Ink to the People - Blog

More Ideas For This Year's Turkey Trot

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:33:00 GMT

Are you as excited for Thanksgiving as I am???

Here's another idea for all you Turkey Trotters out there in need of a team tee.

Ready to create your own? Head over to our design tool to get started!

Questions? Feel free to get in touch!

Election Madness Comes to an End...

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:41:00 GMT

Yesterday was quite a day, wasn't it? I truly hope those who were eligible exercised their rights by casting a vote in this historic election.

So now that it's over, I say celebrate the end of this long campaign with a new t-shirt!

This shirt is only available for ONE MORE DAY! Get it now!

Not the design you're looking for? Check out our design tool to hash out your own version now!

Turkey Day Tees!

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 11:12:00 GMT

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already one short month away. Wasn't it just summer? Why are the leaves turning strange colors? Why is the wind blowing and why in the world is it so cold? I don't like this!

I digress..

On the day our great country celebrates the great American Food Coma, you should be cool and match all your favorite relatives in a family t-shirt.

Whether you just gather your loved ones, participate in a charity run or play a friendly game of touch football in the backyard, Ink to the People can supply the perfect custom t-shirt for you! Because matching t-shirts are fun.

Interested in doing a local charity run? Check out Running in the USA to find something close by!

Empty Bowls Milwaukee Fundraising Event

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 15:40:00 GMT

This past Saturday, a few INK staffers were fortunate to attend and support a wonderful community fundraising event.

Empty Bowls is an annual Milwaukee event in support of area food pantries. The group sells donated, hand-crafted and painted bowls to adults and children at $20 and $10, respectively. Buyers then enter soup lines supplied by local restaurants.

In addition to supporting the cause, patrons experience the reality of waiting in line for a bowl of soup.

Unsurprisingly, the event was a huge success raising over $51,000!

It felt great to support Milwaukee's local food pantries and I very much look forward to getting more involved with next year's event.

I extend my congratulations to all involved.

Cheers,

Todd R.

How We're Different

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 12:37:00 GMT

Sure, there are a lot of design-your-own custom t-shirt sites out there such as CustomInk and Blue Cotton. They all do the same thing. You create a design, put it on a shirt, place your bulk order and they ship it to you. (Yes, we do that, too).

But what if I said that you can make money selling your own custom shirts and not have to worry about storing inventory, collecting payments or distributing goods? What if I said it was all FREE? Crazy awesome, right? Well, that's how we're different from the rest.

Want to know more? You can watch our video or continue reading.

So, here's how it works. Once you are done designing, you save and proceed to the INK Wizard. You will have 3 options to choose from. Select the one that applies to your needs. If you wanted to do what I was talking about above, then select the third option (PUBLIC).

You will be asked about pricing. What you do is enter a minimum quantity. This is the number of sales that you will need to reach before your sale ends (your end date is determined by you as well). If you reach that number, we print your shirts, ship them directly to your buyers and give you your profits (more on profits later). If your sale does NOT reach that minimum number, all orders are canceled. No one pays a thing, but no one gets their shirts either. No harm, no foul. You can always revise your settings and repost after that.

Once you enter your minimum quantity, you will be shown a base cost per item. Use that number as a guide when determining how much to sell your shirts for. Enter your selling price and your potential profit will be calculated. For example, if you put in a minimum of 24 pieces. we may give you a base cost of $10 per shirt. You could decide to sell your shirts for $20 each, producing a $10 profit per shirt. If you sold at least your minimum of 24, let's say you sold 30 shirts, we would pay you $300. Then we print your shirts and ship them to your buyers. All for FREE!

Okay, back to the INK Wizard. As I mentioned earlier, you will select a deadline date. This is when your pre-order sale would end. You can select up to 3 weeks, currently.

Before submitting your design, you can select a variety of ways to share your sale. You know, get the word out. Then click submit. Your design is live.

There are so many ways to use this feature. Say you want to fundraise for a charity or your team. Or promote your student org, club or Greek house. You can sell shirts for your rock band. Maybe you have a family reunion coming up and you want your family members to choose their own size, pay for their own and get their shirts delivered to their house so that they can wear them to the reunion. Or maybe you are an artist with a cool design idea. You get the picture.

Start your design today, it's FREE!

Top 25 T-Shirt Costumes

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:52:00 GMT

We here at INK love Halloween. The costumes, the candy, the horror movie marathons. It’s pretty much the best holiday, if you ask us.

So, what would make more sense than gathering our favorite t-shirt costumes in a fun and entertaining list?

In the spirit of sharing, we’ve compiled an incredibly biased collection of the 25 best t-shirt costumes found around the internet.

Did we miss any? Show us your favorite or create your own on Ink to the People.

25.

He-Man

A name that can't get any more masculine.
And he has the nipples to prove it.

Source

24.

Dr. Who

Yes, that IS a t-shirt.

Source

23.

Rick from The Walking Dead

This one is not that recognizable, so
be prepared to answer some questions.
Shoot first, answer questions later.

Source

22.

Mighty Mouse

I had no idea that Mighty Mouse had
such a cute figure.

Source

21.

Wonder Woman

Anyone else think this was a costume
for the WWF (World Wrestling
Federation)?

Source

20.

Superman

This one is a staple in American culture.
Just steer clear from pretty green crystals.

Source

19.

Batman

So cool, he can pull off wearing
a fanny pack.

Source

18.

The Incredible Hulk

Can also double as your "Leprechaun on Steroids"
St. Patrick's Day outfit.

Source

17.

Shrek

Perfect costume for all of those "husky" boys out
there. Their favorite candy bar is "Chunky".
I'll stop now.

Source

16.

The Joker

This one is always cool. You get bonus points if
you can get a friend to go as Batman.

Source

15.

Sponge Bob

More like Sponge Bob Squareshirt.
See what I did there? You're welcome.

Source

14.

Ferris Bueller

2 in 1. This also doubles as Abe Froman aka
The Sausage King of Chicago.

Source

13.

Spiderman

"Does whatever a spider can"?
So you put this on and hang out in my bath
tub because you can't crawl up the slippery sides.

Source

12.

Fred Flintstone

About as unfunny as Scooby Doo.
Still watched it like crazy, though.

Source

11.

Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory

((trick * x / y) + (z - treat)) = BAZINGA!

Source

10.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

If your costume gets wrinkled, you can always
go as an Elderly Mutant Ninja Turtle. Yeah,
I'm so clever.

Source

9.

The Hangover

Whatever. BabyBjorns are the invention of the
century in my book. Thank you, Sweden.

Source

8.

Chewbacca

This is a tough one because if you can't do the
vocalization, the illusion is ruined.

Source

7.

Elf - The Movie

If you love Will Ferrell that much to wear this,
I feel for you. I really do.

Source

6.

Data from The Goonies

No, this isn't Inspector Gadget. This is Short
Round turned prodigy inventor.

Source

5.

Lumbergh from Office Space

“Um yeah. We have a little problem here.
If you could go ahead and come in on
Halloween, that would be great. mm-kay?!”

Source

4.

Dr. Venkman from Ghostbusters

There was a whole lot of "sliming" going on in
the 80's. You had Ghostbusters and what was
the name of that show on Nickelodeon?

Source

3.

Charlie Brown

Good grief, make sure to practice your line...
"I got a rock".

Source

2.

Duff Man

Now it would be totally acceptable to thrust at
everyone at the Halloween Party. Okay, it is
never acceptable, just wrong and creepy.

Source

1.

Darth Vader

"What's this? A Charleston Chew!?!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Source

A Bit of Advice...

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 13:18:00 GMT

Designing t-shirts can be overwhelming. Generally, we have a lot to say and not a whole lot of space to say it.

Cutting information can be tough.

In the words of our favorite fictional ad man, "Make it simple, but significant"

If you're struggling to envision your upcoming t-shirt masterpiece, head over to our design tool to see how things look. If you still have too much text for your tee, flip it over and add text on the back!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 15:52:00 GMT

This week marks the beginning of National Breast Cancer Awareness month. We love fundraising for a cause over here at INK, so we were very excited to see the latest shirt posted in our Marketplace.

Do you have a cause? Want to raise money? It's easy to do with Ink! Just design a shirt, set your price and profit, and share share share!

UWM's Year of the Arts

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:47:00 GMT

This year, UWM's Peck School of the Arts celebrates it's 50th anniversary with Year of the Arts.

The college is putting on a number of events, such as artist lectures, free concerts, and open houses at local studios and businesses.

Ink to the People is a proud supporter and partner of Peck's Year of the Arts, and last night had the opportunity to distribute free t-shirts to concert goers, a part of MKE:Unplugged.

We hope everyone enjoyed their complementary t-shirt and concert! We certainly had a blast!

Baltimore Honors Scunny Through Fundraising

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 15:42:00 GMT

In response to the unexpected death of Baltimore's Patrick 'Scunny' McCusker, the Canton community banded together to support Believe in Tomorrow Children's Foundation, a favorite of McCusker.

Believe in Tomorrow provides hospital services and respite housing options to critically ill children and their families.

Scunny owned Nacho Mama's, a Tex Mex restaurant located in Canton since 1994. He was known in his community for his philanthropic efforts, his big personality, and for transforming the Canton neighborhood into what it is today, many naming him the 'Mayor' of Canton.

Through t-shirt sales on Ink to the People, over $500 was raised for Scunny's favorite charity.

Thank you to those who supported this wonderful cause in the face of charity.

Ink to the People Annual Picnic!

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:14:00 GMT

This Saturday, INK and our parent company, Visual Impressions, hosted our annual picnic.

Look at all the fun we had! Perfect weather, delicious food, outstanding company!

Introducing... Me! Jenny B!

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 21:51:00 GMT

There's nothing quite like writing a blog post about yourself... so here goes.

Hi! I'm Jenny and I'm the newest member of the INK team.

I'm a very recent graduate of University of Wisconsin - Madison in Life Sciences Communications and have relocated to Milwaukee to both sell the custom t's and pursue a second degree in graphic design.

Aside from wearing t-shirts, I like to ride and race bikes, read silly books, drink excessive amounts of coffee, do old-lady crafts, and worry about my cats Betty and Walter.

My other skills include eating peanut butter, taking naps, and kicking Todd out of the office.

Here at INK I will be running our social media sites, posting on our blog, putting together monthly newsletters, and aiding Daryl in marketing and customer service.

While my official title is Community Manager, I prefer something along the lines of Social Media/Marketing Monster.

That being said, make sure to keep tabs on our social media platforms. We're on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Google+.

Questions? Want to chat? Shoot me an email or contact us using any of our social sites!

Bolting in the office

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 11:25:00 GMT

Daryl is really excited about INK.

The Color Run and Color Me Rad t-shirt ideas

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:36:00 GMT

The latest trend in the running world is an interesting one. In The Color Run and Color Me Rad events, volunteers line the course, rewarding every finished kilometer by throwing handfuls of dyed cornstarch on you. Seriously.

It actually looks really fun.

Running as a team? Need t-shirt ideas? Check out our Color Run templates under Events & Parties to see a few designs! http://inktothepeople.com/design-tool?startmode=template

Now remember, wear white so you look especially colorful at the end! And the dyed cornstarch doesn't stain, so you'll be able to hold on to your Color Run shirt for years after the race!

Happy running!

Colorado Wildfire Disaster Relief

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 15:55:00 GMT

When news hit of damages caused by Colorado’s wildfires, the Ink team was motivated into action. We quickly put together a design, a video, and a goal to sell at least 100 shirts.

At $10 per shirt and 100% of sales going toward the effort, Ink to the People proudly hit our goal on the dot, raising $1000 for the American Red Cross.

Thank you to those who purchased, shared, and supported this cause!

Interested in fundraising? Check out our post on charity t-shirts.

10 T-shirts + Tips for Seniors Class of 2013

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:49:00 GMT

Seniors! Celebrate your final year with class t-shirts. Need ideas? Here are our top 10 slogan ideas for the graduating class of 2013.

2+0+1=3 The only class that adds up! Class of 2013
Class of 2013. Like a 13OSS
Class of 2013... too cool for the apocalypse
Fine, Fresh & F13RCE
2013: Tough enough to survive the end of the world
So Fresh and So Clean, We’re the class of 2013
To the end of the world and beyond! Class of 2013
Class of ‘13 here... and your luck just ran out
There’s no luck to it, we’re just that good! Class of 2013
Senior Year: 13RING IT ON

A few design tips:

To make your 13 look more ‘B’-like, make sure to choose a font with letters close together that also offers a more rounded 3. Try out Curlmudgeon, Fortune wheel, Headline, Chinese Rocks, Aristotle Punk, Hallandale Stencil, or Cairo
Conversely, for a more 'E'-like 3, find something maybe a little more geometric. For example: Olivers Barney, Alien League, or Action Jackson
If you’re fixed on a font, but they are still too far apart, try increasing the outline width to fill in a little space

Click here to start your designs and GOOD LUCK :)

Talkin' Shirt

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:50:00 GMT

Introducing the Rating System and T-Versations:

Here at INK, we have been busy these last few weeks. No resting on laurels and such, no sir. With our noses buried in lines of code, we developed a couple new cool features for the site. We hope you will find these features fun and easy to use.

The first new feature is the shiny new Rating System. Now you can rate posted designs in our Marketplace AND see how people like your design (or not so much). Sure you can rate your own design, why wouldn't you? Give that sucker a running start with a solid 5 star rating. This feature will give you an idea of what people like to see (and wear).

We also cracked the seal on a new dialogue system that we coined "T-Versations". So, say you gave a person 5 stars, now tell them why you love it & bought one for your Aunt Beru. Each INK design can have it's own "thread", if you will. Start a dialogue about your own design, perhaps ask for feedback. Start a dialogue with a fellow INKer about their INK and how they go about creating designs. You get the idea.

With the addition of these 2 features, we believe that inktothepeople.com will be a livelier, engaging community for people who love and want T-Shirts as much as we do.

So head on over to our Marketplace and start talkin' shirt!

Hot Off The Press - Issue 2

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:19:00 GMT

Making Strides to End Breast Cancer Fundraising Total

Great news! We’re pleased to announce that we raised a total of $5,532 for the American Cancer Society for their Making Strides to End Breast Cancer event. Thank you to everyone that gave money; raised money or participated in the walk. Jay and Todd matched our employee’s contributions and kicked in $1,000 to get us to our total. Our team was the 6th best fundraising team in the city of Milwaukee for the event.

Together we can make a difference!

Memorial Day

Our thoughts turn to soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and sadly to those who may do so in the future - so that the cherished American freedoms are preserved. With that we’d like to offer this poem in honor of Memorial Day:

A Litany of Remembrance

In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we will remember

In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter, we will remember

In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring, we will remember

In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer, we will remember

In the rustling of leaves and I the beauty of autumn, we will remember.

In the beginning of the year and when it ends, we will remember.

When we are weary and in the need of strength, we will remember.

When we are lost and sick at heart, we will remember

When we have joys we yearn to share, we will remember.

So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now part of us, as we remember and will never forget.

Our Staff Birthdays in May

Luz F, Dao V, Laura R, Norma L, & Antonio N

Meet Our Staff

Gina M - May Employee of the Month

1. What is your job at INK? - One part of my job is doing the art. The other part is customer service.

2. Family? - Husband and a dog.

3. Favorite Food - Italian and Japanese.

4. Favorite Sports Team - Green Bay Packers.

5. Favorite Cheap Night Out - I’d rather stay in and watch a movie.

6. Most Recent Movie - The Avengers.

7. What are you reading? - Books on learning the Japanese language.

8. Favorite Music - Mainly hard rock and metal, but I also listen to instrumental and ethnic music sometimes.

9. I wish I could… travel more. I’d love to go back to Okinawa and Japan. I’d love to see the Southestern US, Europe and New Zealand.

Recipe of the Month

Shrimp and Fish Ceviche - by Rosa I

Ingredients

 2 Pounds raw shrimp 

1 Pound fish fillet (Tilapia)

 2 Pounds Roma tomatoes (Red) 

2 White Onions (medium) 

1 Onion (medium) 

1 Bunch of Cilantro 

12 Big Lemons (juice)

 ½ cup of Clamato juice with clam 

1 Avocado 

1 Package of toast

 Ketchup 

Salt 

Valentina salsa

Preparation  

Wash and peel the shrimp then chop into small pieces with fish. They seamlessly blend with lemon juice in a large frying pan and cool. Let stand 2 to 3 hours until they are white. (I cover the pan with plastic)   Then wash the tomatoes, onion and cilantro. Finely chop, then mix thoroughly, add the Clamato, Ketchup, and a little salt.  Served on toast is added a few pieces of avocado salsa Valentina to taste. MMMMMM!! And eat it to that. Serves 6 people.

Hot Off The Press - Issue 1

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:18:00 GMT

Making Strides to End Breast Cancer event - May 5th

Our walk team has been busy fundraising and we’re working hard to reach our goal of $1500. The walk event is Saturday, May 5th at the Discovery World in downtown Milwaukee. Help us with this great event! It’s not too late!! You can join the team online at http://tinyurl.com/732r5y5.

Together we can make a difference!

Everyone Sees the Pimple First - from Dan Rockwell’s Leadership Freak Blog

Blemishes captivate just like the negative past. The dark past draws you backward into futile conversations that solidify rather than solve. Complaints always focus on the past. Problems pull backward. But, solutions draw forward. You become what you talk about.

Reflect: I’ve been thinking about conversation topics. I know better, but I’ve slipped into conversations that spiral around the past. Everyone, it seems, wants to solve the past. I spent years captivated by negative history. It’s easy, sometimes fun, but inevitably futile. Leaders can drown in complaints, problems, weaknesses, and low performance. Unless you intentionally turn forward, you’re pulled into the negative past; something that can’t be changed, developed, or improved, only built on.

Refocus: Recurring topics of conversation determine where you go and what you do. Persistently talking about the past translates into repeating it. Stuck people focus on the past. Leaders Solve the past by moving into the future. It’s the only way.

Redirect: Talk about the past with the future in mind, tenaciously. Rather than focusing on, “Where have we been?” say, “Where are we going?” Shift from past tense to present and future tense language. “What are we learning,” is better than, “What did we learn?” The latter takes you back while the former pulls you forward. “What was done?” is only the beginning component of a, “What’s next?” conversation. “Next time we’ll …” improves on, “What went wrong?”

Pimples: Problems and failures are inevitable, even useful. But, don’t focus on the pimple. Step toward solutions or you’ll become what you complain about, a pus-filled volcano waiting to pop. Forward facing speech combined with forward focused action creates your future. Backward facing speech and backward focused action repeats the past. Develop forward looking ways to speak about the past. Move toward your future not away from your past.

Staff Birthdays for April

Jody S, Ana V, Kate S, Maria R & Maria E

Meet Our Staff

Yudith R - April Employee of the Month

1. What is your job at INK? - Fold and pack.

2. Family? - My husband, my two sons.

3. Favorite Food - Mexican and Chinese

4. Favorite Sports Team - None

5. Favorite Cheap Night Out - I’d rather be home with family.

6. Most Recent Movie - The Hunger Games

7. What are you reading? - “Health Food” by Dr. Jorge D. Pamploma

8. Favorite Music - Little of everything.

9. I wish I could… - Be a teacher. I love children.

Recipe of the Month

Quincy L's Delectable Steak Marinade

Ingredients / Tools

1/2 Cup Soy Sauce

1/2 Cup Sliced Green Onions

1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

2 Garlic Cloves (Chopped / Minced)

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

2 1/2 Pounds Beef Ribeye Steaks

Large Resealable Bag

Directions

1. In a large resealable bag, combine soy sauce, onions, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and pepper.

2. Add steaks.

3. Seal bag. Refrigerate overnight.

4. Drain and discard marinade. Grill steaks however YOU like.

Serves 2-4 people. Note - There will be NO leftovers!

Pretty Impressive in Pink

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:46:00 GMT

Saturday, May 5th

Along banks of Lake Michigan, amidst a sea of compassionate pink, we (and thousands of friends) made strides towards the cure for breast cancer. Even the chilly weather couldn't hinder us or our family & friends. We strolled on, with warmth in our hearts (although that just might have been the strong coffee talking back). Who's to say? One thing is for sure, we walked, strolled & stomped all over breast cancer until it cried "uncle" that day. We put it "in it's place", showed it "who's boss", and so on and so forth.

Hey, can you blame us for being proud of our actions? Our team raised $6,343! Impressive... if we do say so ourselves!

A sincere THANK YOU to all who donated on behalf of our team for this great cause.

Check out some more photos of the event.

April in the Rearview

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:36:00 GMT

April was a big month for us. We launched our site, we had successes, we had failures, we learned a lot! Taking your suggestions to heart, we are continuing to evolve and improve, so don't be shy, let us know what you need. Be the reason that May will be even better.

Collaborate on Pinterest

View on Flickr

Watch on YouTube

*4,553,692,294th Annual Earth Day

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:54:00 GMT

It seems like only 365 rotations of the globe ago that the last Earth Day was here. But what if we lived on Mercury? We could celebrate Mercury Day every 88 Earth Days. Did you know that it takes Mercury 176 Earth Days to make 1 rotation? That means 1 Mercurian day is 2 Mercurian years long. So on Mercury, you'd have to celebrate Mercury Day twice a day, every day. Okay, that is hurting my brain. Moving on.

Back on Earth, it's Earth Day again, and we here at INK participated in the 3rd Annual Clean Up Calumet Project. On Friday, April 20th, we took to the streets, fields & woods in our surrounding area picking up trash. A couple hours and a few full garbage bags later we enjoyed a yummy lunch, provided by our neighbor Alpha Source, who hosted the event. A big tree hug to them for that.

Also, on Saturday, April 21st, Milwaukee Riverkeeper hosted their 17th Annual Spring River Cleanup. As part of our "Green Initiative", we were proud to be a corporate sponsor. We even printed the event t-shirts! You have to look good while doin' good, right?

Share your Earth Day stories with us. We'd love to hear them!

Check out some of the pics to the events!

*give or take

For the “hel” of it?

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:21:00 GMT

So, Ink to the People has finally become a reality. I’m excited. Really excited! What a great platform for us creative-types to get some work out there, connect with the masses, and hopefully sell some shirts.

But what to design? What, indeed… This should be easy. I’ve been a designer for many years. It should be a no brainer, right? I quickly realized, it’s harder than it seems. When there’s a client, there is a strategy, an objective, a budget, and always, a deadline. This one was on my shoulders, fully. The proverbial empty canvas. Art-for-art-sake. Yep, it’s a bit daunting.

As I stared into space for inspiration (long enough for my psychedelic screen saver to ignite), it hit me. Unicorns. With that, I began. I typically start by typing in a word just to get the wheels rolling. Unicorn, as it so happens, is quite a handsome word. Good start I thought. Next was to select a font. Should I go for something Roman, I asked myself, perhaps a nice Baskerville, Minion or maybe Bodoni? Hmm, not feeling ‘em. How about something silly, I wondered. Log Cabin fit the bill. Uh, NO. As I was about to abandon ship and get back to my “real” work, I tried Helvetica. My standard, underestimated, sometime revered, Helvetica. It was PERFECT. It’s a font I use a lot. One that has always been there for me, and in my time of need, once again, it came through.

I decided to shelf unicorns and focus on my go-to font as the subject of the design. From my earliest design memory, there has always been a degree of controversy about the widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann.

Helvetica sometimes gets a bad rap. It’s been called boring, predictable, and generic, but many designers disagree. In sharp contrast, they love it. And can’t live without it. By now you have probably guessed, I am one of the loyalists. It’s beautifully designed and timeless. It can look big and bad, or with the right size proportions and letter spacing, remarkably elegant. Having created hundreds, if not thousands of designs using Helvetica, I set out to create a custom t-shirt design that is in firm support of a subject close to my heart, and my aesthetics.

The question is a simple one: To Helvetica or not to Helvetica? I say: Helyesica!

Anyone up for a challenge?

Not everyone agrees that Helvetica is the end-all sans-serif solution. Some like Futura, Gill Sans, or dare I say, the system-safe star, Arial. Well, fellow designers, and haters, let’s see what you’ve got! Yep, it’s a good ol’ fashioned, initial cap, perfectly kerned, leaded-to-the-nth, gentleman’s challenge! If anyone is up to the task, I’m looking forward to wearing one of your font inspired shirt designs. To sweeten the deal, the best selling font inspired design will get a nifty Ink to the People logo shirt. Oh yeah.

I’m hopeful that this little rant, if for nothing else, serves as inspiration to anyone looking for a subject in which to focus your design.

-Neil Becker

Principal, Becker Design

Creative Director, Ink to the People

Our First Shipment

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:41:00 GMT

Today is a special day here at INK.

Today we shipped our first set of orders out to the good people of the world. Thank you for supporting us and the fine artists on our site. We would love to see pics of you in your spiffy new shirt. If you'd like to share, you can post on our Facebook page. Happy Inking!

Our First INK

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:15:00 GMT

Congratulations to our first successful INKer!

Molly Flood, an Illustration student at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, was the first person to have a successful Public INK. Pictured above holding THE very first Ink to the People order, Molly was part of our test group. Her INK, entitled "Pug Life", sold 25 shirts and put cash in her pocket. Wanna be like Molly and make money selling your own custom designed t-shirts? Start your Design now!

Your Everyday Custom Order

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:35:00 GMT

Say you just want to place an order, purchase it and have it delivered to you. None of this online sharing and selling stuff. We do that too and it's easy as pie.

After you create or upload your graphic with our intuitive Design Tool, let the Ink Wizard guide you through the ordering process. When selecting "Type of INK", choose "Personal INK". Enter your sizes and quantities and you're done. It's a painless way to place a custom printing order.

Your bulk order arrives at the location of your choosing. Pretty simple, right?

Give INK a try today. We think it's really cool, and hopefully so will you.

Fundraising Made Easy with INK

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:19:00 GMT

Ink to the People is only a few days old, but there are many different ways to utilize our revolutionary website. Nowadays, everyone needs to fundraise at some point, so we built our site to make the process easy for you.

Raising money is much easier when you don't have to buy your product first and then try to sell it. Many times, if you don't sell everything you bought, your efforts have been diminished with excess inventory and smaller profits to donate. The other annoyance is taking orders, collecting money and finally delivering the items once your program has been completed.

Well, with Ink to the People, all you need to do is design or upload your graphic and place it on one of our 3000+ garment options using our user-friendly Design Tool. Then share it with your own network of people or with the entire world. Heck, you can even do both. Share with your closest friends and family AND reach out to the good people of the world. Leave all of the hassles, such as order taking, money collecting and delivery, to us.

Now it is up to you to give it a go. INK is in BETA but don't let that scare you. Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones to come across a bug. Share what you found with us so we can keep on making INK a better service for you.

Now stop reading and INK the world!

That INK Video

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:56:00 GMT

You may or may not have seen our "promotional" video. If you have, then you know it is not your typical "hey look at me, buy my stuff!" advertisement. If you haven't seen it, we recommend that you take a peek. Not only will it give you an idea of what our site can do for you, but it may just put a smile on your face. Not to shabby for a promotional video, right? Developed by the creative powerhouses, Allen Keller and Neil Becker, this video will get you excited about making cash by selling your custom design t-shirts with NO RISK. So if that piqued your interest, watch the video and see what this Ink to the People thing is all about.

Hello, World

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:55:00 GMT

Nice to meet you.

We are Ink to the People, but since we've been casually introduced, you can call us INK for short.

So what's our story?

It all started back in the olde days, 1990 to be exact. First, let's give that some perspective. That's when the public didn't know what the Internet was because it wasn't available. That's when Apple® released it's revolutionary Macintosh Classic, boasting a maximum 4 megabytes of RAM and a 9 inch monochromatic green display. That's when portable music was limited to ONE CD that bounced around your hip and skipped like a Double Dutch Champion. Ah yes, memories. But that's also when two t-shirt-lovin' gents started a garment decorating company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over the next 20 years, they grew their company into an industry leader by employing passionate employees who cared about quality and their customers. They also were early adopters of the latest & greatest technology in the industry.

Today, they continue those trends by launching the Ink to the People website.

While we aren't the first "Design-A-Shirt Online" website, there are a few things that make us different, unique and revolutionary. Sure, you can design a shirt with our user-friendly Design Tool. Sure, you can upload you own art or logo. Other sites do that too. But they don't allow you to design, share & sell your shirts with NO RISK, no upfront costs, no unsold inventory in your basement.

How does it work?

1. Design or upload your graphic.
2. Choose a garment.
3. Set a minimum quantity and your price.
4. Set the duration of the sale.
5. Share it with the people you want, or share it with the world by posting it in our Marketplace.

The design isn't printed until the minimum (that you set) is reached. If the minimum quantity (or more) is sold by the end of your sale, we print it and ship it to your buyers. Think of it like the GROUPON® of garments. The best part? We line your pockets with your profits! Cha-Ching, baby!

But what happens if your minimum is not met? Well, your sale just expires. That's it. No one pays a dime, not even you because designing & selling is absolutely FREE. No April Foolin'.

"Okay, that's great", you may say, "but what if I just want to place a bulk order and have them shipped to me... none of this sharing business". Well, guess what? We do that too. It's what we affectionately call a "Personal INK". Basically, the process is the same, easier even! Design or upload your graphic, select a garment, select your sizes & quantities. Boom. Done. We print & ship the bulk order to you, your organization, your event, where ever you need it to go. How cool is that?

Just want to shop?

If you have no interest in designing or selling because your strength is in buying custom designed apparel, I invite you to visit the Ink to the People Marketplace where you can shop to your heart's content.

Alright my friend, enough chit-chat, time to kick our tires and do some doughnuts in the virtual parking lot. And hey, let us know how we handle.

It's getting Testy around here

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:34:00 GMT

Testing 1,2… Is this thing on?

It is? Well then we are officially in (private) Beta!

We've tested it internally. We've had our families test it. We've had our friends test it. Now it's time to take this show on the road. So we yanked off the training wheels and made our way down to the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. As you can imagine, it's a hotbed of burgeoning creative talent. What better place is there to put our site through it's paces? Nowhere, that's where.

We gave them a short demo of the site and then let them take a swing at it. At the end of their class session, they gave us their feedback. It was gold, Jerry. GOLD! We went back to INK HQ and made some modifications based on their testing. The week after, the Illustration class used our site to create, promote & sell their own custom shirts as part of a class assignment. It was a success. Many of the artists put money in their pocket from the sales of their shirts. We like to think that we learned a thing or two as well.

Thank you to Susan Kwas and her gifted Illustration students at MIAD.

Check out some of the photos of the presentation.

Meetings of the Minds

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:45:00 GMT