SHARPRINT BLOG

Tara’s recent blog article, “What’s the Big Deal About Printed Tee’s?”, got me thinking about why I dress the way I do. So I looked down to see what I was wearing. A blank black hooded sweatshirt, which was covering a navy blue t-shirt with the University “M” smack dab in the middle - a University whose sport programs I am a fan of.

Have you ever put on a decorated t-shirt and immediately felt like you were wrapped in cardboard? Though that may be a bit of an exaggeration, I have experienced and worn t-shirts that were incredibly uncomfortable due to the design printed on the front of the tee.

We crank out t-shirts and apparel all day over here at Sharprint. Everything from give-away tees to high end fashion garments. Each item has an intentionally designed, well thought out purpose - whether it’s to commemorate a charity race or launch a new product. Decorated apparel is huge - no denying that - but what’s the big deal?

Clothing has a very basic function - coverage. Climate and availability are some obvious and relatively uncontrollable factors that influence the clothing we wear. Apparel isn’t just about function, though, so why do we wear what we wear?

Every one has a great idea for a t-shirt. When some one I’ve recently met finds out I work at a print shop, inevitably the conversation goes like this:

“You know what would make a really great t-shirt? (Insert idea here)”

We had the great fortune of starting to print for Dan Lachman of Sharp Shirter back in 2008. We see a lot of apparel lines that fizzle out or never really hit. Sharp Shirter is a real success story and we've been cheering Dan on as we've watched his line flourish over the years. He's a truly genuine person and super smart dude with great taste and a passion for what he does. It's truly an honor to print for him. I asked him if he wouldn't mind doing an interview for us and maybe share some secrets of his success for those just getting started. Of course, he was happy to oblige :)

1. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?

Customization is defined as, “to modify or build according to individual or personal specifications or preference.”

On Thursday, October 20th, Conscious Living TV presents the 3rd annual Vert Couture eco-fashion show & benefit, an official headlining event of Fashion Focus Chicago in the tents at Millennium Park. This year's charity beneficiary is Keep Chicago Beautiful.

The event will kick off with a "Sexy & Sustainable" VIP cocktail reception and green lifestyle lounge starting at 6:00pm featuring organic libations from Prairie Organic Vodka, New Belgium beer, Wild Blossom honey wine and delicious vegan appetizers provided by Karyns on Green. VIPs will also be treated to cutting-edge eco-art installations and deluxe eco-gift bags provided by the Green Goddess Boutique filled with lots of sustainable goodies and products.

“BackRub it”. That’s what the world would be saying had Google not changed their name in 1998. Before cracking open an ice cold Pepsi Cola, we were all sipping on Brad's Drink. We no longer lace up our Blue Ribbon Sports, but instead, our Nikes. And the days of referring to the process of decorating a garment as Silk Screen Printing are over. It is now simply called Screen Printing.

So why did the word silk get dropped from the term silk screen printing? It’s really an easy answer. It’s because the silk got dropped out of the screen printing process.

We at Sharprint pride ourselves on our excellent customer service. We understand our customer’s expectations and always push to exceed them. This wouldn’t be possible without a wonderful customer service team!

We are excited to introduce our most recent addition to the Sharprint team, Garvin Hughes.

The Global Alliance of Artists is a collective of visual and performance artists committed to solving social and environmental challenges on a local, national, and international level by leveraging artists and creativity inherent in communities.

The GAA participated in a study conducted by the Field Museum in 2008 that suggested artists and social/environmental activism organizations possess tremendous potential for collaborating on environmental projects. (PDF of results here)

Joe Clarke has been an adviser of Sharprint’s since we first stepped foot into the decorated apparel industry. Clarke designs, engineers and manufacturers new technology for the screen-printing industry. We have experimented with other vendor’s squeegees, but time after time we stick with the high quality sqeegees that Clark Product Renovation has to offer. Joe is a great resource, which is why we reached out to him to write a guest blog about an area of his expertise, squeegees.

Article Written By: Joe Clarke
Have you ever ran into the technical or financial issues listed below? Technical issues are those traditional problems that confront the operator on-press and result in unnecessary costs in both lost time and damaged goods. Financial issues lists the specific areas of costs associated with the technical problems on press.