Listen Now

We are down on the show floor at ISS Long Beach 2023, and we are joined by guests: Mitch Heiman, Chuck Ward, Kevin Freeman, Tony Diaz, and Aaron Draplin.

Ellen Tucker is the VP of Revenue & Expositions at PPAI, and she was kind enough to hold our hands through this crazy idea that printers can actually expand into the world of promotional products. Turns out it's actually not as daunting as we've always thought it to be. Topics of discussion include: Playing injured, Mr. Vegas, the first steps to take in getting into the promo product game, the supply chain behind promo products, why we should consider expanding outside of screen printing, samples, trending products, trade shows, and puppy pop-ups.

Garrett Cole decided to buy a print shop instead of going to college. Now with a full DIY education under his belt, he's rebranded, gone auto, and is moving into a bigger and better space. Topics of discussion include: Cocaine Bear, pursuing a niche, the low barrier of entry in the garment decorating industry, training first hires, mind maps, sheets, and hot wieners.

We got together with James Baker of The Tipping Point, and Terry Curry of Ottawa Custom Clothing. They are running their own businesses under the same roof, and while it may be unclear at times where one business starts and the other ends, their goals are shared in pushing each other forward. Topics of discussion include: Navigating partnerships, AI art, press teams, OSHA projects, possibly expanding into embroidery, improving work environments, and the singular redeeming quality of Ottawa.

Merry New Year! Can't move into the future without taking stock of the past, so we're recapping this past year's challenges and achievements, on both shop and personal levels. What did we learn, and how will we take these experiences into the new year? Topics of discussion include: Gains, walking, travel, whether or not Andy has truly ever stayed at a Ritz Carlton, stepping away, choosing to grow or scale back, and shop resolutions.

Happy holidays from us to you, and a Merry Sickmas from Dilly! Our gift to you is this big shiny knowledge dense conversation we got to have with Jeffrey Paul from Youngone. He works at a laughably larger scale than us, and generally has to commute to the opposite side of the globe, but since he dumbed his vocab down to a first grade level for us, we found that his story is not only valuable to hear, but relatable even to the smallest printer. Topics of discussion include: Fever Dreams, Dylan's favorite food (soup), Nordstrom customer service, how more presses don't always lead to more profit, the design flaw of a wheel and spoke business, ego accounts, why CPAs aren't good CFOs, table printing, and the best frozen pizza that isn't a baron.

Tis the season of the Christmas bippage, and while the number of incoming orders may be dropping, some team members happen to be dropping too thanks to the flu. But while we're doing our best to persevere these end of year challenges, we got to turn all those bad feelings into good feelings when we zoomed our way over to Sweden and had a great conversation with Carl Persson from Hart Tryck. Apart from being our number one Swedish listener, he's had a hell of a journey getting his shop off the ground, and starting a podcast of his own, Spelberoende. Topics of discussion include: Why everyone is seeling their hot heads, wanting to grow outside of plastisol, why Andy hates stroking twice, printing in Sweden & Norway, band merch, non-compete laws, 3 month parental leave, when to order blanks, and lab grown meat.

We caught up with Sterling Maynard of Old South Print Co. and we got right into it with him. Did manage to pedal back a bit and get his story though, and how college led to his success, but not necessarily from his degree. Topics of discussion include: Press support, employee turnover, being a boss, double dipping, greek life, Old Row, safety data sheets, OSHA violations, holiday plans, and Guy Fieri.

After most of us have finished giving thanks with our families over a nice American turkey dinner, we'd like to give extra thanks to Josh from Lancaster for having a do-over with us and making this podcast happen. Practice makes perfect though, and we had a better conversation in the end, with great debates and insight into the paths we take as small business owners. Topics of discussion include: Honey Baked Ham, best time to hire, new equipment, importance of progression, working with your spouse, cut-out vs tear-out, folding/bagging, custom boxes, and how Josh should really go about flashing the job he has on press.

Allison Lupski is an international businesswomen operating Custom Crew Wear in Fort Meyers, FL. She's still cranking prints out while her family and community are working through the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, counting their blessings, and cracking open mich ultras. Topics of discussion include: In-laws, Thanksgiving, delegating, fancy laminated cards, preparing, rebuilding, Christmas in pajamas, Alone, and thick soup.

Brandon has recently gone all in on running his own shop, and he's gone straight for the auto. After years of printing at another shop, and some time traveling around the country and printing at other shops, he's diving head first into self employment. Topics of discussion include: What it took to leave his job, traveling printers, water based ink, hiring, goals, and hair traps.

Ever since a traumatic and scarring incident in 4th grade gym class, Dom Rosacci has been on the path to change the print game for the better, and leave the planet in better shape than he found it. Enter, Superior Ink. Of all the episodes of Shirt Show, this is by far the ripest. Topics of discussion include: Pigeon homicide, what to do in a slow down, whale clients, Allmade, sustainability, top shelf analogies, hiring the homeless, content creation, and conversations between pine trees.

This episode is a big one for us, so we're happy Kevin & Summer could speak with us on behalf of Gildan, and we're stoked to bring this insightful conversation to you all. Topics of discussion include: Learning and working in new cultures, pantone matching, how to pronounce GILDAN, board of decorators, predicting trends, tear away tags, tubular vs side seams, American Apparel, Comfort Colors, pigment vs reactive dyes, and sustainability.

We recorded this episode on the show floor at Print United in Las Vegas. Joined by a bunch of our favorite people attending the event, sharing what we're eyeballing, and having a good time. Topics of discussion include: Equipment, finishing, lobster claw games, connecting with the print community, DTF, the value of pokemon cards, and screen printing summer camp.

Not every printer buys the first shop they've ever seen, but Mykel Lamar is not your average printer. With printing always being a side hustle of Mykel's throughout his dancing career, he's switched to printing full time and has turned his neighborhood shop around for the better as ECG Graphics. Topics of discussion include: Baseball, video SOPs, security systems, stolen cars, guerilla marketing, growing into the new age of marketing, first prints, and Dahmer.

Scott Hedbloom of Elite Ink started printing with his siblings in their hometown of Davenport, Iowa when they saw an opportunity to provide a local service to their community. Now facing some big changes, we had a great discussion with Scott on his shop and what the future will hold for them. Topics of discussion include: Screen racking, tagging, long lost sons, virtual assistants, chasing big accounts, wowing your customers, hibachi, and the distance between your nipples.

The Do-Over. We record this podcast over the internet, and technology has a way of sucking sometimes. So with a few hours of our time and good conversation lost, Pete Shaulis was kind enough to sit down with us again and record an episode for real this time, out of the kindness of his heart, and his love for all of you. Topics of discussion include: Hurricane Ian Printer Fund, stamping, managing art, whether or not Gary V is worth listening to, managing people, premium contract printing, buying a business, bloody ice cream, and prom.

All your favorite screen printing podcasters at once, recording on the show floor of ISS Ft Worth 2022. BIG shoutout to Jared of the Golden Boys for making this happen as smoothly as possible, I can only imagine the shit show that would've been sent my way to edit without you💀 - Love Chad

For those of you who've followed Parkway Printshop over the last couple years, you've probably followed their journey into their new space, and it's BEAUTIFUL. If you haven't checked them out yet, be prepared for your eyes to get misty. We caught up with Jared and he filled us in on how the new digs are working for them, why they did what they did, what they would've done differently. Following in his father's footsteps, and then diverting down a path of his own, Jared shares how he's combined the experience of his youth at his dad's shop, and his early career at Adidas, into the beauty that is Parkway Printshop today. Topics of discussion include: BIG mistakes, discord, being too busy, electrical pains, evaluations, implementing new policy, retail space vs show room, retirement, and half day Fridays.

A short few months after a near death experience, we caught up with Mike Galati of Modest Merch. Still healing, Mike is cranking out shirts at his shop, which halted operations after his accident, but kept it's doors open thanks to this amazing print community rallying behind his GoFundMe. Topics of discussion include: Mopeds, printing for bands, Victory Records, Flying solo vs hiring help, contract printing, nightmare emails, crocs, kickflips, and tagging your printers.