There’s an inherent sense of trust between apparel decorators and customers. As a reliable partner, decorators want to deliver what they’re promising — and that’s the expectation from the customer. This is the message Dave Conner, Digital Marketing Manager for St. Clair Shores, MI-based STAHLS’ (Booths C10940 and C8724), drove home yesterday in a presentation titled, “Art Efficiencies for Apparel Decorators.”

“Our customers are giving us money with a digital file and essentially a hope and a prayer that it’s going to turn out right,” he said.

During his session held at the Future State Theater (Booth C11330), Conner outlined three steps for creating T-shirts people will want to wear, with the caveat that attendees should look through the lens of their own print shops.

  1. Set clear expectations for accepting artwork. That means your requirements, your minimums, and what Conner called your “good in/good out” — DPI, sizing, and the like. List expectations on your company website or put them in your emails when soliciting for artwork. For example, file size, fonts outlined, or any shapes expanded.
  2. Organize file handling and prep workflow. When files are running through your shop — regardless of where they’re coming from (e.g., outsource design, your customer, an online designer, or in-house design team) — define the standard operating procedures to bring it all the way in from where, or you take it, to when it’s going to pre-flighting, which Conner has found to be most efficient. He also encouraged decorators to leverage technology in a way that’s going to be most beneficial to them. He mentioned setting up hot folders and, later in the conversation, Photoshop actions. “I was using actions to literally click one button and trim all the transparent pixels, which pulls it right to size,” Conner said. “Make sure it’s at the size the customer needs it to be.”
  3. Strive for simple, quick artwork approvals. For approvals, Conner recommended maximizing contact with customers and minimizing the time it takes for them to respond. Again, be clear in your proofing email. “Maybe when they’re placing the order, you go, ‘OK, expect a proof in 24 hours that I need approval on’,” Conner said.