We have a problem saying no.
And by that, I mean we don’t like to say no. Even to what seems impossible.
Peggy, as he’s affectionately known by his fans, wasn’t thinking about the practical when he dreamed up a new merch design. Cause dreams aren’t made of the mundane or even the probable. And with a recent, critically acclaimed album hailed as “experimental,” his idea was sure to push the limits on screen printing.
In fact, as far as we knew at the start, the printing method necessary to complete his project didn’t even exist. Yet.
Peggy had designed a hat with extremely complex and intricate artwork. Direct screen printing is the zenith, the benchmark for this type of project. But it didn’t cut the mustard. Using a traditional technique for this project was like trying to color a baby snail with jumbo crayons. Just no.
It was obvious we needed a new technique. So the hunt began.
Now, printers are known for being more comfortable with what they already know will work. The nails in the coffins of creativity. “This is how it’s always been done; that won’t work because blah blah blah; we can’t do that. Why? Because I said so.”
Printers are also known for keeping secrets about improvements in printing technology. “Better” is always unadvertised. This is a challenge we can handle, we know how to dig deeper. We scoured our resources and sifted through our network until we found it:
A digital screen-printing transfer method that could replicate incredibly fine point text.
A digital screen-printing transfer method that could replicate incredibly fine point text.
It tossed the limits of direct transfer and traditional decoration techniques into the horizon. The results were durable, with the look and feel of screen printing.
With this technique, a hat that previously couldn’t be printed on looked as sexy as a warm breakfast burrito in the late morning when we were finished with it. And much more sophisticated. Even we were surprised, and we have a pretty high opinion of our capabilities.
The results? A high-volume, high-detail kickass production run the likes of which had never before been done. And the capability to use the same bleeding-edge technique for other artists with complex designs running through their veins. Even better, merch that sold as well as the vision behind it.
Here’s the thing: We know artists live for the music. And the way their merch reflects their music. And the connection between their music, their merch, and their fans. It’s very emotional, really. But they have the big picture in mind. The details are breadcrumbs under a table. The “how” is a big “who cares.”
Well, we’re addicted to the details. Once we hang up our hats after a day of production, we go home and dive into the raw underbelly of merch methodology. We want to be the first to know about advancements. The first to wield them. And our clients to be the first to benefit from merch done better.
Artists aren’t the only ones who like to experiment, discover a new technique. When we said we can make anything, we weren’t joking.
