When you decide to create your own business you often find that there are a number of expenses that you do not think about.  Uniforms, advertising, things to raise employee morale, and promotional items are all costs that people often overlook but can quickly add up.  Custom Printed T-shirts are a great way of taking care of all of these things.  This list will give you seven tips that will help you be successful when choosing the right company to use and the right products purchase.  We hope to remove some of the information asymmetry that small businesses, especially those which are new to the process.  We want you to know what to look for so that you can be a more educated buyer.

7.  Know what it is that you need the shirts for.  Many times, people will call a firm that they have found and ask for a quote on custom printed T-Shirts.  While we don’t discourage the effort and enthusiasm, the truth is that when you approach a deal, you need to know more about what you want.  This does not mean that you need to know the inner mechanics of screen printing and embroidery digitization, but you should know what the shirts are going to be used for.  If you are using them as an outdoor uniform, then you might want heavy material.  If you need jerseys for a company basketball team, perhaps a less expensive and cheaper 50/50 blend would be better suited for your needs.  The point is you don’t need to know the exact product that you are wanting, but you should know why you need them and what you expect to get out of them.

6.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions.  This is more than a way for you to figure out if you are getting what you want or if you and your printer are on the same page.  Screen printing is not something that just anyone can one day decide they want to do.  It requires technical knowledge as well as equipment and time.  By asking a few questions about the process and the product, you can often gain insight into the condition of the business.  Why settle for doing business with someone who doesn’t deserve your trust.

5.  Take into account the additional costs.  Custom printers often deceive their customers by not including details like artwork, shipping, and setup.  Make sure that if you need artwork or graphic design that you figure out whether that is included and if not how much extra it will cost.

4.  Don’t forget about additional items.  While screen printing and custom T-shirts are one of the greatest advertising tools and great for a number of things for you company, they aren’t the only product available.  We assume that if you are reading this article that you have already discovered or thought about the advantages of custom printed T-Shirts, but there other promotional products that can complement your T-Shirts.  I recommend you find a firm that can do both.  Usually they are able to offer discounts and if not it is still much more convenient to deal with a single firm then to try to deal with multiple companies all trying to sell you the same thing.  In addition, often you can save on shipping and digitizing fees if you use the same company.

3.  Order a few extra.  One mistake that people often make is that they order too few or just enough of the custom printed shirts that they have nothing to spare.  This seems like a good idea because people don’t want to get suckered into having a bunch of extra T-Shirts, but that is a short term strategy that many people end up regretting.  The problem is that when people do not order enough they often have to go back and reorder one or two T-Shirts.  This seems fine, but screen printing makes doing a single shirt not cost effective.  The benefit is that you receive economies of scale, so going back to reorder a single T-Shirt means that you may have incur a significant rise in cost.

2. Know when you need your product ready.  Many customers call up too late and find that they are either going to be charged more money for a rush job or that it is simply impossible to do the job in a short period of time.  Giving yourself extra time means that you will be less stressed and that your product will turn out great.

1. Use the internet and don’t worry about local.  The internet allows people from all over the country to have access to the best deals and products.  So even if you are located in New York, NY and your screen printer is located in Portland, OR, you can still get the same service and coverage that you would from a local printer.  In fact, it may even work out better because it gives you, the customer, and access to the best from a much larger geographic area.  The internet is your friend.  It has helped the printer, now let it help you.

I hope that you have found these tips helpful.  As a screen printer, I often find that my customers want to be educated and my own company www.taylormadetshirts.com wants to work with educated customers.  That is why I am offering you some insights into getting screen printing and custom T-Shirts done.  I hope you will give my website a chance and see how I can help, but if not I at least hope that you can use this information to help your own small business.

Mike Thompson