Growth feels great, but it can slow you down if you are not ready for it. More orders, more presses, and more clients can either fuel your momentum or create bottlenecks, wasted time, and shrinking margins. The crew at Title Wave has lived it, solved it, and built a system to stay ahead. Here’s what works for them and how you can apply it in your shop.
1. Track It or Keep Guessing
If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it. Title Wave swapped “It felt slow today” for real-time data: hourly press output, job status, and issue logs. That meant catching problems like popped screens or low ink mixes before they cost hours.
Try this: Start with a shared spreadsheet to log hourly impressions, downtime reasons, or misprints. Spot patterns, fix weak spots fast, and protect your margins.
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2. Invest Where It Matters First
A new press is tempting, but if your darkroom cannot keep up, you have simply moved the bottleneck. Upgrades like consistent coating, reclaim automation, and mesh tension tools make every press run smoother.
3. Workflow Beats Heroics
Firefighting is exhausting and expensive. Title Wave mapped every step from screen prep to shipping so jobs move without confusion, wasted motion, or lost time.
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4. Packaging & Shipping Are Profit Levers
Dimensional weight pricing can eat into margins. Title Wave uses multi-depth boxes, custom inserts, and efficient packing to cut waste, lower freight costs, and speed up fulfillment.
5. Build a Network, Not a Fortress
Sharing knowledge pays off. From mesh swaps to workflow tweaks, Title Wave’s biggest breakthroughs came from talking openly with other printers instead of guarding “trade secrets.”
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6. Own Mistakes & Fix Them Fast
When 400 subscription boxes shipped with the wrong-size shirts before Christmas, Title Wave did not hide it. They reordered blanks, printed overnight, and shipped replacements priority. The client stayed, respecting their honesty and hustle.
7. Celebrate the Wins
Hard work pays off. Title Wave landed at #37 on the 2025 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies. They celebrated, boosted morale, and reminded the team why the grind matters.
You do not need to run a fulfillment center to use these lessons. Measure what matters, design a smooth workflow, connect with your peers, and build a shop that runs smarter, not harder.
Want more insights like these? Explore Shirt Show for more in-depth conversations with printers pushing the craft forward.