Our Industry’s Evolution into Decorators
Please find some links and notes from the 2 Regular Guys Podcast. Terry and Aaron welcome in a long time friend and industry expert, Don Copeland. Don has been part of ColDesi for years and is a leading authority on all things DTG, Embroidery and beyond. Terry and Aaron are going to explore with Don how our industry has evolved from niches like embroiderer, screen printer, etc. to apparel decorators. More diversification – folks are adding vinyl graphics, rhinestone and other techniques to make money.
Sponsored by: Equipment Zone
Our regular listeners know this, but 2 Regular Guys is all about garment decorating, a bit of fun, and no rants or lectures or selling. We are not doing this for our employers, but rather for our industry. For the past two years, 2 Regular Guys has been the first and the most listened to garment decorating industry podcast on this planet! We are humbled by all of you tuning in each week. We work hard to bring you information that will make your business better, and our industry better. Take a look at our incredible weekly guest list and you’ll understand where this industry goes for news, interviews and the heartbeat of garment decorating. Thanks for listening!!
Other Items:
- Both in Phoenix this week.
- Knocking on the door of full blast show season. Encourage listeners to attend a show near you.
Our Industry’s Evolution into Decorators
Aaron: Don welcome to the show. Tell us a little about your background.
Terry: So the industry is different today than when we all came in. (Some of us longer ago than others.) What’s your description of the industry when you entered?
Aaron: Don, we talk on this show about the state of the industry. What’s your take on how and why we’ve transitioned from where we were when you can on board to where we are today?
Terry: It’s interesting to look at where we were and where we are today, but where do you see us going? What do you see on the horizon in terms of products and how we go about doing business?
Don Copeland entered the apparel decoration industry in 1990 selling computer systems to screen printers to do separations via laser printers onto vellum. Through the years migrated into the sign and digital imaging marketplace and did a 2 year stint with CADlink Technology Corporation as a regional manager and the “face of CADlink” at all of the major sign and apparel shows before opening my own business selling equipment, software and supplies to the sign, apparel decoration and imaging industries. Eventually, the market for Value Added Resellers collapsed post 9/11 and I came to ColDesi (then known as SWF East) in 2004 and was asked to head the digital printing division of the company – which is where I met both Aaron and Terry. Currently, I am digital products manager and senior account manager at ColDesi and also have a consulting business to the industry – writing for trade magazines and websites and helping folks start and/or grow their businesses.
Shows
- Graphics of the Americas – 2/18 to 2/20
- DAX Kansas City – 3/4 to 3/5
- NBM Arlington – 3/10 to 3/12
- ISS Atlantic City – 3/17 to 3/19
Other News/Events
- Complete Screen Printing Business Course – Atlas Screen Supply in Chicago – February 20-21, 2016
- Complete Screen Printing Business Course – Workhorse Products in Phoenix – February 27-28, 2016
Terry’s Books
Screen Printing: A Practical Guide to Starting Your Own T-Shirt Business Just $4.95 as an e-book.
Direct to Garment: A Practical Guide to Starting Your Own T-Shirt Business Just $4.95 as an e-book.
Scheduling and Estimating Production Time for Garment Screen Printing Just $2.99 as an e-book
This show is brought to you for a full hour by: Equipment Zone, with 20 years experience selling garment printing equipment nationwide. Equipment Zone offers the new Epson F2000 SureColor direct-to-garment printer, their own VelociJet-XL DTG printer, and the all new SpeedTreater-TX automatic pretreat machine with a full 16”x24” pretreat area. Introductory price is $3,995. Equipment Zone also carries a full line of DTG inks and supplies. Go to EquipmentZone.com
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