When trying to compose a normal bid request, there are a lot of different variables that we take in consideration. Although many orders are similar in nature, they are all going to be unique unto themselves at the same time. One thing that means a lot is the volume of T-shirts that are being processed at one time. This is because the very nature of this type of application requires that you go through the exact same steps and procedures regardless of the quantities you are dealing with. For example, all the ink must be cleaned out when the job is completed. The more colors involved the more complicated and the more extensive that cleanup will become. A separate film has to be generated for each color in each image. Another thing to consider is the color of the garment that you are applying the artwork to. It also can significantly complicate the job. For example, let’s say you are printing white ink on a red substrate. You actually have to print a white under base under that white application in order to keep the color of the image nice and bright and not end up with a pink application when it’s all said and done. This is what is known throughout the industry as dye migration, where the factory who produces the textile always start out with a white piece of blank material and they just dye it to whatever color they happen to be producing. If it’s not 100% cured then you can end up with what we call sublimation. When the t-shirt comes off the press it looks good. However, after it sits in a box for a few days, it starts to change colors.
I can remember early on when I first got into this business nobody ever told me that this could happen. I sold the job that was on a navy blue substrate and screen printing it with yellow ink. It looked good for awhile and then after about two days, the image started to turn green. This all comes with hands-on experience.
Whoever once said that experience is the best teacher must never have owned or operated a successful Columbus Ohio screen printing company. I’ve heard it said that knowledge is power and I’d much rather have learned from studying my competition and learning from their mistakes instead of making my own. There are more than just a few different ways of getting things done, especially with the many advantages that modern technology has lent itself to. Here’s a great example of this. It wasn’t long ago that things were done a whole different way which I like to now referred to as an old-school way of doing things. We had the same time setting up a job regardless of the quantity, or the amount of colors that the image was composed of. We now have state-of-the-art equipment. This not only allows us to quote our jobs much more cost-effectively, but also lends itself to a much faster turnaround time, as well as being able to bid our jobs much more competitively.
We also have the ability to cater to custom embroidery. These types of machines have also come a long way in the last 15 years, but we will discuss that on a different day.