How to Print Over a Pocket

… and other odd locations

Ever have the order of pocketed tees for your local fire department?  Why is it that every fireman needs a tshirt with a pocket?  I guess that is a topic for another blog…  How the heck do you put the shirt on the press so that the print lands in the same place above the pocket shirt after shirt after shirt?

Old School

• Cardboard and Adhesive

The way I used to do this, back in the day when I used to pull every print manually, was to cut a piece of cardboard (the thickness of the stuff used on the back of note pads) just larger than the size of the design to be printed.  Spray the back of the cardboard with adhesive (lots of it), then stick it to the shirt board in the location the print will go.

• Load The Shirt

Load the shirt on the shirt board.  If your cardboard is thick enough, you will see the outline of the cardboard thru the shirt.  You can also feel it with your fingers.  Move the shirt around on the shirt board so that the outline of the cardboard under the shirt eventually lands where you want the print.  This method works well for number printing and name printing as well.

• Verdict

This is kind of a time consuming process, and sort of a pain in the you know what.  The cardboard has a knack for sticking to the back of the shirt and coming off, especially if you are flashing.  Sometimes I put a piece of packing tape on the cardboard to help it stay put on the shirt board.

New School

• Laser

Yep, I said laser!  Question:  What does a laser gun sound like?  Answer: Dew dew dew!  Question:  What does a ray gun sound like?  Answer:  Well well well!  OK, bad joke, and it doesn’t work in type.  The ray gun was Ronald Reagan, and the “well” was said as if Mr. Reagan said it…  Anyways…

• Not a Ray Gun (or Reagan)!

Not a gun at all! When I was growing up, lasers were death rays in science fiction.  What we are talking about today is any laser that will shine a straight line on your shirt board.  The one I use is a laser level I bought at our home improvement store.  It has a magnetic mount and hinges, so I can stick it to the top of my press.  The one I have is cool, it not only shines a line, but a cross hair!  That comes in VERY handy for printing on pockets.

• Set The Laser

Set your screen (or screens) up and print off a test print.  Leave it on the shirt board.  Set up your laser so that it shines a line (better yet, a cross hair!) on the shirt where you would like the pocket to line up.  This is where the magnetic back on my laser comes in handy.  I can move it anywhere I want.  If you can’t get a magnetic one, I have actually made a little boom that bolts or clamps on the press that I can clamp the laser to.  The magnetic ones are much easier though.

• Load The Shirt

Load the shirt so that the line the laser is shining lands on the shirt where you would like the pocket. It is that easy.

• Verdict

The laser rocks!  It is a super cheep method, and easy to use.  Better yet, it works on automatic presses a lot better than cardboard.  Easy to set up, and easy to modify for different items you might print on later.

There are several methods used for making sure the print lands in the right spot on the shirt.  The trick is to find one that your shop can work with.  Get a laser and play around with it.  You will be surprised at how many uses one has that don’t include playing with a cat…

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