TOUR SHIRT WALKTHROUGH - Part 9 - Conclusion

[upperhandprinting]

After it was all done, I had shirts that ended up being 4 colors on the front, with no underbase, and 2 colors on the back. Overall, I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I think the backs of the shirts are a little ink heavy. I wish I would've set my off contact down a bit more to print a thinner layer of ink, but live and learn right?

These shirts aren't perfect, but that's kind of what I like about them. I like old cars that if they got a dent, you could hammer it out. Or tables that weren't perfectly level. With technology, we've all become so accustomed to things being perfect. But I feel like it loses a bit of something when that happens. Dare I say, beauty? Not every single shirt that I print will be perfectly registered, have a super soft hand, or be in the exact same place on the shirt. But every time we sell one, knowing I labored and sweated over each shirt brings me that much more satisfaction and pride. I feel closer to our merchandise. It has become another outlet of my creativity besides the music and I feel closer to our fans because of it.

If I can give anyone one piece of advice, it's to let your guard down and be okay with not being perfect. Jump in to it, no matter what your goals are or what level you are at. Bite off a little more than you can chew, and then develop the skills necessary to be able to do them.

As I'm writing this, I want you to know that I still consider myself a beginner. I'm still new and I'm learning things every day. I'm sure Jonathan will cringe at a few things I said I did during this process. And that's okay. I'll be better prepared for the next one and know which steps to take. Like I said, I'm a beginner and I'm just going for it. If you have any questions about my process, or a question about a project you're working on, feel free to write me a message on this forum or email me at craig@upperhandprinting.com I know I don't have all the answers, but if I can help in any way I would love to. A big thank you to Jonathan for all of his help and being so friendly. Also thanks to ranar for helping me with technical questions about my equipment. I hope everyone enjoyed going through this process with me, and maybe even learned something. Thank you so much for your time and reading all of this.

*shameless plug*
If you like heavy metal, concerts, or just want to talk to me about printing in person, please go to http://www.trumpettheharlot.com/tour to check the dates. We will be on the road for the rest of November and it'd be cool to "talk shop" with anyone interested. Thanks again for listening.

Best wishes,
Craig
Upper Hand Printing

[Catspit Productions]

What a great line up of posts. I really can’t say enough good things about your efforts here. Believe me I actually did not cringe as much as you may have thought I might... LOL I think you did very well and the words you said here are so very true.

In time your skills will improve and the prints will always be registered and in a decent place on the shirt. There is a learning curve that I never deceive my audience about for screen printing tee shirts. I think you did a great job with a complex piece of art. You deserve a lot of credit for taking on screen printing the way you did and remember the printer is always their own worst critic. 99% of the time what we see as an imperfection in the shirt the customer does not see.

Unless it’s a spelling error.... LOL

Thanks again so much for the very detailed posts and I wish you the very best of luck as you move forward with your screen printing endeavors. Now I’m off to check out your band’s website.

[ppdlao]

After it was all done, I had shirts that ended up being 4 colors on the front, with no underbase, and 2 colors on the back. Overall, I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I think the backs of the shirts are a little ink heavy. I wish I would've set my off contact down a bit more to print a thinner layer of ink, but live and learn right?

These shirts aren't perfect, but that's kind of what I like about them. I like old cars that if they got a dent, you could hammer it out. Or tables that weren't perfectly level. With technology, we've all become so accustomed to things being perfect. But I feel like it loses a bit of something when that happens. Dare I say, beauty? Not every single shirt that I print will be perfectly registered, have a super soft hand, or be in the exact same place on the shirt. But every time we sell one, knowing I labored and sweated over each shirt brings me that much more satisfaction and pride. I feel closer to our merchandise. It has become another outlet of my creativity besides the music and I feel closer to our fans because of it.

If I can give anyone one piece of advice, it's to let your guard down and be okay with not being perfect. Jump in to it, no matter what your goals are or what level you are at. Bite off a little more than you can chew, and then develop the skills necessary to be able to do them.

As I'm writing this, I want you to know that I still consider myself a beginner. I'm still new and I'm learning things every day. I'm sure Jonathan will cringe at a few things I said I did during this process. And that's okay. I'll be better prepared for the next one and know which steps to take. Like I said, I'm a beginner and I'm just going for it. If you have any questions about my process, or a question about a project you're working on, feel free to write me a message on this forum or email me at craig@upperhandprinting.com I know I don't have all the answers, but if I can help in any way I would love to. A big thank you to Jonathan for all of his help and being so friendly. Also thanks to ranar for helping me with technical questions about my equipment. I hope everyone enjoyed going through this process with me, and maybe even learned something. Thank you so much for your time and reading all of this.

*shameless plug*
If you like heavy metal, concerts, or just want to talk to me about printing in person, please go to http://www.trumpettheharlot.com/tour to check the dates. We will be on the road for the rest of November and it'd be cool to "talk shop" with anyone interested. Thanks again for listening.

Best wishes,
Craig
Upper Hand Printing

Awesome t shirts Craig!!! I read "Part 9" where can I read the other parts of yout post!? (thnks) and how or which programs do you use to separate the colors? is this a CMYK printing?? ... Jon is right, your telling a lot of true words on your post! congrats! Do you make your own designs cause the look amazing? See you buddy

[upperhandprinting]

There's a section in each part of the forum. Just check around. They all have the same title so it's easy to find. I used photoshop to separate the colors. Under the "printing the shirts" section it talks about the inks and such. It's a 4 spot color front and 2 spit color back. No cmyk. Just half tones and that's it. Thanks for commenting. Check the other sections and let me know if you have any other questions.

Take care.

[ppdlao]

There's a section in each part of the forum. Just check around. They all have the same title so it's easy to find. I used photoshop to separate the colors. Under the "printing the shirts" section it talks about the inks and such. It's a 4 spot color front and 2 spit color back. No cmyk. Just half tones and that's it. Thanks for commenting. Check the other sections and let me know if you have any other questions.

Take care.

Ok, I will search for those posts for sure, this printing job looks amazing, it surprises me it´s not CMYK color separation!!! it gets more interesting!, thnks for answering Craig, excellent work again! see you