Blog

From Head Strikes to Strike-Through: Choosing Textiles That Won’t Wreck Your Print Run

Textile printing shouldn’t feel like a gamble. But for many print rooms, it still does. Whether it’s head strikes. Edge curling. Strike-through. One issue leads to another, and suddenly you’re wasting media, losing time, and risking output quality and ruining your reputation while you’re at it.

In this post, we’ll look at the challenges of printing on textiles, and explain how to choose print textiles that help you cut the risk.

LFR visits Soyang in China for an inside look at production

Soyang up close: a factory visit that reveals how quality is built, trust is earned, and print-media reputations are really made. By Marc Burnett MD of LFR

The ‘No-Fray’ Guide: How To Choose Textile Print Media That Cuts Cleanly

Not all fabrics are created equal. Your choice of printing textiles can have major implications for production costs, speed and product longevity. In this post we’ll explore the differences between woven and knitted textiles. We’ll examine why some fabrics fray more than others. And we’ll look at ways of ensuring that when you’re choosing textiles for your print media, you make the right choice.

More Than Media: How Print Media Suppliers Can Add Value For Print Shops

You could choose to use your print media supplier as just a supplier. Or you could use them as a source of ideas, new revenue streams, and technical know-how that could reduce risk, open up opportunities, and boost profits. In this post, we’ll explore how building a real relationship with suppliers can help every print shop owner achieve better outcomes.

How to Store Print Media Properly: Avoid Damage & Waste

For any print business, wasted stock is wasted money. So the better you can store and protect your print materials, the less stock you waste, the better quality you deliver to customers, and the more profit you generate.

In this post, we’ll explore seven production-focused ways to store print media properly, based on real-world print environments rather than theory.

Choosing the Right Printable Media for Different Print Applications

As a print business (emphasis on the word “business”) your job isn’t just to produce great quality print. It’s also to ensure you make enough profit to be able to keep doing it. And that’s where the biggest challenge for print shop owners lies. With a near infinite choice of vinyls, fabrics, films and speciality substrates on the market – each with different coatings, finishes, durability levels and price points – how do you choose the types of print media that are right for the job, that keep customers happy and keep your business profitable?

In this post, we’ll explore how to match print media types to your print technology, end-use requirements, aesthetic goals and budget, so every project delivers quality without blowing your costs.

How to Price Media Costs into Your Quotes (Without Losing Profit)

In the print world, profit is built on pricing accuracy. Yet many print businesses underestimate their costs, leading to under-quoting and poor margins that make it hard to keep a business sustainable.

Understanding how to calculate the real per-unit cost of your print media – and how to present it transparently to customers – is essential for ever print business. In this article,  we’ll break down the full costing process, including waste, trimming, storage, spoilage buffers, and tiered media options, so that next time you quote, you quote right.

New Trends in Print Media: What Your Print Shop Should Be Stocking Now

Need a new string to your print shop’s bow? Print continues to evolve, and if you want to stay ahead of the game and offer what your customers will be wanting next, you’ll need to know what’s incoming. In this post we explore new trends in print media, and how best to bring these products to your business.