickers are durable, water and fade resistant for outdoor wear. If you have placed an order for your customer’s uniform, we can reduce the logo for the helmet also. Stickers can be purchased as individual logos, in number/decal packs or numbers only.
The Number/Decal Packs are perfect for handing out to the team to personalize each helmet. Each pack has a 4” x 4” space for a logo (you can do one large, two small or even multiple reward stickers), and 13, 1.6” numbers—the perfect size for the back of a helmet. In addition, each pack has space for a store name/address or motivational message for the team. For example, on each pack you can put “MVP Sporting Goods wishes the Mentor Cardinals the best of luck this season”, or just your company name and address so the team knows who to call when they need more stickers.
Helmet Sticker using Easy Prints® Clip ArtHelmet Decal Packs come with numbers and logos.
Helmet Decal Packs come with numbers and logos.
Organizing Your League Order For Best Pricing
Feb/110
Leagues can be overwhelming at first, but we have tried to make the job easier with our league layouts for sponsor names.
The first step is to sort your sponsor or team names by ink color. Most teams will probably use white or black ink on many different color shirts. Once you have the sponsors organized by ink color, choose the size letter you will want to use. Now choose a sponsor layout that matches that size. For example, if you are using 1.5” letters you will want to use our league layout, QSP-2—8 sponsors fit on this sheet. Put the first 8 teams on this sheet. So with one order you will be outfitting 8 different teams. Look over your list and order the entire sheet at the quantity of the largest team. For example, if 4 teams have 14 players, 2 teams have 15 players and 2 have 17 players, your order will be placed for 20 sheets, taking advantage of the price break, and giving you a couple of extra for most teams for fill-ins. If you have single teams left over, or a team using a different color ink, Express Names would work best for this team.
To figure your number needs, count the number of teams using each color and use the calculator figuring 1-18 for 8 teams. It will give you the pricing if you buy in 5 packs, Express Packs or Kits and tell you how much to purchase.
If you have any questions, our dealer service team who are league experts, can help.
Easily Organize Your League Orders with Sponsor Layouts
Score Profits with Hockey Apparel
Dec/100
Hockey season has begun and your customers will be looking for custom shirt ideas for their team spirit wear as well as designs for shirts sold at hockey tournaments. You don’t need to be an artist with Easy Prints®. We have an entire section dedicated to hockey designs that can easily be customized to fit your customer’s needs. Just choose a layout, customize with your choice of text, clip art, colors and size, and create using Easy View™, the free design tool for all active customers. And don’t worry if it is the last minute, one color Easy Prints® ship the same day when ordered by 11 am eastern!
We also have a flyer that can be printed out to show your customer the possibilties, or request a free Hockey Sample pack.
- Printable Hockey Apparel Flyer
Printing Reversible Jerseys
Dec/100
Reversible jerseys can be polyester or nylon—don’t worry about the mesh, which is the holes; we are printing on the material which determines the type of transfer that will work best.
If the jersey is polyester, you will want to use screen printed transfers, names and numbers. The mesh creates one extra step but is not hard to deal with. When printing reversible jerseys you are typically printing 4 sides for one jersey – the front and back for one side, and then the front and back for the other side. The key to success is to have only the side you are working with on your press. This means you will want to dress the machine by putting the jersey on the bottom platen like you were dressing a mannequin. The shirt will be upside down when pressing. If the shirt has an open bottom, open so only one layer of material is on the platen. If the bottom is sewn, you will just put the side you are working with on the platen. Follow the instructions provided with the transfer, however, the holes will poke through, the ink only attaches to the material. I like to use a Teflon Pad. As the holes poke through, the Teflon surface can be wiped down easily before starting the next shirt or back side. You can also use pellon—which helps pull out the holes, but a fresh piece will be needed for each print. Other release papers such as Kraft paper or Transfer Paper can also be used. Or even just regular paper can work.
If your reversible jersey is nylon, the screen printed transfer may work but you will want to test prior to ordering. Our screen printed transfers are guaranteed to work on cotton, polyester and cotton/poly blends but many customers have had success with them on this type of nylon shirt. If an alternative is needed, our Cad-Printz™ is guaranteed to work on nylon.
Reversible Jerseys
