Produce Perfect Prints Faster With Reliable Printing Solutions

Apparel decorating is a fast-paced, competitive industry. To stay ahead, speed is the name of the garment game. That’s why streamlining your shop’s operations to produce high-quality goods quickly keeps customers coming back to you. Reliable printing solutions add to your shop’s efficiency and precision, which are keys to success in this business.

Reducing production delays, minimizing errors, and turning out consistent quality with your print runs help add profit rather than take away from your bottom line. High-quality printing makes customers happy and helps you stand out from competitors. Whether you’re running a small custom apparel shop or managing a large-scale printing facility with a fleet of machines, let’s dive into how dependable printing solutions can add to your success.

Consistent Quality Is Your Secret Brand Booster

Customers have many options when it comes to printed apparel. Not only are there lots of decorating techniques they can choose from, but also many local and online vendors. Picture a group of fishermen throwing their lines in the same river. They’re all after the same thing: a successful catch. The best way to accomplish this goal is to use top-quality equipment, blanks and excellent imprinting techniques.

Customers want to be reassured that if they choose you as their apparel vendor, they’ll have the best quality custom merchandise and consistently clear, vibrant prints that last and last. Using reliable printing solutions, such as Arcus Printers systems, is a great way to give customers what they want while building or maintaining your reputation in the industry. The best compliment you can receive is a customer referral by producing quality goods that leave customers smiling.

Smooth Product Can Be Smooth Sailing

Keeping your equipment in optimal shape helps you streamline production and prevents workflow hiccups. We know that a down machine means costly downtime. Selecting printers made with heavy-duty components and expert craftsmanship gives you the advantage of producing the best quality prints. Then, performing regular maintenance keeps your printers running efficiently, allowing you to push your production to full capacity.

Evaluating your workflow and establishing clear production systems is key for efficiency and profitability. A smooth production process keeps orders moving forward and lets you stay on schedule. From order intake to packaging and delivering the goods, an efficient workflow will help you amaze customers and give them a reason to come back to you with more business.

Here are some questions to ask when evaluating your production process to make improvements:

Order Management and Customer Service

How long does it take from order placement to final delivery?
Are there any frequent bottlenecks in the order processing system?
What system do you use to keep track of orders? For example, a digital order tracker, old-fashioned paper orders, or a combination of both.
- Do you need to update your system to simplify checking on order status?
How effectively do your staffers handle customer inquiries and revisions?
- How do these matters get communicated to your production team to avoid misprints?
Are turnaround times competitive and clearly communicated to customers?
- Do your systems speed up your turnaround times or slow them way down?

Your Production Process

Do you schedule your jobs efficiently to minimize downtime?
Do you have an easily understandable production scheduling system so employees can get right to work, or do they require direction or daily huddles because they don’t know what to do?
Is there unnecessary waste in materials or ink?
- Do you have a log for tracking waste so you can make changes?
Do you maintain your machines and tools regularly to avoid breakdowns?
- Do you have a maintenance log to ensure your machines are regularly monitored?

Managing Your Supplies

Are you keeping the right amount of supplies on hand to avoid downtime if you run out?
Are your suppliers reliable in terms of quality, cost, and delivery times? (Waiting too long for supplies to arrive can delay your production schedule.)
Can you consolidate orders to get better pricing on materials?

Quality Control

How often do you encounter misprints or quality issues?
- Do you have a log to keep track so you can identify and fix the problem?
Is there a structured quality check at each stage of production?
How well do employees follow standard operating procedures?
- Do you have a system in place to monitor employee performance and provide them with feedback?

Technology and Automation

Are there software tools that could automate parts of your workflow? (Some popular resources are Printavo, PressWise, PipeDrive, Notion, ShopVOX, and Onyx Thrive.)
Could investing in newer equipment improve efficiency and quality?
Are employees trained on the latest tools and technologies?

Financial and Business Performance

What’s your most profitable product category (like hoodies) or service (maybe direct-to-film printing)?
Are there services you should add or remove based on demand?
How well do you track job costs, and are you pricing jobs correctly?
- How do you calculate pricing for jobs, and how do you check to see if your pricing is in line with the industry?

Which Printer Is Right for the Job?

Selecting the right printer depends on how the print job turns out. Each printer has a different technology, which offers a variety of options that garment decorators can use to match the needs of their customers.

We do a deep dive into printer selection in another blog post, but here are the highlights to get you started:

Direct-to-Garment (DTG) Printing

DTG printers use a water-based ink that embeds directly into the garment's fabric. This popular technique can print full-color designs or images without minimum quantities. This technique is best for cotton fabrics and lighter colors. Darker fabrics require a pretreatment solution, and the apparel must contain at least 50% cotton. DTG printers are fairly easy to run and have lower maintenance overall than screen-printing machines, which are key profitability factors.

Direct-to-Film (DTF) Printing

DTF printers transfer designs onto film, and then an operator uses a heat press to transfer the design to the fabric. DTF printing allows you to print more complicated designs, including those with a full-color spectrum and gradients and is suitable for smaller quantities. Decorators love that you can apply DTF transfers a wide range of materials, making it a more versatile decorating technique than others. Consider choosing one of these machines from Arcus Printers.

Dye-Sublimation Printing

Dye-sublimation printing offers a broader selection of colors, patterns, and versatility, allowing you to decorate edge-to-edge on various materials, from apparel to promotional items and banners. Sublimation works best on polyester fabrics or items with a polyester coating. This technique isn’t effective on dark materials because the printing process relies on the substrate’s white or light base for color visibility. Arcus Printers has a full lineup of reliable dye-sublimation printers.

Minimize Downtime With Consistent Maintenance

As part of evaluating your workflow systems, we suggested that you keep a maintenance log and established schedule to ensure your machines run at optimal standards. (For a more extensive look at printer maintenance, read this blog post.)

Your printers should undergo routine maintenance daily, weekly, monthly, annually, and seasonally or long-term. Implementing a maintenance schedule keeps your machines functioning efficiently, avoiding costly breakdowns and production downtime. Printer maintenance is a must-do task in a print shop—when a machine goes down, your shop immediately starts losing money. It’s important to communicate to your team the value of printer maintenance and how it adds to everyone’s success overall.

Pump Up the Print Volume

Handling increased order volumes while maintaining precision and consistency in your print shop requires a combo of workflow optimization, automation, staff management, and quality control.

Here are five key strategies to keep your shop ops running smoothly:

1. Optimize Workflow and Scheduling

Prioritize jobs efficiently: Use a digital job board or scheduling software like Printavo, ShopVOX, or PressWise to manage job priorities based on deadlines and complexity.
Batch similar jobs: To reduce setup times,Group orders by material type, ink color, or print method.
Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Male sure every team member follows the same production steps to reduce errors.

2. Automate and Use Software Solutions

Implement print management software: Tools like EFI Pace, Tharstern, or Ordant can automate order processing, job tracking, and invoicing.
Try a web-to-print system: Let customers submit orders and approve proofs online through platforms like OnPrintShop or PrintNow to reduce manual work.
Use barcode tracking: Implement barcode scanning to track jobs through each production stage, reducing the chance of misplacing or duplicating orders.

3. Improve Your Equipment Efficiency

Maintain and upgrade your machinery: We can’t say it enough—regular maintenance prevents downtime. Invest in faster or higher-capacity printers to keep up with higher demand if possible.
Calibrate equipment regularly: Maintain color consistency by calibrating printers and ensuring all machines use the same ICC profiles.
Update your printer software: Keeping your printer software up-to-date helps avoid downtime due to printer malfunctions or time-consuming system upgrades.

4. Strengthen Your Shop’s Quality Control Process

Create a process: Establish designated procedures and points to stop and check print or production quality before moving on to the next phase.
Implement final inspections: Check the order count and print quality before packaging and shipping the shirts.
Train your employees on error prevention: Conduct regular training sessions on best practices for consistent, quality printing.

5. Manage Your Workforce Labor Hours Effectively

Cross-train your staff: Ensure your team members can handle multiple roles so production doesn’t slow down when someone is out of the office.
Hire temporary or part-time staff: Bring on additional help during peak seasons to avoid overwhelming full-time employees. This also helps cut down overtime, keeping your payroll in line with your budget.
Create performance incentives: Reward accuracy and efficiency to encourage employees to maintain quality under pressure.

Reliable printing solutions are essential to the function and profitability of your business. By implementing some of these ideas and strategies, you can enjoy the benefits of a smooth-running print shop. With a little bit of focused organization and follow-up procedures, you have the recipe to set yourself up for success!

Contact the Decorating Pros at Arcus Printers to Learn More

Arcus Printers, a division of Axiom America, provides cutting-edge decorating technologies and equipment across the USA. Specializing in direct-to-film printing, wide-format digital fabric printing, laser cutting, embroidery, and more, we deliver high-quality solutions backed by expert support. Since 2004, our team has empowered businesses of all sizes to unleash creativity and achieve exceptional results.

Contact the team at Arcus Printers if you encounter any issues with your current printing machines or if you would like to upgrade your shop with new equipment.

Learn more at Arcusprinters.com.