Author Archives: Terry Combs

I Want My DTG Shirts to Look Like the Trade Show Shirts!

You’re excited when you get home from a trade show. A few days later you unpack your brand new direct-to-garment printer and get started. But sometimes you can’t quite achieve the same print quality you saw at the show. Your … Continue reading

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Sample Packs on Hand… All the Time

I talked with a screen printer recently who was telling me about his on-the-side business of running karaoke in bars. Then the conversation turned (as always) to selling T-shirts. He told me about selling shirts at the bars where he … Continue reading

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Printing and Poor Tension Screens

So what’s the big deal about having screens with proper tension? There are two issues that may occur when you use screens with too soft mesh. These are (1) fabric wave, and (2) mesh release.

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Controlling Dye Migration in Screen Printing

If you’ve ever screen printed a blended fabric such as 50% cotton/50% polyester garment and all the way up to 100% polyester, you likely have experienced dye migration. In simple terms, dye migration means the white ink printed on a … Continue reading

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Defeating Pinholes on Your Screen Printing Production Floor Forever

I was recently presenting a 3-hour entry level screen printing seminar at a trade show. Before beginning, attendees from two separate companies talked to me saying they had many years of experience but were looking for tips and tricks to … Continue reading

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The Facts about Direct-to-Garment Pretreating

All direct-to-garment printers use a water base ink system and special treatment is required when printing dark shirts. The rule is: When you print white ink, you must pretreat the shirt first. Without pretreat solution on the shirt, the white and … Continue reading

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Making Direct-to-Garment Work for You

So what does it take to be successful in the direct-to-garment business? First, become proficient at the machine. That will take some time as with any new equipment or technology. Second, prepare high resolution graphics. Direct-to-garment printers reproduce exactly what … Continue reading

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Writing and Publishing Press Releases

A tremendous way to get free advertising is from the press release. Take a look at your local newspaper and see all the information about grand openings, new sales reps, etc. These are all press releases, written by the same … Continue reading

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Using Refillable Cartridges with a Small Format Epson

The printer of choice today for outputting film positives is an Epson small format device such as the 1430. The only drawback is the standard 18ml cartridge. Refillable cartridges are the best option to save substantial dollars on ink.

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Screen Printing Equipment & Supply Startup Checklist

Six Color Manual Press – With a six color machine you can print most anything. Conveyor Dryer – Required for any real production, and air flow is a plus.

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