Spring is around the corner. Warmer temperatures mean people are getting outside, going to festivals and concerts, signing up for local softball leagues. Moods have brighten, spirits are high, life is good.
You know what would make these events even better? If people can bring a shirt home so they will never, ever forget it. To really bring the experience to a new level, they could watch their shirt be made! Yup, I'm talking about live printing.
For the next few weeks, we'll be diving into the ins and outs of live printing: why do it, how to find and secure a spot to live print, how to juggle finances and what to bring, and how to maximize your time while you are live printing. But first off, why bother to print live at an event?
THE CASH IS NICE
Festivals, concerts, and sport tournaments always have people who want shirts, badly. They want a memento to wear and share the rad experience they had with others. You get to provide that gift to them! You'll find individuals who make impulse purchases. Plus, you can make a little something something off it too. Since you're doing it live and the demand for shirts is high, you can charge more than you typically do for shirts (supply and demand, baby).
ANOTHER AVENUE TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS
Live printing means you're putting yourself in front of tens, hundreds, or thousands of people that may have never heard of you before. Tons of potential, new clients are at your fingertips. As you print, you can chat with the concert goers or the soccer moms and learn to see what printing needs they may have. Maybe someone's company is putting on a dodgeball tournament and they need jerseys, or an aspiring musician needs merchandise for their next gig. You never know a person's printing needs until they're standing in front of you. Live printing puts you in front of them.
By printing live, you're showing prospective clients that you can produce remarkable products when conditions aren't favorable. They can only imagine the stuff you can create when you're back in your shop. Meet new people, show off your skills, and make some cash – live printing provides many opportunities.
SPREAD THE LOVE FOR SCREEN PRINTING
Do you remember the first time you saw someone screen print? Remember that feeling of awe and inspiration? You may be printing for an audience that has never screen printed before. You get to be the person to introduce others to the craft, to conjure the same feelings. Screen printing live is like being the star act at a carnival: all eyes are on you while you create magic in front of their eyes. Have fun, and spread the love.
WHERE CAN YOU LIVE PRINT?
Any place or event where people are willing to pay money for shirts. Festivals, sport tournaments, conferences, breweries, concerts, parties – the list goes on. If you live print, location is huge. If you're printing at an event that's outdoors, summer is the best time to do it. Do not live print if it may rain or be cold because achieving full cure will be extremely difficult. Before agreeing to anything, you need to make sure the site has the power to support all your equipment. Enough about that though, we'll get deeper into that topic in the future.
Next week, we'll dive into how you can find places and events to do live printing and how to connect with event managers to set it up. We'll also get the perspective from a shop that has printed live at many events. Stay tuned!