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Jake Saunders

Jake Saunders

Recent Posts

December 3, 2019 8:00:00 AM CST

5 Art Elements To Avoid When DTG Printing

dtg_apparel_art_elements_sharprint_chicagoDirect to garment printing is great for a lot of reasons, but the big one is the fact that set up is really fast and minimal. There’s no need for separations, burning screens, mixing ink or setting up a press.  While it's not as simple as hitting control+P it is much closer to instant gratification. 

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April 11, 2016 11:54:00 AM CDT

6 Simple Checks To Ensure Screen Print Perfection

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 Screen printed t-shirts are awesome. Most times they look pretty cool, but the medium isn’t all encompassing. Follow this simple checklist of the 7 musts to make sure your art will print perfectly for screen print:

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April 17, 2015 3:08:52 PM CDT

Embroidery's Relationship To Fabric Arts

Embroidery_Clothing_Designs_Sharprint_Chicago

Here where I work at Sharprint, we decorate apparel in three main ways, screen printdigital print and embroidery. Out of the three, embroidery has been a fully formed practice the longest by far. Embroidery using silk thread has been known to have been practiced as far back as the 5th century BC in China. However, it has failed to have as significant a cultural impact as screen print or digital printing despite having a solid couple of millennia to get ahead.  

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August 22, 2014 12:44:00 PM CDT

[Infographic] One Color All Over Print Layering Technique

screen_printing_one_color_aop_sharprint_chicagoOne thing that plagues us as printers of apparel is those pesky seams. When the squeegee passes over a seam, it disrupts the constant and even pressure it applies. The resulting print will be uneven in the area immediately surrounding that seam.

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December 4, 2012 7:15:00 AM CST

Sparking Creativity And Inspiration In Scholars And Mentors

mentoring scholars in tshirt designThis Fall Sharprint was proud to participate in Chicago’s Spark program. Spark is a national non-profit organization who’s mission is “...to provide life-changing apprenticeships to youth in underserved communities across the United States.” Spark seeks to accomplish their goals through facilitating mentorships between middle school youth and professionals working in a field of their interests.

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September 19, 2012 1:09:00 PM CDT

The Difference Between Art Tee And Arty

tee shirt designs

Let’s say you’ve got a tee shirt with a design on it that you love. Just for the sake of argument, let’s also say that the design is in some way culturally relevant - such as the I heart NY t-shirt. Not uncommon. While we’re at it, let’s say you’re wearing this tee while enjoying a Saturday afternoon at the art museum and you’re looking at a famous screen print by Roy Lichtenstein that you happen love equally as much as the picture on your tee. Now, I ask you, which one is better or more important/relevant and why?

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September 17, 2012 2:20:00 PM CDT

Democracy Of The Print And Tee Shirt

t shirt printing

As a college student, studying printmaking and fine art, my professors would always reference something called the “democracy of the print”. They were referring to the fact that woodcuts, etchings, lithographs and screen prints had the advantage over paintings and sculptures in the respects that they are relatively inexpensive and exist in multiple. Even to this day, a person of an average income can afford a print by Picasso, but not a painting. That print would not only enrich that person’s life, but that of many others due to the fact that it exists in hundreds of other places.

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August 15, 2012 12:23:00 PM CDT

Clothing Color Trends For Fall 2012

fall_clothing_trends_chicago_sharprint

Communication is not synonymous with language.  I learned this weekend at the Field Museum that ants communicate through pheromones. They can tell each other a myriad of things by releasing scents. Ants can attract each other, warn each other of danger or even inform each other where food is and how much is there. Likewise, we humans communicate in many ways that are not verbal or text, like color.

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June 19, 2012 10:18:00 AM CDT

Do They Really Expect People To Wear That?

Ever seen one of those photos from a runway fashion show and think, “Who would wear something like that?”  You know what I mean.  Bizarre unwearable clothing that’s probably glued on in places worn by equally bizarre zombielike people that look as if they’ve been stretch out in a fun house mirror.  Something like these 2009 Alexander McQueen designs:

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January 12, 2012 12:01:00 PM CST

Screen Print: New Kid In Town

Without screen printing, we couldn’t do what we do here at Sharprint. There are lots of ways to produce an image on a shirt. There are digital options, there is a long history of using relief printing, I’ve even seen etchings printed on a shirt and of course I guess we could sit around painting on them, but nothing is more versatile, efficient or effective as the screen print.

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November 29, 2011 11:29:00 AM CST

On I (Heart) NY

I (heart) NY. Everyone knows what I’m referring to and its not just a rip off of pop art genius (and fellow Hoosier), Robert Indiana. Its not necessarily the best tee, but its definitely the most recognizable. Its the Mona Lisa of tee shirts. Its the official garment of NYC (even though no one there wears them). But, what is so special about it is that it effectively communicates universally and in an iconic American visual language that transcends its stuffy high art influences.

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