Guests at a live station pick a design, watch it print and wear it out, usually about two minutes later. For a San Francisco event there's one step before any of that: the whole kit drives up the I-5 from La Habra the day before.
Weeks before
You send the logo or artwork. We proof it and prep screens or DTF film, then settle garments, sizes and which stations fit your schedule. Art should be final about a week out, because that's when the blank order goes in.
On the day
- Setup: presses, ink, blanks and tables go up on about 10x10 ft per station, plugged into two circuits.
- Pick: every guest chooses a garment, a size, a design or a patch. Choosing is what makes people keep the piece.
- Press: up to 60 an hour per press, and 100+ an hour from a two-press station when the queue stays steady.
- Wear: the piece comes off warm and goes straight on.
What the venue supplies
Floor space, two 120V/20A circuits per station, a level surface and a line that keeps doors clear. A Moscone exhibit hall works, and so does a foggy lawn at Fort Mason with a tent over the station. The venue requirements page has the checklist.
Which method
Full color or names on shirts: DTF. One design for a big crowd: screen printing. A keepsake: a hat bar or embroidery. The short version is in how live printing works, or tell us about your San Francisco event.
Planning notes
Before the truck leaves La Habra
A Moscone expo hall, a SOMA office launch and a reception at Fort Mason all run these same steps. What changes is the load-in path, where the power comes from and how guests reach the station.
San Francisco is a long day up the I-5 from our shop, so the kit goes up by truck the day before: presses, heat presses, flash dryers, blanks, tables and signage, with the printers who run them. Plan on about 10x10 ft and two 120V/20A circuits per station. A two-press station does 100+ shirts an hour with a short design menu.