If you have an idea for a great line of apparel, home decor items or gifts, why not create them yourself. The gift markets are filled with knock off items, that all begin to look alike, so the time is right to introduce something unique, something different and something that represents your brand. You might have an idea the market and customers you support from sports to dance and from family to artists and so may other industries in between.
Creating your own product line may seem like a dream that you are not sure you will make come true, but it actually easier and more achievable than one might think. The key is having an idea, have a design concept and having a good idea of what your following and market is looking for.
Screen printing is a pretty simple process. It begins with art that is print onto a transparency, the art is placed on a mesh screen that has been treated with emulsion, the screen is put into a light box and processed to transform the art onto screen. The screen is then washed free of any emulsion and what is left is the art. Screen printing is just that printing art with a screen, so each color you want to print requires its own screen. So if you have even a small red heart on your black artwork, you will need two screen.
The process may seem complicated, but it really is not. The best place to start is with your art. You can design it on the computer, you can design it on your Ipad Pro with a few strokes of the pen or you can go old school and sketch out your design. Keep in mind that if you sketch you will want to outline your work with a black marker. The screen captures the black art best, so anything shaded or grey generally will not show. When doing more than one color, the art is actually all black for each, the ink color is what changes for each screen. So create a single color piece of art or create multiple colors, just keep in mind that screen printing is not the right printing for process color art with many colors.
Once the art is complete you will want to save it to be emailed. You can save it as a PDF, Illustrator file, Tiff or jpg. Keep in mind the higher the resolution the better. If you are not familiar with artwork, computers and design work, don't worry. You can sketch and outline with a marker and take to your local printer and ask them to scan it for you and now the art can be shared. Don't get caught up too much on the art, if you don't have the ability to sketch or design on the computer, but have an idea in mind consider hiring a local college student or local graphic artist.
Now that you have your art complete or in process, consider what you are going to print your art on. Apparel is always a good choice, for adults and kids and there are so many options. Many printers can share with you their catalog of what is available or you can work with companies like Canvas Corp to source what you are looking for. If you want to do some thing different consider home decor items such as pillows, placemats or wall banners. You can also go in a different direction and do custom tote bags, aprons and other functional pieces.
When working with most screen printers you will find there is a minimum number of pieces you can order. The reason for this minimum is generally to help off set the set up and the screen costs. If the art is the same size on the screen you can print on multiple items at the same time to create more items in your collection. Canvas Corp offers so many different blanks that you can create a unique combination of blanks to create the perfect collection.
So if you have an idea for your own product line, if you are looking for a unique screen printed item for an event or a trade show or have an idea for a great message or saying and need to get it out, consider a screen printed product line all your own.
Call today to speak to the Canvas Corp project team 866.376.9961, email info@canvascorp.com or fill out one of these forms today:
Custom Screen Print Project Quote Form
Custom Cut and Sew Blank Item Form