7 Tips for Getting Started with Live Screen-Printing Services

hen a major corporate client asked Chicago-based Barrel Maker Printing to decorate t-shirts live at their holiday party, it marked a significant shift from their usual pre-event printing, introducing a new and exciting challenge for the shop.

“Since we started our business DIY out of a small apartment, we had smaller entry-level equipment and felt this opportunity was worth pursuing. Seeing how excited the guests got watching their shirts printed in front of them was an eye-opening experience.”
- Justin Moore, founder of Barrel Maker Printing

After that, Moore marketed live printing to other customers and, over the next couple of years, increased the amount of live activations his team did. As the service became a core part of Barrel Maker’s business, he purchased the Liveprinting.com domain. “Then, off we went with a new focus of being able to live print all over the country,” he says.

Moore and his team have really grown the onsite printing side of their business and live print for an impressive list of notable companies, brands, and events across the U.S., including Toyota, Pinterest, Chase, Gatorade, Southwest Airlines, Spotify, Lexus, TikTok, Lollapalooza, Snapchat, Live Nation, Rolling Loud, Heinz, Formula 1, Athleta, and more.

If you’ve been thinking about adding live printing services to your business, to help you get started we gathered info on all the ins and outs of the process from experienced decorators already offering it.

Preparing to Setup a Successful Live Printing Service

Here are some questions to consider before you get started.

1. What will the printing process involve?

For most events, an attendee will choose a design and an item like a t-shirt, bag, or hat that you’ll decorate right there at the event. The process is quick, allowing attendees to take their custom-printed items home with them. Moore even offers DIY screen-printing events where guests can print their own apparel.

2. What’s your agreement with your client?

Upfront, Moore gets all of the necessary information so his team is in the know about all of the event details.

“For example, if we forget to tell a client that guests can only get one print per shirt, we end up with a mini-mutiny on our hand with guests clamoring for multiple prints in different spots, turning a quick job into something that takes two to four times longer and making the whole experience a lot less fun. We pride ourselves on making sure everything runs smoothly so everyone has a blast.”
- Justin Moore, founder of Barrel Maker Printing

3. What’s your checklist based on the event venue and client needs?

For Moore’s team, each type of activation — be it screen printing, embroidery, laser engraving or heat pressing transfers — has its own unique checklist for equipment, supplies, and setup..

“We run a tight ship, with a pretty vast set of steps and processes that ensure we're on top of our game. But, since no two events are ever the same, we also plan for the nuances of each specific event from making sure we have the right platens or hoops to nailing down clear event guidelines.”
- Justin Moore, founder of Barrel Maker Printing

4. What’s your printing station setup?

For indoor events, Renee Matsushima, co-owner of Tee Mart Decorated Apparel, coordinates with the client to make sure there’s enough space (about 60 square feet) at their location for her printing setup. For startup equipment, Matsushima suggests having a couple of folding chairs and tables—either two 6-foot tables or one 6-foot and one 4-foot.

You'll also need stands for your decorating equipment or heat press (she uses Keter workbenches), two or three tabletop mannequins to display the t-shirts being pressed, and garbage cans. Invest in a 10-foot-by-10-foot tent with weights if you plan to participate in outdoor events.

Since Tee Mart usually sends two printers, it’s super-important that the event host or locations have electrical outlets on different circuits so that they don’t blow a fuse when they turn on both heat presses.

Matsushima notes that outdoor events can be tricky if you need to use a generator to power your heat press.

“I’d suggest also bringing a tent as well so that you’re not working in the sun. If there’s rain, you can’t press outside.”
- Renee Matsushima, co-owner of Tee Mart Decorated Apparel

While Masushima’s and Nguyen’s preferred live printing method is transfers and a heat press, you’ll have to invest in mobile equipment for other methods. “We purchased smaller, portable screen printing presses and smaller conveyor dryers for our live services,” Livezey says.

5. How will you get your gear from here to there?

Livezey purchased a trailer to easily transport her shop’s equipment, shirts, supplies, and tents to events.

6. What designs or garments will you offer?

In Matsushima’s experience, her customers have provided the artwork for her team to print on the shirts. She says it’s important to limit the number of designs and/or t-shirt colors to no more than two to make it easy for attendees to choose.

“It's even better to have one design and one color t-shirt, but often the customer wants more than one design. We buy screen-printed transfers to press onsite so a one- or two-color design is best for this technique.

If the customer needs more than 350 shirts, we can either bring some of the shirts already pressed or bring another team member and a third heat press. Of course, we would need more space and another electrical outlet on a different circuit.”
- Renee Matsushima, co-owner of Tee Mart Decorated Apparel

7. Will you offer any personalization options?

Depending on the decoration options you’re offering on-site, you may be able to add attendee names or other personalized information to make the experience even more memorable. For example, at a recent Boston Marathon laser activation, Moore’s team engraved guests’ names and finish times on their medals.

8. How will you staff the event?

“The most important thing for live screen printing is having a team who’s in tune with each other and aware of the process flow. It’s what allows us to print at lightning speed while putting on a show for event attendees.”
- Gabby Nguyen, owner of APDAT Print Co.

9. How will you interact with attendees?

Your live decorating setup will definitely attract a crowd, making it a popular feature at trade shows, festivals, concerts, corporate events, and promotional gatherings. Since it provides a unique, memorable experience for attendees and can increase brand visibility and engagement for your client and/or your shop, it’s important to keep guests excited and engaged.

7 Insider Tips and Tricks

Once you’ve got your basic live printing service offerings taped out, you’ll need to adjust your logistics and setup for different types of events.  

1. Work with your client to create the most effective experience.

After you learn what your client wants, stand firm on what’s feasible and what isn’t to avoid unworkable situations.

“If a client insists that two machines will suffice for an event where we know four are necessary, we must politely but firmly explain why our recommendation stands. Budget constraints can sometimes lead clients to push for less, but we rely on our extensive experience to guide these decisions.”
- Justin Moore, founder of Barrel Maker Printing

Moore notes that if on-site his team compromises against their better judgment, it’ll result in longer wait times for guests and a dissatisfied client who forgets their initial warnings. “The challenge lies in sticking to our expertise, ensuring we maintain the event's quality and efficiency,” he says. “Our guidelines aren’t arbitrary — they’re based on the insights we've gained from doing events almost every day.”

2. Don’t give attendees too many choices.

“The more options you offer event goers, the more overwhelmed they get customizing their shirt,” Nguyen says. “Keep the options limited, including the number of shirt colors and designs you offer.”

3. Consider using transfers and a heat press.

Matsushima only brings screen-printed transfers for ease of use. “It’s more involved to bring your screen-printing press and conveyor dryer vs. just a heat press and transfers,” she says. Other decorators like using direct-to-film (DTF) transfers for full-color options.

4. Understand your printing location.

Every venue, especially the big conference halls, can have tight load-in time frames, so knowing the closest spot to park helps.

“For the logistics setup, make sure you know where the loading dock is and how to access it. It's also helpful to know if the event is on the first floor or if you’ll need to access an elevator to go up or down. Your equipment probably is much too heavy to carry up or down stairs, so there must be elevator access if it's not on the first floor.”
‍- Renee Matsushima, co-owner of Tee Mart Decorated Apparel

The biggest problem Matsushima’s team encountered was an event location where the loading dock elevator for the loading dock wasn’t working, so they had to bring our equipment in through the passenger elevator, which took up a lot of time. “Make sure you build in extra time for arrival in case you run into any unexpected situations like this,” she says. “For outdoor events, make sure you understand where you can unload and how far away that is from where you need to set up.”

5. Understand your power setup.

“The biggest challenge is having enough power for our heat presses,” Nguyen says. “Outdoor events that use generators can be a problem, but we just allow extra time to make sure everything gets up to temp.”

6. Give yourself enough time to set up.

“It's important to familiarize yourself with the printing area in advance, especially if it's a new location,” Livezey says. “This allows you to plan your setup and address potential weather, electrical, or space issues effectively. That way, you’ll be ready to go as excited people line up to order.”

7. Expect the unexpected.

Livezey’s team has experienced all kinds of unforeseen situations they had to react to on the fly.

“At a sunny football jamboree that had beautiful weather the entire time, out of nowhere, at the end of the event, a freak rainstorm popped up. We scrambled to get everything under cover and unplug the conveyor dryers. We were more than two hours from home, so we drove home soaking wet after loading everything.”
- Jennie Livezey, owner of Z Shirts Custom Printing

Another time, the temperature rose so high at an outdoor cross-country event that their equipment, including the conveyor dryers and iPad for ordering, started to overheat. “We discontinued the live printing, took orders by hand, and shipped them to the customers,” she says. At another cross-country event, it got so windy that the team couldn’t print. At the time, their tents didn’t have sides, so they purchased those for future events.

Take Your Printing Show on the Road

For Moore’s company, on-site decoration is a core service. “We employ talented people and continually elevate the events where we do live printing,” he says.

“For our clients, a big benefit is it creates a buzz and excitement, as most people rarely see these types of activations up close. Your focus at these events should be to make your clients look as good as possible vs. focusing on trying to grow your in-house printing connections.”
- Justin Moore, founder of Barrel Maker Printing

If you’d like to grow your own printing business and make more connections, live printing at local street fairs or music festivals is a fun way to get out and meet more of the community. “You can also either sell or give away shirts without being stuck with any leftovers,” Moore says.

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