• Production problems can surface even after a job appears complete, making careful pre-production checks and quality-control steps essential.
• When mistakes occur, taking ownership, communicating quickly and working with partners can help preserve the client relationship.
• Small safeguards can prevent costly production horror stories.
The wrong needle choice, the deadline disaster, the dead link – these are the makings of printer nightmares. But the problem itself is only part of the story. What matters is how a company handles the issue when it reveals itself.
In the spirit of spooky season, three industry professionals shared jobs that turned them ghostly pale, along with tips for avoiding the same fate.
The Shirts That Came Back
Joe Kramar, R&D lead/digitizing specialist at Design Ink/Lone Rock Clothing in West Jordan, UT, is celebrating 33 years in the apparel industry. He’s experienced a lot over that time and admits some things can’t be unseen.
Roughly 25 years ago, Kramar was the senior graphic designer and embroidery digitizer for a sportswear decorator in Southern California. A corporate client ordered a few dozen 100% cotton piqué polos with a left-chest embroidered logo. It was a routine job. The backing, the fabric, the thread, the bobbin and the tension were all correct.
“Most production horror stories aren’t bad luck. They’re a decision made before the first stitch by a shop moving too fast to notice. Turn-and-burn is the real monster.” Joe Kramar, Design Ink/Lone Rock Clothing
“Every shirt came off the machine looking perfect,” Kramar recalls. “We shipped them, cashed the check and moved on to the next job. That’s how these stories always start.”
A few weeks later, the phone rang, and the shirts were returned. They no longer looked perfect.
“A trail of tiny perforations hugged the outside edge of every logo, following its contour like the design had been traced with a pin,” Kramar says. “Every logo. Every shirt.”
Kramar says the culprit had been in the machine the whole time: a sharp-point needle on a knit. A sharp point doesn’t slide between the yarn loops in a knit fabric; it breaks them.
“Stitch by stitch, it had fractured the yarn all the way around the design,” he says. “The shirts held together just long enough to leave the building. Then, the washing machine finished what the needle started.”
Kramar didn’t make excuses. “We owned it. No arguing about wash settings, no blaming the blanks. We remade the entire order at our cost, and we kept the client.”
Pro Tip: Take Your Time
Two things could have prevented this, starting with the right needle. Make needle choice a part of pre-production, and match it to the fabric. For polos and other garments that stretch, a ballpoint needle slips between the loops instead of breaking them.
Clear communication between distributors/buyers and decorators also helps. “Tell your decorator exactly what the garment is, meaning fiber content and knit or woven,” Kramar says. “On anything new, ask for a rested, washed sample, and give your decorator the few extra days to make one.”
Time is the other piece. After a garment comes out of the hoop and is trimmed and cleaned, it needs to rest for at least a day, Kramar says. Because it’s what he calls the “most boring, unsatisfying part of the job,” it can be the first thing skipped when a shop is moving quickly.
“Most production horror stories aren’t bad luck,” he says. “They’re a decision made before the first stitch by a shop moving too fast to notice. Turn-and-burn is the real monster. Slow down long enough to see what you’re making before your customer’s washing machine shows you.”
The Train to Nowhere
Bills can be scary. Even scarier is running out of the paper needed to produce payroll checks – and then watching the literal paper trail go cold. Just ask Bob Saunders, vice president of sales for Wise, a commercial printer headquartered in Alpharetta, GA.
Wise was collaborating with a California-based distributor partner on a check order for a Louisiana-based payroll company serving multiple businesses in the area. Inventory was running low, but nobody realized how low. Soon, the two words no supplier wants to hear were uttered: “rush job.”
“The job isn’t really complete until the customer receives the product, right? Even though the job comes off the line and gets shipped … you can’t push it 90% of the way there. You’ve got to follow it all the way through.” Bob Saunders, Wise
Saunders says the team followed all instructions. Within two days, they were able to secure the paper, print the job and ship it. Everything seemed fine until the freight carrier shifted the shipment from less-than-truckload freight to rail.
“The product got lost at that point,” Saunders says. “So here everybody is in a panic to get product because of the payroll that’s due.”
The solution? Rerun the job and ship it in partials. As product came off the press, Wise sent partial shipments to the payroll company rather than waiting for the entire rerun to be completed.
“I think there were just a couple of days’ delay behind the curve,” Saunders says. “The full product ended up showing up two weeks later.” Until then, however, there were “some pretty nervous times” – particularly because some employees might not have been able to receive their pay electronically.
Pro Tip: See the Job Through
Saunders encourages distributors to lean on their trade manufacturer to get through curveballs. See the job through together.
“The job isn’t really complete until the customer receives the product, right?” Saunders says. “Even though the job comes off the line and gets shipped … you can’t push it 90% of the way there. You’ve got to follow it all the way through.”
The Shadow of the Link
“Sometimes the best production horror story is the one that never reaches the customer,” says Jodie Schillinger, executive vice president of Maple Ridge Farms (asi/68680), Mosinee, WI, and the 2026 Counselor Woman of Distinction.
Schillinger’s tale involves chocolate, a faulty connection and quick thinking.
“Step into the recipient’s experience. Where are you inviting them, and is that destination ready to welcome them?” Jodie Schillinger, Maple Ridge Farms (asi/68680)
Maple Ridge Farms’ Sweeter Cards pair a treat with brand messaging to create a multisensory experience for recipients. For a recent order, the customer supplied a QR code intended to extend that experience beyond the card.
The proof was sent and approved, and the job was ready to print. But during one final check, a member of Maple Ridge Farms’ art team scanned the QR code and discovered it led to a dead link.
“Dead in the water, right before we went to press,” Schillinger says.
The team immediately contacted the customer to secure an updated code before moving forward with printing.
Pro Tip: Always Double-Check the Final Proof
It’s important to test the QR code and its destination before submitting artwork. But don’t stop there. Maple Ridge Farms’ (asi/68680) teams build multiple checks into the process, and Schillinger is grateful her team took that extra moment.
“Scan the code on the final proof,” Schillinger stresses. “Open the link. Step into the recipient’s experience. Where are you inviting them, and is that destination ready to welcome them?”
