Steve Lafler Catalog: Comics and T-Shirts

I've just updated my comics and T-Shirt catalog at his link.

I have a whole new line of really great shirts, including this:

Drop on by and do some Holiday shopping, why don'tcha?

Cheers
Steve

T-Shirts & Comic Books Forever

I remain the self-employed Bohemian. Just can't help it. Here's an overview of current business and artistic endeavors.

Custom T-Shirt Printing

My main business is Manx Media Custom Screen Printing. With my colleague David Perkin pulling the prints in Portland, Oregon, we're ready to print your T Shirts and sportswear. I recent created an overview of our business practices and philosophy at my T-Shirt blog here. Drop in and see what we are up to.

 

Bughouse #1, 1994

Graphic Novels

My other obsession of course is crafting my singular graphic novels. Here is my catalog of graphic novels, T-Shirts and more. I'll be updating the catalog soon to include this years release, Doggie Style: The Complete Dog Boy.

Dog Boy #5, 1984

Steve Lafler
Email me
503-213-3671

What the Heck is the Hypernet? Who Are These Dudes?

I just ran across something called Roger and Mike's Hypernet blog. These guys posit that the internet is so, like, last week's news. Now, it's all about the "hypernet", the version of the web where all those mobile units like smartphones and tablets go to play.

Roger McNamee and Mike Maples

And they're right. I've been writing a bunch of articles recently about mobile advertising and marketing for a well-known SEO content mill. I can tell you that there are more cell phones in the U.S. than people. And, the estimates for the number of smartphones runs about half of all adults, depending on who's survey you believe. Tablets are multiplying like rabbits too!

It started for me yesterday when I saw Roger on a Bloomberg video interview, imploring us to forget about Google and Microsoft, as they are being made irrelevant by the onward (very quick) march of mobile technology.

Old Roger was very jolly indeed, as he quipped, "we're all making tools now, not websites". Yup, he's talking about mobile apps.

Me, I'm playing catchup -- I have yet to purchase a smartphone! However, I have embraced the mobile advertising options available to me. I use both Google Adwords and Facebook advertising to promote my custom screen printing business. These cost effective targeted advertising services reach mobile users as well as web searchers. And yes, mobile advertising is growing faster than web search based advertising.

Steve Lafler
Manx Media Custom T-Shirt Printing
Call or email for a quote on your wholesale T-Shirt job.
503-213-3671

Steve Lafler Catalog Update

Here are up to date links to help get your hands on Steve Lafler graphic novels and T-Shirts.

photo by Scott Hoover

I am searching for meaning and truth in a world ruled by, you know, the rulers. Only through these graphic novels and T-Shirts can each of us reach illumination (actual instructions embedded within each product).

I have a graphic novel store at Lulu.com, where you can find El Vocho, my 2010 graphic novel, 40 Hour Man by Stephen Beaupre and myself, and Tranny.

 I love bugs.

Yes, this graphic novel is about boys dressing up like girls. WTF? I guess you'll just have to read it.

Monster, Car and Guitar T-shirts are available at my Cafe Press store.

I would wear this Wolf Man on a T-Shirt! Would you???

My Bughouse trilogy of graphic novels can still be purchased at Top Shelf Comics.

Some people really like this Bughouse graphic novel, they says it's my best one.

I also have acrylic paintings for sale, generally in the $150 - 300 range for sizes from 8"x10" to 11"x14".
The price includes shipping via DHL, insured. Payment is via Paypal. If you are interested, let's talk. You can click the link of my highlighted name at the bottom of this post to send me an email. Or you can phone me at 503-213-3671.
I do commissions too -- I did a big painting last year for a friend on a Mexican theme (OK, so it was a $1,000 job), but we had a great time with it.

Who am I?! Here is a Steve Lafler interview with Robert Clough at the Comics Journal

Here is a link to an audio interview Steve Lafler with Robin McConnell of Inkstuds Radio.

My goal here, as always, is to buy the next tank of gas for my car, stuff like that.

Thanks!

Steve Lafler

Custom Screen Printing page update

I just updated my custom screen printing page. I've been in the wholesale t-shirt printing biz since 1978, when I was still an undergraduate.
This business has supported me and allowed me to be an "art" cartoonist, making no concessions to any presumed market. I draw for love, baby! And I'm happy to print a few shirts if that's what it takes... so if you need some Ts, take a look at the link above.

Monsters on Guitars: New T-Shirts

What could be more fun than painting your favorite monsters shredding on some cool guitars?
Putting them on T-Shirts, natch!
I just put up these two T-Shirt designs on my Cafe Press storefront, so you all can get some styling Ts for the warm weather.

Build Your Own T-Shirt Press

The first diagram shows how to cut a shirt board/print area into a four foot square piece of plywood. The second diagram shows how to add screen clamps and finish your press. Note that the shirt board area needs rounded corners. Sand it smooth too! Cover the shirt board area with a smooth piece of masonite or pressed board, fasten it to the shirt board with brad nails by the edges, and wood glue.



Here are plans for a 3 color table top T-Shirt press. This is a simple design that can be build for under $200 in materials. It's no substitute for a good rotary press, but it works and it's cheap, a great DIY machine. I've build and used these to print three colors in perfect register.
This press is cut from a 4' x 4' piece of 3/4" plywood. Basically, you cut out the shirt board/print area with a jig saw, screw three sets of screen clamps around the print area, and mount it on sawhorses.
This is a good machine for Punk rock DIY printing, for anyone starting out, for the hobbyist, etc.
IF you have questions about how to build this or how it works, send a comment and I will answer.
Click on the images to see them enlarged.
If you are a graphics person but are unemployed, you can sell screen printing services for up to three colors and print on this machine. It's a great shoe string start up business.
If you do decide to buy a used rotary manual T-shirt press, you'll probably spend more like $1,000. Be sure to actually try any press before buying, to make sure it still prints true and is not completely worn out.

HYPE TIME! It's T-Shirt Season Again

As March approaches, once again I remember -- I'm a screen printer! Yup, I'm still in the T-Shirt business.
The economy is pretty slow, but Manx Media Custom Screen Printing is still whipping out shirts at a semi furious rate. I'm running the office, handling sales, marketing, and graphics, and my long time press operator David Perkin is in the St. Johns neighborhood of Portland, Oregon handling production. David works on the six color manual Workhorse press, a quality machine capable of perfect registration.
Our main clients are Haight Ashbury T-Shirts, where we print thousands of shirts each year for designer David Boyer, whose classic retro hippy designs are the top sellers at the store, and Sarah's Science, the great kids science educator and proprietor of fantastic summer science camps for kids in Oakland and Berkeley. Sarah's summer camp is called This Land is Your Land, and we have adorned many thousands of T-shirts and hoodies with her banana slug mascot.
Other clients we have served include Sony Music Distribution, Margaret Cho, The Residents, Apple Computer, and many schools, clubs, bands, cartoonists and more.
We can handle jobs 1 - 6 color, on any type of t-shirt, hoodie, or sportswear item, and we do runs from 50 pieces and up.
We have plenty of production capability left over for new clients, so email me for a quote, or call me at 503-213-3671.
Happy T-Shirts!
Steve Lafler

How to Start a Custom Embroidery Business

How to Start a T-Shirt Embroidery Business

Overview
The market for custom embroidered T-shirts and sportswear is strong. According to Impressions, the decorated apparel industry trade magazine, the industry is recession-resilient. With a commercial embroidery machine and a strong marketing plan, you can start a successful embroidered T-shirt business. You can fill custom orders, and also create your own line of designs.
Step 1
Purchase an embroidery machine. Choose from leading brands such as Tajima or Barudan, known for their reliability. Attend an industry trade show to see the variety of machines offered and to try them. Check on the ISS trade show nearest you (see Resources for a link). Decide whether to buy a single head machine, or one with multiple sewing heads.
Step 2
Set up your shop in a garage, spare room or small commercial space, with an eye towards keeping overhead low. File a business name at your county courthouse and open a business checking account. Consider purchasing liability insurance for your business. Practice with your embroidery machine, loading it with digitized designs, placing T-shirts in the clamp, loading thread and sewing.
Step 3
Create a price list for your embroidered T-shirt services, and include sweatshirt, sportshirts, caps and the range of imprinted sportswear. Components of pricing are cost of blank shirt, 50% markup on the blank shirt, and embroidery charge. A run of 100 T-shirts with a small design could be billed at two to three dollars per shirt for the embroidery charge.
Step 4
Target your market for custom embroidery services, for example restaurants or schools. Compile a list of potential customers for embroidered T-shirts. Contact potential customers via phone and personal visit. Market your services with postcard mailings, blogs, a website, order forms, and business cards. Craft a simple message with a call to action: "Custom Embroidered T-Shirts, top quality at great rates, call now for a quote."
Step 5
Write a detailed work order when a client places an order, have the client sign it and pay half the fee up front. Produce a sample for the client to OK prior to production. Upon sample approval, produce the job. Collect the balance of the fee from the client when they pick up the job. Extend payment terms such as "net due in 30 days" to trustworthy clients.

Have a look at Impressions, the trade magazine for the imprinted sportswear industry. This is a link to their embroidery page.

This article was written for an online client who rejected it. I admit I'm not an embrloidery technician (I'm a screen printer), but I have sold and produced at least $25,000 worth of embroidered hats and shirts in my career.

New Steve Lafler Store

I've just updated my online store. Featured items are 40 Hour Man, Self Employment for Bohemians, Bughouse, Tranny and the El Vocho T-Shirt. Now there's some unusual and wonderful items for Holiday shopping!
I will publish my next graphic novel El Vocho in 2010, then reissue my whole catalog of comics on my Manx Media imprint, and it will all end up in the store.

El Vocho T-Shirt

You may or may not know that I'm posting my next graphic novel, El Vocho, in blog form as I work on it. I've posted 34 episodes so far, about 50 pages worth of comics.
I just created an El Vocho T-Shirt that is available from Cafe Press. Vocho is the knickname for the VW Bug in Mexico, pronounced "Bocho", with a sort of soft B.

T-Shirts 2009: Organic, Bamboo & Hemp

T-Shirt season is just around the corner, and I've updated my offerings for custom wholesale screen printed Tees.
Check the Manx Media website for catalog links to Organic, Bamboo and Hemp T-Shirts from Onno Textiles, and of course there are plenty of Organic choices from American Apparel. I can source these shirts for any screen print job, along with the usual old school cotton Tees.
The Onno Textiles shirts are super nice, but a bit pricey. The American Apparel stuff is, of course, a fitted look for the young & beautiful (young & geeky?) and is priced just a bit more than their regular Tees.

With the Obama era here, and calls from all quarters for clean & green industry, I'm starting with baby steps in that direction with my screen print business. I should note that many jobs, especially on white or light color shirts, can be printed with water base ink that is somewhat cleaner/greener than plastic based inks.

By the way, that's a picture of my son Max, it's an American Apparel T, not organic, but I just felt like stickin' a pic in with this post! It's from our small but gorgeous back yard when we lived in Oakland.