How to use this Page

We printed up these cheerleader tops for a local production of Grease! the Musical.

And just in case you forgot it, here’s the Rydell High fight song:

Hit ‘em Rydell Ringtails
Tear ‘em apart , green and brown
Bash their brains out
Stomp ‘em on the floor 
For the glory of Rydell ever more

Fight team fight
Chew ‘em up spit ‘em out
Fight team.. Fight…!

You’re welcome.

If you’re in the area, you should definitely check out this production. In the interest of full disclosure, both our teens are in it. Shameless? Sure. I can’t help it, but we’re really proud of them and the whole cast. It’s put on by a great group of people doing great work, Topanga Youth Services.

Here’s the lowdown:

Topanga Community House

1440 N Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, CA

March 8th and 9th at 7pm

March 10th at 2 pm

The suggested donation for tickets is $12.

In the words of one of my son (Danny Zuko), “We have an excellent cast, and I’d be surprised if you didn’t get chills and they didn’t multiply.”

Word.

Once Upon a Time, before we got into the t-shirt printing business, I made a t-shirt for my grandma. I think it was for her birthday. It said, “I’m not waiting until I get old, I’m going to wear purple NOW!”

It was an almost humorous take on the When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple poem. And it was almost good. I printed it on one of those inkjet iron-on transfers you can get at any craft store or the impulse shelf at Target. The design was not fantastic. To add insult to injury I printed it way too far down on the shirt and disturbingly off to the left. My grandma had her picture taken in it so I could see how she looked. Which was horrible. I’m pretty sure she only wore it that one time, for the photo.

That horrible image lasted a very long time. In fact, I got the shirt back many years later after she had passed away. It looks spectacularly shiny and new.

Why the Horribleness Lasted So Long

The long-lasting success of the aforementioned abominable print may mislead you to think that those inkjet transfers are perfect for making and selling t-shirts. Nopity, nopity, no.

The only reason the ironed-on image stayed in its pristine condition was the fact that my grandmother:

1. never wore it again
2. never had to wash it
3. kept it in a box where no human would ever gaze upon it and subsequently turn to stone

Inkjet vs Screen Print: T-shirt Death Match!

Don’t get me wrong. I am not whole-handedly dismissing inkjet transfers. I’m only dismissing them with my thumb and part of my palm. Inkjet transfers are perfect for personal craft and hobby prints. They are relatively cheap and easy to use. If you have an inkjet printer and an iron, go forth and decorate apparel until you just can’t take all the colorful goodness that surrounds you.

But heads-up, seven-up. If you’re going to decorate apparel to sell, you have to take it up a few notches. Why? Let’s set two printed shirts side-by-side and see what happens after wearing and washing.

The shirt on the left is a screen-printed tee I bought at Taste of Chicago in 1995. The jazzy elephant shirt on the right is one I had done through a print-on-demand site, using an inkjet transfer. It’s about 2-3 years old.

The screen-printed Chicago shirt has been worn through 18 years of sweaty workouts, fixing the car, baby excretions, sleeping, and has soaked up countless UV rays. Thankfully, it has also been washed at least 1 more time than it’s been worn.

The jazzy elephant tee has been worn a few times. It’s been washed a bit.

Let’s look at them up close and see how the prints held up (click on each image to expand):

We can see that the older Chicago print has faded a bit. It’s degraded a little, too. But after 18 years and a lot of abuse, it’s held up pretty well, especially for an image with so many fine lines.

One the other side, our jazzy elephant print is really showing some deterioration. The color looks pretty good, but the image sure is breaking down fast.

Go Easy, Go Cheap!

Here’s my recommendation. If you’re looking to sell shirts and make big bucks and you don’t care what happens after the sale, you should go with inkjet transfers. They are cheap. They’re easy. And by the time your customers realize they bought a product that won’t last very long, you’ll already be kicking back with your huge profits.

On the flip side, screen printing takes more time. It’s more expensive in the short run. If (for some crazy reason) you care about what happens to your products after the sale, and you like your customers coming back, you might consider going the screen printing route.

If the design is something people want to buy and wear, chances are they aren’t going to store it in a box until they die.

Whichever way you go, always remember: Grandma is probably just being nice.

I hesitated posting this photo of me from the 80s. I had some concerns that you would feel inadequate in the presence of male beauty at this level. Don’t worry, dudes. I’ll post a list of my personal care tips later.

Ladies, please resist the urge to lick your screen.

But check out that t-shirt. Hawt! This was back in the days of iron-on transfer t-shirt shops. Remember those?

Jenni and I grew up in Phoenix and spent a lot of time at Metrocenter mall. I used to drag my parents to this t-shirt shop in “The Alley” where they made t-shirts to order while you waited. I love the smell of heated plastic in the morning. Smells like victory.

I’m still drooling over this memory.

They had rows and rows of record-like racks where you sifted through designs. When you found one you wanted, you’d take it to the counter, choose a t-shirt color, and they pressed it for you right there. Simple concept, magical to a geek like me.

I think this Elvis shirt was likely one of the more “normal” designs I chose. During one very special visit I picked out my design and handed it to my mom, who got an unmistakably uncomfortable look on her face. “Are you sure you want this one? Do you even know what it means?”

I assured her that yes, I knew what I wanted. By some miracle, she eventually steered me towards something else (the alternative would have been to scream “FIRE!” and run us all out of there). The shirt I originally chose read:

BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN

I stand behind my choice to this day. These days, I could make that shirt for myself anytime I want. Hmm. I smell an experiment coming on.

I still think that kind of t-shirt shop needs to resurface. Heck, maybe we’ll open it up. And I’ll be watching out for the weird kid with the questionable taste in design. I’ll hand him an application.

Back in the day, I was what you would call a spendthrift. Which is a weird term to use because it has nothing to do with thrift at all. I think someone like me should have been called a spendmore.

Over the years I’ve wised up. I give a lot of credit to my wife for my changed ways and some credit to being a business owner. In the former, Jenni has taught me the Ways of Thrift while I kicked and screamed the whole way. Really, I was terrible. I had no idea what things cost, I just bought them.

Jenni: What’s this charge for $54.98?

Mr. Spendmore: Uhhhh… toothpaste?

Jenni: When was the last time you bought toothpaste?

Mr. Spendmore: Uhhhh…

Jenni: Get back to me on that.

This happened enough times that I was virtually shamed into keeping track of my purchases. Not that toothpaste has ever been one of them (I checked).

For the latter, being a business owner has taught me the value of money like nothing else could. I should say failed business owner, because it’s those failed ventures that weren’t financially sound that “done learned me real good.”

Here are a few of the bigger lessons I’ve learned, with some cheapskate tips thrown in. Add little grains of salt where necessary.

1. Ready to buy? Holster that debit card, son.

Yep, that’s it. Wait. Especially on big purchases, I try to hold off at least 24 hours. This not only gives me time to realize I’m crazy, it gives Jenni time to pull a coupon or online sale out of her own holster. Sure, sometimes you just have to buy something RIGHT NOW, like… hmm. What? What do you have to buy RIGHT NOW? Seriously.

2. Consider the long term costs

Shiny. Pretty. Popular. iPhone. Got one? Cool. I bet you can tell me the price when you originally bought it, but how much has it been costing you over the past few years? Add that up one day. Need some smelling salts? I thought so.

This is one example, but take a look at other purchases you’ve made for your business. What hidden costs are involved in maintaining it?

3. Get creative with consumables

Specific to my own screen printing business, there are tons of consumables to keep track of. For example, I scoop excess ink off my screens when a  job is done and dump it back into the container. It’s still good! Why rinse it all down the drain?

Now, lots of screen print suppliers sell these little “screen cleaning cards” to make the job easier. They’re great and cheap at about 2 cents a piece. But to take the cheapskate thing a step further, Jenni handed me a bunch of old plastic gift cards. They’re reusable (save our environment!) and free.

4. Use what you have (or make your own)

So many times I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a piece of equipment I need, and I need to buy it RIGHT NOW (see #1). And there are plenty of people out there ready to sell it to someone like me. What I’ve learned is that in some cases, especially when you’re just starting out, you either already have what you need or you can make it much more cheaply.

In my shop, I have a light exposure unit for making stencils on my screens. I could have bought a spiffy new one for anywhere between $50-$3500. Instead, I built one myself for about $20 based on a YouTube instructional video. It works great for my purposes right now. As my business grows, I may want one of those more expensive units to save on exposure time.

Which brings me to my last tip.

5. Sometimes cheap isn’t

In the example above, there’s a risk that I wouldn’t get the best results. My jobs would suffer and my customers wouldn’t come back. So it’s important to know when to be a cheapskate and when to spend a little more money.

Dollar store paper towels are great. Unless dollar store paper towels fall apart while you’re cleaning. Then you use more and you have to buy more. And you have to go to the store more. And you have to explain to your wife why you’re always buying so many damn paper towels.

Another example is getting around. I love public transportation. Here in Los Angeles, people tend to laugh at our system (go ahead), but it’s actually improved quite a bit over the last 10 years. It’s also easy to use and you don’t have to sit on the freeway staring at bumpers. On a recent trip to Long Beach, I saved at least $10 in parking fees and almost as much in gas by taking the LA Metro.

As much as I love it, I also think there are times when it’s cheaper to drive. In my trip to Long Beach, I was flying solo. If I had other people with me, the cost of the trip would have been less if we drove. There’s also the consideration of time. Depending on traffic (are we there yet?), it can take about an hour less to drive than it does to take the train. And since we all know that time is money, we don’t want to waste it. In my case it was a Saturday and I used my train time to write notes and jot down ideas I learned from a trade show.

Embrace your cheapskatedness

As a business owner, it will serve you well to be a cheapskate. Wait, scratch that. You need to be a cheapskate. The whole point of being in business is to make money and if you are losing money, you aren’t making as much as you should be. Get creative about trimming your expenses and be proud to be a cheapskate. You’ll still be around when spendthrift (spendmore) business owners are wondering what went wrong.

I’ve never subscribed to the idea of a “soft launch.” I’m not even sure if that’s possible. I mean, you launch or you don’t, yes? Yoda, want to jump in here?

That said, I realize that I’ve kinda done a soft launch here with my screen printing. I’ve been tossing out little hints over on the Facebook page. But if you haven’t been here on the site in a while, you might be noticing a change or two. Besides my killer moustache, I mean.

Here it is. Behind the scenes for the past few years, I’ve been learning and practicing the art of screen printing. And this past few months I’ve been deep into the ink, printing my designs and testing out new methods. That, coupled with our epic move back home to Southern California has developed into what I plan to be our Way of Life for the foreseeable future.

I’ve never been shy about expressing my devotion to this state. I’ve lived here on and off since 1990. It’s a little bit like marriage, where you promise for better or worse. And so it is with business, too. You make a commitment and stick it out for the long haul.

And it’s a relief. It’s a huge weight off the shoulders to finally be offering something tangible with my art. Like, seriously, dude.

And it’s a fulfillment of a dream I’ve had since I was 12 years old. To live in California and do something with my art. Here we are. Here we go. I also decided to start using this space to write more about our family and the weird ways we do things, like homeschool and eat a vegan diet. How we fit old fashioned cocktails into our busy evenings. Why we like red converse. And plenty about the business of design and screen printing for the good people of the San Fernando Valley.

And I want you to hitch a ride with us. Jump in, man. Let’s see where this thing goes.

I love seeing skilled craftspeople at their work. This great picture book is screen printed white ink on craft paper, hand-folded and hand-bound, made in the tradition of Warli art from West India. And it looks gorgeous! You can buy a copy here.

(via CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION: Do!)

Check out this great mural composed of images collected from Duke University’s Edwin and Terry Murray Comic Book Collection.

Artist Bill Fick says, “In the past four years I’ve been using the Murray Collection as a teaching tool and resource for my Art of the Comic Book and Zines class. It’s an amazing resource with over 75,000 comics! I really enjoyed making the mural and plan to make more in the future using some of my original stuff.” Can’t wait, Bill!

(via Mural at Perkins Library, Duke University)

London designer Haniboi has some nice screen prints for sale in his shop.

Posted by John Martz on Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog | Permalink | No comments
Tags: haniboi, screen printing