It is important to take the time to strategically organize your shop so that you can take full advantage of your capacity and minimize your constraints. An organized shop will allow for production to flow smoothly, as employees can be more efficient in their movement. It is likely you will see fewer mistakes, and less waste in general, in an organized shop. It can be difficult to produce truly efficient work when operating in a confined or disorganized space. Whether your shop offers embroidery, wide format, sublimation, direct-to-garment, or direct screen printing, make sure that the equipment setup and workflow make sense. For instance, it does not make sense to have a pretreating machine for direct-to-garment printing located across the room from heat presses when they have to be used together. The majority of decoration businesses start out in either a garage or a basement, and working in such tight quarters makes logical shop organization even more important.
Map Everything Out
The first thing you will want to do is to map out your shop using graph paper, making sure that the proportions are correct. Once you know how many square feet you have available, measure all equipment, tables, storage receptacles, and other items that will be in the shop. Create paper figures that are representative of everything in the shop and move them around your drawing to figure out the placements that make the most sense for your space and workflow. Adjustable wire shelving is highly recommended for storage. Typically, they come with six shelves and wheels, and retail for around $90.00. These shelves are great since they are mobile, adjustable, and quite durable. Also, you can never have enough table and/or desk space. A combination of folding and heavy duty tables (preferably on wheels) throughout your shop is something we suggest. Table height is an important factor as well. Folding garments can be hard on your back, so make sure that your tables come up to your waist.
Direct-to-Garment
Once you have your shop space mapped out on graph paper and know what all will be in the shop, you will want to write out the flow of production for each process that you perform. For example, the Direct-To-Garment printing process goes as follows:
1. Pretreat Shirt
2. Cure the pretreated shirt using a heat press
3. Prepare artwork on the computer and send it to the printer
4. Print the garment
5. Cure the garment using a heat press or conveyor dryer.
Equipment should be lined up based on the printing sequence. In this example, the heat press should be between the pretreat machine and the DTG printer so that the workflow can move in a simple left-to-right motion.
Screen Print Transfers
When it comes to decorating apparel with screen print transfers, the only equipment and materials you need are a heat press, the garment(s), and transfer(s). Printing transfers is a simple process that does not require mapping out, but you will need to keep the transfers themselves organized. Always keep your transfers in the bag and box that they came in to protect against moisture and preserve them. It also makes it easier to organize them on shelving, as you can label the boxes and order them according to whatever method you wish to use.
Embroidery
Embroidery is similar to pressing screen print transfers in that there are not many pieces of equipment or supplies required to decorate. All you need is the embroidery machine(s), a computer, the blank product, thread, and hoops. The workflow for embroidery begins with preparing the artwork, which is done on a computer. The artwork is then transferred to the embroidery machine through a USB connection. Then, choose the right hoop size jig and hoop the product that is going to be sewn. Lastly, you will want to make sure that the machine has all the different colors of thread that will be used to sew the design. Based on the embroidery workflow, you will want to have a computer and a rack that holds all your thread and hoops close to the embroidery machine. An employee should not have to move more than 15 feet throughout the decorating process.
Wide Format Printing
The workflow for Wide-Format Printing is like that of embroidery. A computer, the wide-format printer, different types of rolled media to print on, and tools for finishing the products are all that is needed. Wide format printing is one of the easier decoration processes. A wide format printer is like an inkjet printer, and the machine does the majority of the work. The first step is loading the right roll of media for the job. The majority of wide format printing is done on rolled media (typically around 54 inches in width). This includes vinyl banners, canvas, stickers, wall and window clings, and stickers. Once you have loaded the media, prepare the artwork on the computer. As with embroidery, the artwork is sent to the wide format printer via USB connection.
Certain media needs extra work after printing to be complete. Nearly all wide format printed products need to be trimmed down to eliminate the border or even it out. This is done using a rotary cutter, which allows the media to be easily cut on a straight line. Vinyl banners are also often grommeted using banner tape and a grommet press. The grommeting process is fairly easy and is a great way to make a few extra dollars on an order. Canvas is often wrapped around a wooden frame, which are also known as stretcher bars. The canvas wrapping process takes a little bit of practice and patience, but all you need is a nail gun and a frame. Once the canvas has been wrapped, the price nearly doubles!
Sublimation
The sublimation decoration process requires just a computer, sublimation printer, transfer paper, and heat press(s). First, the artwork is prepared on the computer and sent to the printer via USB. A sublimation transfer is printed in just a few seconds and is then ready to be heat applied onto a wide variety of sublimatable products. Flat objects and polyester fabrics can be printed using a typical garment heat press. Round products like mugs, on the other hand, have to printed using either an oven, mug, or vacuum press. Pressing sublimation products can be a tricky process. Each type of product requires different time, temperature, and pressure settings. Many blank products for sublimation are expensive. So, when mistakes are made they are costly. It is crucial to know the precise variables for every product you offer, and it is probably a good idea to have a reference sheet near the press to help prevent mistakes.
Inventory and Making the Most of Your Money
Managing inventory is an important skill for a print shop manager. Never run out of blank products. Also, do not have more merchandise on the shelves than you can sell. For a small decoration business, you should try to operate using the Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory method. JIT involves only purchasing what you need to fulfill orders and having it arrive as close as possible to when you are ready to begin production. This will help to prevent you from purchasing excess inventory. Additionally, if you make a mistake while printing a garment (which you absolutely will), then keep it! Keep mistakes to use as rags or test shirts. It is important for small businesses to make the most of every dollar, so try to maximize the utility of everything you buy. Think of each purchase as an investment in your business. Along the same lines, make sure that you stay up-to-date on the necessary maintenance for all your decoration equipment. Quality equipment is expensive, and as such it is very expensive to repair or replace.
A Few Other Things to Keep in Mind
Whether you are operating your shop in your home or at an independent facility, your business is subject to the fire code. Fire codes vary from city to city. So, it is wise to look up the code on your local fire marshal or fire department website. In addition to your local fire code, if you have employees, then you will need to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations as well. OSHA laws and regulations are also available on their website. A few examples of safety requirements include fire extinguishers, easily accessible exits, easily accessible breaker boxes, and posted emergency evacuation procedures. Be sure to keep your shop’s fire and safety policies up to date as heavy fines for violations can cripple a small business.
Conclusion
Each decoration process is unique, and understanding the differences is key in being able to set up a product decoration shop. If you are going to offer multiple decoration processes, then you have to find a way to maximize the shop’s utility while maintaining proper workflow for each individual process. What you have mapped out may not work in practice, so do not be afraid to change or move things around. It may take some trial and error to perfect your arrangement. However, once you have an ideal setup in your print shop things will run more smoothly and production will be much more efficient.
