Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1488543
S C R E E N P R I N T I N G I 'd like to talk about the challenges we are faced with in our industry today. I have seen many changes over the years, most of them very advantageous and profit- able. Early on, when I first started the business, I remember pulling letters out of a zip-close bag one-by-one just to put a name on the back of a football jersey. I even screen printed on lycra wrestling sin- glets and nylon jackets back in the day, all of which we never do anymore thanks to the invention of sublimation. We still have to pay some attention to dye sublimation, but not as much as we did 15 years ago. Everything was a strug- gle to print on back then. I always like to tell the story of my very first nylon jacket, which was printed as a Christmas gift. I set up the screen and printed a beautiful one-color print on the back. I put it on the dryer belt like we always did with shirts and hoodies, then I scraped the ink off the screen and grabbed the jacket out of the box at the end of the dryer. Much to my surprise, the dryer had melted the whole back of the jacket off ! I was shocked and devastated. I ordered another jacket and printed it again, this time making sure the dryer temperature was turned down. I watched very closely Tips for getting to the top and staying there Shane Wilson owns a screen printing and embroidery shop in Nebraska that is also a retail sporting goods store, selling everything you need for your favorite sport. He has been in this industry for 29 years. IN THE DECORATIVE APPAREL BUSINESS B Y S H A N E W I L S O N 3 8 G R A P H I C S P R O • J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M