We are excited to be sending you our 2023 Q1 Newsletter!

In this issue, we’ll be covering our 6 Top Reasons why upgrading to an automatic press could benefit your business. Whether it’s saving time and money or improving accuracy and efficiently, see what automating your shop could do for you.

If you missed the ISS Long Beach show in January, be sure to check out our social media channels for highlights along with interviews from industry professionals. You’ll see we even managed to mix in a little fun along the way!

As always, our goal with this newsletter is to keep you informed and engaged with our print community. We value your feedback and suggestions, so please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know what you think.

When the time comes to purchase your first automatic press, many considerations contribute to your decision. It is important to weigh these factors and the impacts they may or may not have on your business and your options to purchase. In this article, we will share 6 reasons to automate your shop, some of the most common concerns we hear about doing so, and the benefits and advantages that automation provides for your printing business.

Business Growth
As your business grows, you may find that you need more production, more employees, or want to expand into new markets. Whatever the case may be, automation can help with growth. For your expansion plans, you may need to develop new product offerings or explore new methods of printing. Automation enables you to produce a wider range of designs and unique products. It also gives your business the ability to transition between designs quickly and easily, as well as print applications and processes, making you more responsive to customer demands. Automating your shop allows you to scale operations more efficiently, which will help you tap into new markets, reach new customers, provide a better work environment, and even get you home to your family sooner. Automated presses will help you align your business for larger, more complex orders, and position it for long-term growth and success.

Shop Productivity
Most growth scenarios involve the need for both increased production and output. One of the primary benefits of automating your business is the increase of production capacity and being able to do so efficiently. Automated presses produce more prints in less time than manual printing, with the ability to produce up to 500-1000 shirts per hour. This allows you to take on larger, more complex orders with less time and effort required to complete the job. Automated presses will fulfill orders faster, reduce your lead times, and improve the delivery times to your customers.

Quality of Print
Automatic presses provide greater accuracy and consistency in the printing process, resulting in higher-quality prints. Manual print quality is often dependent on the skill and conditioning of the printer, but an automatic press is not going fatigue over the course of a long day, which alters the speeds, angles, and pressures of the print process. Eliminating manual labor fatigue can also allow for more detailed artwork or design complexity due to the use of higher mesh count screens and different inks, for example. These factors also make print quality from an automated press more predictable as it reduces the likelihood of errors or misprints and ensures each print is of the same quality as the last.

Labor Constraints
Adding automatic presses means producing more prints in less time, which translates into fewer labor hours that are required to produce the same number of prints. With automation, you can ramp up production without having to make a significant investment in additional manual labor. Reducing the need for manual labor can significantly reduce your overall costs. Automation also helps to optimize workflow by taking over the most time-consuming and repetitive tasks. You can free up labor-related resources to focus on other aspects of your business.

Shop Profitability
While automated presses can be expensive to purchase, they offer cost savings in the long run. Over time, the cost of your equipment purchase continues to decrease. During this same time period, your labor / employee costs are more than likely going to increase. With financing options available, your automatic purchase is likely to cost you less than another employee who would run a second manual. By reducing manual labor, you are saving on labor costs and improving your profit margins. You are fulfilling more orders and producing more prints in less time, therefore generating more revenue. Another item to consider in profitability is the quality of your final product. Higher quality products (which automated presses are capable of) can result in higher prices and repeat business.

Quality of Life
One of the most overlooked considerations in making an auto purchase is how your life as a shop owner and the lives of operators and employees can be impacted. Manual printing can be demanding, requiring long hours of standing and physical strain. Automating your printing can reduce this burden on employees, leading to reduced worker fatigue and improved job satisfaction. A quicker turnaround time on jobs can reduce the need for overtime and long hours, benefitting your profits and your team’s personal lives. Reducing long hours at the workplace provides everyone more time and energy for their homes and families. All of these factors have been shown to improve job satisfaction and overall quality of life.

As you can see, automating your printing offers numerous benefits – and we’ve only listed our top 6 in this article! If you are considering automating your business, let us know. We’d be happy to walk you through your options and help you select a machine that meets your specific needs.

“My production manager, Jeren, has several close relationships with the Workhorse service staff, as well as the support team. Any machine or piece of equipment can have glitches, but whenever that has happened, they’ve always been there to help us fix it or find another way to make it right.”

Justin Lawrence
Owner, Oklahoma Shirt Company

On the first day of summer every year, International T-Shirt Day is celebrated. In 2023, it falls on June 21st. Part of the fun is wearing your favorite one! For screen printing shops, it brings a unique reason to release new designs, have a promotional event at your business, offer a discount to boost sales, and involve your customers in other ways.

You can use social media to interact with your online following every day of the year, but International T-Shirt Day offers the perfect opportunity for the screen printing industry to increase engagement and find new followers. Below you will find a plan we have created to make it easy for you!

Please note: These dates are good for 2023, but starting this campaign 2 weeks before the first day of summer works no matter the year.

You’ll want to have something for the chosen “winner” on International T-Shirt Day. Some examples include a free screen printed t-shirt (either one you have already done or a design of their choosing), a gift card to a local small business or coffee chain, an e-gift card to an online retailer, discount on their next order (if applicable), or lunch delivered from a local restaurant. The amount/value is up to you, of course, as you know your organization’s budget.

Wednesday, June 7 – Post on your social channels that you have something fun planned for the first day of summer 2023. Add a photo – We recommend one that illustrates summer, a surprise, a secret, or making a simple graphic that says “International T-Shirt Day 2023” but is blurred out. Ask viewers to like and share, then to tag friends “so they can join the fun”.

The weekend of June 10-11 – You can simply repost the above or edit it slightly by changing the text a bit and/or a different photo. Be sure to leave in the request to like and share, then to tag friends “so they can join the fun”.

Wednesday, June 14 – Post on your social channels that next Wednesday is coming up fast, and they need to start looking for their favorite t-shirt. Add a photo of you in your favorite one or just the shirt, or another fun photo with a t-shirt (perhaps one you’ve printed, and if so, take credit for your beautiful work). Ask viewers to like and share, then to tag friends “so they can join the fun”.

The weekend of June 17-18 – Repost as is or make slight edits, but remember to include the engagement requests (like, share, etc.).
Monday, June 19 AND Tuesday, June 20 – Post on your social channels for them to make sure they have their shirt handy for Wednesday AND a fun fact or two related to t-shirts… And don’t forget the requests for engagement! Here are a few t-shirt tidbits we found

• The humble t-shirt has been worn since 1898 when workers decided to cut the tops off their jumpsuits so they could be cooler, thus exposing their undershirts.
• T-shirts were first issued to U.S. Navy sailors in 1913 to be worn as an undershirt.
• In 1920, F Scott Fitzgerald was the one who started calling this style of shirt “t-shirt” and it was in This Side of Paradise, a book he wrote.
• Marlon Brando and James Dean made wearing t-shirts popular. Before then, they were really only worn in public as an undershirt and never seen.

Wednesday, June 21 sometime between 12:01am-8:00am — Post that it’s International T-Shirt Day! On social media that allows pictures in comments, ask your followers to take a picture of either of them in their favorite t-shirt or just their favorite t-shirt (some people prefer not to show their faces on social media), and then post it in the comments. On social channels that do not allow pictures in comments, ask followers to comment #InternationalTShirtDay2023. Ask viewers to like and share, then to tag friends “so they can join the fun”. Also, include that on June 22 at 8pm, you’ll be choosing your favorite from all of the submissions and if that person has liked and shared both this post and your social media channels, they will get a surprise (that’s your giveaway item). If you want to reveal what the item is, you may, but engagement and participation may be better if it is kept a secret for now. For your information, if they haven’t done all of those things, just choose another. If it is in your budget, you can choose a favorite on each one of your socials, but keep in mind that adds to the cost of this fun campaign and it is more work for you.

Thursday, June 22 at 8pm – Time to choose your favorite! Post your choice and ask the person to send you a private message to arrange for receiving the giveaway item. When they have, simply dispatch it! If they don’t contact you, it’s up to you whether you reach out to them, leave it be, or choose a new favorite.

While there is some work involved in making the posts as recommended, this is a relatively easy way to increase activity on your social media channels and celebrate International T-Shirt Day!

Workhorse Products is the perfect partner for the modern screen printing shop!
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