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G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 3 • G R A P H I C S P R O 3 3 T E A M S P O R T S H O W - T O / T U T O R I A L T here are thousands of items that can be personalized with laser engraving and marking, sublimation, toner heat trans- fer, vinyl application, and UV-LED printing that you can offer to customers and schools alike. Here are a few ways you can get into the "school spirit" to grow your business. Local schools One of the fastest and easiest ways to grow your business is by partnering with local school districts to offer "school spirit" items like drinkware and soft goods. With a little planning and bud- geting, it can be great repeat business year after year. ere are countless schools across the country that offer school spirit items to their students and parents. From alumni mugs and tumblers to mascot-themed shirts and sports related items, schools offer these items to foster school pride and build a rela- tionship with the community. Many of these schools purchase their items from large volume online sellers, and those sellers require minimum orders. You have two big advantages as a local supplier of customized items. One is the ability to create short-run, almost on-demand orders, which allows schools to offer a wider range of products since they don't have to buy in bulk, so to speak. And two, you can offer an addi- tional layer of personalization with those short-run orders. Adding a name to a sublimated mug or sports jersey number to toner heat transfer T-shirt is something you GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITH C O U R T E S Y O F J O H N S O N P L A S T I C S P L U S Schl Spit can do that the bulk-order companies cannot. One last way to work with the schools and help solidify your reputation in the community is to offer to split the profits with the school as a fundraiser. It's a win-win for both you and the schools! Colleges and universities Partnering with a university bookstore can lead to a unique revenue stream for your personalization business. For example, if the bookstore is offering leather note- books or notepads with the school logo, you could offer to personalize them for their customers with laser engraver or UV-LED printing. e same could hold true for tumblers and other drink- ware that you could personalize with a laser or with vinyl application. To help you get started, be sure to check out our School Spirit Gift Guide at jpplus.com/school-spirit with products you can personalize with sublimation, toner heat transfer, engraving, vinyl, UV-LED print- ing, and more! GP