The latest and most exciting Catspit video has been uploaded to YouTube today. This one shows a huge Direct To Garment shirt printer printing a black shirt. It lays down a white under base first and then continues to the colors.
This is a pretty wicked machine and produces far better results than ordinary commercial table top units commonly sold for around $20,000.
You gotta see this machine go!
Thanks for watching!
The next video to post will be called: “How To Screen Print: Monster Direct To Garment Shirt Printer”. This is a video I made at a trade show for screen printed apparel. This giant Direct To Garment machine was demonstrating its ability. I have to admit, this one is impressive.
This video will be uploaded on Friday the 21st of August in the morning.
Thanks for watching!
Originally when I first started the YouTube channel and the Catspit website, I intended on doing some videos with a Direct To Garment digital shirt printer. Unfortunately, the unit I was going to use has since stopped communicating with the computer. The owner is trying to resolve the situation but there won’t be any videos on this subject… sort of.
I have one really cool video clip from a screen printing trade show of this monster Direct To Garment printer doing a couple of shirts. It is a huge Japanese made machine as I recall.
I am currently preparing it to upload. It will be the next video. I’ll let you know when it will post soon.
Thanks for reading!
It has come to my attention that there are some small quirks in respect to how the website displays on different computer platforms and operating systems. I think one part of the problem is that the website is being developed on a PC with Vista and Internet Explorer 8. So I may be seeing things differently than how they actually display normally with IE 7.
For some reason the marquee on the home page will not load the first time you load the page. You have to refresh or come back a second time for the marquee to load and be visible. I’m not sure why that is. It may not be related to platforms but the server itself perhaps.
I know that Macintosh units with Firefox will cut pages and show some serious display problems. For instance half of the Guestbook doesn’t show up. It is cut off. And some images are also clipped.
These are issues that I do not know how to address at the moment but they don’t seem to be a problem in the functioning of the website as an informational and educational resource.
Please let me know of any problems that you may have with the Catspit website and let me know what OS and browser you are using.
Thanks for reading!
I am currently planning to make a new expanded video on reclaiming screens using a pressure washer. This video will also include de-hazing the mesh.
See the August 6th Catspit Blog entry called, “The Pressure Washer Dilemma”. It has some great information on the whole pressure washer subject including pricing and links.
Thanks for watching!
There are always updates, modifications and improvements being made to the Catspit website. Since the website is entirely built by myself, I am constantly looking for ways to make it more functional and easier to navigate. I am currently researching the possibility of putting a site search engine on each page. That way you can search for the subject matter you want. I am not sure yet if I will be able to do this with the free website service I am using. I’ll keep you posted.
Yesterday the homepage was updated to a more commercial feel. Before the focus was on YouTube. Now the focus of the home page is to easily communicate all of the services offered by Catspit Productions. Not to worry, the website will always be dedicated to educational information on screen printing. But because I am doing commercial printing as well, the website also has to be friendly to my commercial customers.
As Catspit Productions grows and matures, the website will feature and promote more commercial services as well as educational materials for screen printing. And I hope to make the website more interactive and perhaps we can build a community over time.
Thanks to all who watch my videos and visit the website. Please make sure to sign in on the Guestbook page. Leave your thoughts and comments for all to enjoy!
Thanks for your continued support!
I am often asked where is the best place to buy wholesale shirts. There are a couple of reasons why this is a question you have to answer for yourself.
First of all, I couldn’t possibly give away all my sources for buying wholesale shirts. That would be detrimental to my business and the industry as a whole. If everyone knew where to get the best deals on tee shirts, we would have wicked price wars for the labor alone. Many screen printers would just end up working for barely any profit.
Another reason is that as you do business with any given shirt supplier and your purchases grow, your pricing should be adjusted to match the volume you are doing. That is to say a screen printer who buys 1000 shirts a year is paying more per shirt than a screen printer who is purchasing 100,000 shirts each year. So pricing can be dependant on your purchase volume. For some of you who are very small, this may not be as much of an issue. You would just need to start with the best price on small quantities.
In order to get the best pricing on small quantities, you will not only need to find the vendor with the best pricing but you will need to find the best priced vendor who is closest to you. The reason for that is shipping costs.
I purchase my shirts from a local vendor and I pick up my orders. That way I do not pay any shipping. Because I do not pay for shipping on my shirt orders, I can be assured that I am actually getting a decent price even if some online shirt vendors sell for a bit less but charge shipping.
Happy Printing!
I just finished uploading a new video on YouTube. The annotations are complete as well. It is about making film positives at home. Make sure to visit the website for additional information on RIP software and creating film at home.
And keep up with the blog to get the latest news on my new Epson 1400 printer.
Thanks for watching!
The printed shirt industry is very dynamic and there always seems to be work available. No matter what the state of the economy, there is someone, somewhere who wants or needs printed shirts.
That is not to say that the economy hasn’t taken its toll on the printed shirt market. Customers will be more discriminating in their product choices and orders are much smaller. A customer who normally orders 2 dozen shirts at one time may be ordering only those sizes that are needed at the moment. Someone who normally would print a 4 color on 36 pieces will now look to do a 1 or 2 color on a dozen pieces.
Even those larger more consistent accounts will see some differences in the order they place for tee shirts. Some may disappear altogether. So “never put all of your eggs into one basket”, if you know what I mean. And the demand for novelty shirts drops severely during times like these.
During down economic times it is important to plan for the sporadic and unpredictable orders that will come your way. It is a must to plan for lean times by making sure your business has enough savings to pay the bills even when there are no jobs bringing in the money or the money coming in is slim.
It may not be the best time to start a tee shirt printing business as far as the economy goes. However, it can be done. It just may take longer to get a firm grip on your profitability.
Catspit Productions has definitely been affected by this economy. Sales for shirts on EBay have come to a halt. Custom print orders are not walking in the door as they used to. I am finding it necessary to reach out and find new customers. And the local price wars are pretty cut throat. It gets harder and harder each day to be competitive with local pricing and still make a profit.
As a small screen printer it is most difficult to compete with larger printers who offer a lot more for less in any economy. So it is always a good idea to cut costs in all departments except one…. marketing.
Good luck to all!
Learn How To Screen Print Tee Shirts At Home 