An early heads up – The Imprint Canada Shows
Imprint Canada has announced that they're open for reserving exhibit space for three scheduled shows: Montreal on September 5th and 6th, 2024 Calgary on September 20th and 21st, 2024 Toronto on January 10th and 11th, 2025. Whether you're going to exhibit or attend,...
Direct-to-garment gaining traction in Canada?
In their latest promotional email, Kornit pushes the line that the textile industry is "ever-changing" and that it is a "dynamic" market with "challenges" to overcome if you are to "thrive." They go on to say that: "Recent economic shifts pose unique challenges for...
Online security
This is by no means a new topic. I've probably mentioned it half a dozen times during the past year, and I'll probably mention another half a dozen times in the coming year. I'm working on the principle that if you throw mud at a wall often enough, eventually some of...
Still current advice from the early ’70s
Wandering around a used book store a few years ago, I found a dog-eared copy of the very first business books I bought many years ago—Robert Townsend’s Up The Organization. I lost that original copy in the Calgary flood of 2013 and was delighted to find a replacement....
Upgrading from a manual to an automatic
In a recent article in Images Magazine, Tony Palmer discusses what you need to consider in upgrading from a manual to an automatic press. Obviously you have to do your research but, in the meantime, here are the main points he raises for consideration: Space: Measure...
Zazzle
It's time to revisit a topic I first raised ten years ago. Zazzle was fairly new and threatening to shake up the textile screen printing industry with its online service. Zazzle has clearly grown since those earlier days but as far as I can see, the impact of this...
Spring cleaning – the hazard of lint buildup
It's time for spring cleaning in readiness for the busy summer season. So, among other things, if you have not paid any attention the to the lint build-up in your shop for some time, now is a good time to do it. As we all know, if you handle tees and sweats, lint...
A recipe for testing for dye migration
There are few things more annoying (and costly) than ending up with a ruined job because you didn't expect the substrate to bleed into the print. So, if in the slightest doubt, test. So, here's the recipe for testing . . . Materials and ingredients: Heat transfer...
Change is hard, hard, hard.
Yesterday there were two illuminating developments in the campaign against microplastic pollution generally and, specifically, in the context of our industry, gitter. The first was an article in the Guardian that reported how scientists had examined 62 human fetuses...
Squeegee blade profiles
Tony Palmer writes a monthly column for Images online magazine in which he responds to printers' technical questions. In the February edition he addressed a question about "the best squeegee blade profile to use." His opinion on this is worth considering even though...
Share but don’t disclose
In a recent article in a prominent industry magazine, a writer offered advice that I need to take issue with. As usual, there's nothing to be gained by naming the magazine or the writer, not so much because it might come across as unnecessarily confrontational but...
Apple iPhone stolen device feature
RGCS of Edinburgh has reported in their newsletter that Apple IPhone users are being urged to use a new feature called 'Stolen Device Protection' which was rolled out in a recent update to IOS. You should take notice of this if you use an iPhone or if your employees...
If everyone’s working, who’s managing to prevent crises?
I believe that it was Zig Ziglar (1926 - 2012) who talked about working on your business rather than working in your business. He was making the point in the context of growing a business. More recently, I re-read an article I'd kept on file in which the same...
A changed opinion of passwords
I recently had my website developer install Wordfence, a website security service for WordPress sites. We're trying out the free version at the moment on an e-commerce website I own and I've just received the first weekly report. To say that it was an eye opener would...
Oh well.
So, the glitter and microplastic issue continues! A few months ago I contacted the textile and apparel editor of a prominent printing industry online magazine and explained my quest to persuade textile screen printers to stop using glitter. She agreed to publish an...
Who’s really your customer and what do they actually want?
Who's really your customer and what do they actually want? How much have you paused and contemplated that question? Here is an of excerpt from Seth Godin's book, This is Marketing, to demonstrate why you should contemplate the question as it relates to your business ....
DTG and screen printing . . . a production balancing act
Last week I had a conversation with Pablo Forno of Grand Slam Sports of Okotoks, Alberta. I asked for the conversation because I’d heard that Pablo had an interesting perspective on the DTG versus screen printing debate. He had switched all his production from screen...
Do you really need to know the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement?
A recent 16-page article written specifically for small business owners, attempted to explain the subtle difference between a mission statement and a vision statement. My Immediate reaction upon seeing the article was that the author didn't have much experience...
Take a break from the grind and regain your balance (with video)
Let's not kid ourselves . . . As small business owners we can't deny that we suck at work-life balance. We grind endlessly. We don't quit at 5.00 pm, we check emails all the time outside normal work hours, we feel guilty if we don't "just pop in for a short while" to...
The argument for sampling
T-shirts are perfect for sampling. But there's an effective way and a less-than-effective way to sample. The purpose in sampling is to show off the product with the intention of provoking a sale. And the more the act of sampling and the nature and quality of the...
A story about small business failing to match big business service
Real life stories are a great way to make a point. And the point I want to make (yet again) with this story is that if small businesses don’t match big businesses in certain aspects, it will undermine their growth and survival prospects. Of course, there are aspects...
A Dozen Ways Copilot Can Help Your Business
Artificial intelligence as a business tool, even for small businesses, has burst onto the scene in the last little while. It's one of those tools that you as business owner or manager should at least investigate to see if it can benefit your business. The risk in...
A good question about taking on new screen printers
The title to an article in the most recent Images Magazine caught my eye . . . . "If you're taking on a new screen printer, what are the key skills they need to learn in order to be able to become a trusted ink slinger?" It's a good question but the answer, not so...
Older posts are archived
For more than 10 years, this blog has been steaming along at the rate of two posts a week. This last post is here merely to explain that older posts are archived and that we only show three-month's worth of posts in order to keep the site current and limited to a...