Journal
Notes from the floor.
What we would tell you before quoting a job — written for people who decorate for a living. Print and thread, the limits of each, and the parts that cost money when they go wrong.
Print · 6 min
DTF vs screen printing: where the crossover actually is
Screen print wins on volume. DTF wins on almost everything else. The interesting question is where the line sits — and it is lower than most people assume.
Read it →
Artwork · 7 min
Why your logo looks wrong in thread — and how to fix it before it does
Embroidery is not printing. Detail is limited by what a needle can resolve, and most artwork problems are visible in the file long before they reach a sew-out.
Print · 4 min
Gang sheets: the cheapest thing most decorators are not doing
You are charged for film area, not per transfer. Nesting twenty logos onto one sheet instead of ordering twenty transfers is the single easiest saving on a mixed order.
Trade · 5 min
Blind shipping, and what your customer should never find out
Contract decoration only works if the carton says your name. Here is what blind shipping actually covers, and the three places it usually leaks.
Production · 6 min
Choosing decoration by garment, not by habit
Fleece, performance poly, caps and canvas each want something different. A quick reference for picking print or thread by what the piece actually is.
Production · 5 min
What a proof is actually for
A sew-out or a pressed sample is not a formality. It is the last cheap moment in the job, and skipping it moves every problem downstream onto your goods.
Artwork · 5 min
Getting your logo print-ready, in about ten minutes
Most delays are a file problem, not a printing problem. Four checks you can run yourself before sending artwork, whichever process it ends up on.
Design · 5 min
Choosing shirt colors that make the design work
The garment is half your design whether you planned it that way or not. How color behaves once it is printed or stitched, and the combinations that consistently disappoint.
Care · 4 min
How to wash it so it still looks good next year
Decoration rarely fails on its own — it fails in the dryer. What actually shortens the life of a print or a stitch, and the four habits that prevent almost all of it.
Ordering · 5 min
How many pieces do you actually need?
Ordering too few costs more per piece; ordering too many leaves boxes in a cupboard. How the cost per piece really moves, and the size split most people get wrong.
Production · 5 min
Caps: what works, what does not, and why
A cap is not a flat garment with a curve. The seam, the structure and the frame decide what a design can do — and a logo that works on a polo often will not.
Design · 6 min
Color matching, and what "exact" really means
Pantone was built for ink on paper. Thread comes in a fixed range and ink mixes differently on fabric. What can be matched, what can only be approached, and how to specify it.
Process · 9 min
How to build a tech pack your decorator can actually use
Every production problem traces back to information that lived in someone’s head. A tech pack puts it on paper — and for decorated blanks it only has to nail four things.
Next step
Let’s outfit your team.
Tell us about your team, the garments you have in mind and your target date. Need help choosing? Include that in your request.
Or email hello@custm.ink