These customers are doing more business with screen printers who are vertically integrated, who can do everything from spin the yarn to tag and bag the resulting decorated garment. They want to cut down the number of vendors and put the entire production process on one purchase order. In his view, smaller printers are doing relatively well because they have more flexibility with local accounts. The larger the screen-printing business, the less flexible it is and the harder to focus on a particular niche. Screen printers are continuing to add embroidery, and he notes that high-quality screen printing no longer offers a competitive advantage.
Customers now consider it a standard feature.
Lewis sees the most profitable textile screen printers as being those who can reach the market fastest, particularly with new products. Since garments with time-sensitive or fast turnaround designs cannot be printed offshore, this is an area where screen printers are not competing with companies in Mexico, the Caribbean, or the western Pacific Rim. But to be responsive, the screen printer must focus on selecting equipment and supplies that will provide faster turnaround times. He also recommends that screen printers become more specialized, that they find a niche they can compete in rather than trying to provide all products to any customer who walks in the door. The successful screen printers he deals with have analyzed their markets, determined what the customers want, and have gone so far as to send members of their staff into stores to determine what is and is not selling.