This is a big one.

Your printer will be the one CREATING your product.

They will be the one bringing your design ideas to life. Without them, you are nothing.

Now, I know what you may be thinking: “What do you mean without them I am nothing?! I can print my own shirts!!!”

Take it from me, printing your own shirts is the absolute worst idea anyone looking to build their own brand can have.

Why?

Well, first off, you are not a professional printer.

That fact alone should already disqualify you from taking on such an important task.

You are not building a print shop here; you are building a clothing brand.

If you try to do it on your own, here’s what will happen:

You will attempt to print your own designs with a shitty at-home printing kit you found on eBay and you will compromise quality right off the bat.

You will attempt to print a few shirts and will find yourself frustrated and unmotivated. Your shirts will never get made and your future customers will never fall in love with you.

Not the ideal scenario.

You are not superman; leave the printing to the professionals.

Print shops usually invest MILLIONS of dollars in production and automatic printing presses.

They have resources you don’t.

Leverage that.

The best way to go about finding the right printer is by first making a few searches on Google.

You want to look up all the local printers in your area, printers are usually a dime a dozen so finding them is not the hard part.

It’s finding the right printer who can do everything you are looking to do with your new brand that is most challenging.

When David and I founded ENTRPRNR, we emailed each and every printer in Miami within a 20-mile radius with several detailed questions regarding future designs and type of materials available.

We emailed them about embossing, engraving, foil printing, if they could execute all types of printing such as heat transfer, traditional silkscreen, heat press etc.

The power of a simple email was effective enough to weed out 70% of printers contacted.

Once we boiled it down to the possible candidates, we jumped on a call with them and spoke about topics and questions similar to the emails we originally sent.

Once you have narrowed your potential printer candidates, it is time to begin asking for quotes on printing jobs.

When quoting, it’s important you ask about the following:

– Screen setup charges

– Color change charges

– Printed tag charges

– Double hit or triple hit charges (multiple “hits” or layers of printing creates a thicker print that will stand the test of time. For example, most of our t-shirts are triple hit).

Inquire about everything.

Once you have rounded up quotes from all your candidates, it is up to you to decide which printer you would like to go with.

Keep in mind that your printer is someone you will be building a long-term business relationship with.

Liking the person on a personal level goes a long way. Make sure this person is trustworthy, organized and knows how to do business.

Think of your printer as your business partner, because on some level, that’s exactly what they are.

– Andres