The short version: a guest picks, we print, they leave wearing it, and each guest waits about two minutes. The longer version starts weeks earlier, because a Baltimore date means shipping a working print shop across the country.
Weeks out: art and freight
Send the logo or the full design. We proof it, then burn screens or print transfers in Fullerton and pack the station to ship. Garments, sizes and the number of stations get settled at this stage too, and art should be final about a week out. By show day the only job left is printing.
Show day, step by step
- Load-in & setup: the crew flew in the day before, so they're at the dock early to build the station: presses, ink, blanks and tables on a 10x10 ft footprint with two 120V circuits.
- Guests choose: size, garment, design or patch. Letting people pick is what makes them care about the piece.
- We print live: one press can run up to 60 pieces an hour, and the usual two-press station clears 100+ when the line stays steady.
- They wear it out: warm off the press and straight back into the Inner Harbor crowd.
What we need from the venue
About 10x10 of floor per station, two 120V circuits, flat ground, and a place for the line that doesn't block an exit or a service lane. A Harbor East ballroom and an open lot near the stadium both work; the outdoor one just needs a canopy and a plan for wind off the harbor. The full list is on venue requirements.
Choosing the station
Long lines and simple art go to screen printing. Full-color art or small counts go to DTF. For a smaller crowd where the gift should feel expensive, a hat bar or embroidery fits better. There's more on how live printing works, or you can tell us about your Baltimore event.
Baltimore logistics
How the station gets to Baltimore
The station at a Camden Yards event or a Mount Vernon gala is the same one we run anywhere else. It just travels farther. It leaves Fullerton by freight, and the printers fly in a day early to meet it at the dock and set up before doors open.
On the ground, most of the work is placement. We figure out the shortest path from load-in to the station, which outlets can carry the flash dryers, and where guests choose garments so the line feeds straight into the press. At the Convention Center the electrical order has its own deadline, so that request goes in early.