COVID-19 UPDATES
7/1: States Issue Requirements for Businesses and Individuals to Wear Face Coverings
Unfortunately, the number of coronavirus cases is rising. As the country grapples the situation, each state has taken the matter into their own hands. Some have delayed reopening plans while others have shut down their state again. In order to lower the amount of cases, states have issued requirements or recommendations about wearing face coverings.
6/1: Wear Masks. Why? CDC Issues Guidelines for Businesses to Reopen
In order to help prevent further outbreaks, the CDC says employees should wear a cloth face mask "in all areas of the business” along with sanitation, hand washing, and distancing. Many customers have had great success providing the reusable, sustainable, and comfortable Allmask™ to their customers as branded or blank to serve this need.
5/8: Three Tips for Selling Face Masks
The face mask demand changes daily. More screen printing shops and promotional products distributors are starting to sell masks. Stay ahead of your competition. Here are three simple tips to help you be successful in the mask game.
5/5: Print on Face Masks with the New, Economical Ryonet Universal Face Mask Platen
These people and businesses will be turning to you to personalize the face masks. But when the pandemic hit, most screen printers lost a ton of business. To print on face masks, you'll need a new platen and a stockpile of face masks. Buying new equipment is expensive, but it doesn't have to be. We're pumped to announce the new, efficient, affordable Ryonet Universal Face Mask Platen.
4/27: How to Screen Print on Face Masks
In our latest video, CVO Ryan Moor shows how to tackle screen printing on cloth face masks. He goes through each step of the process: choosing ink, selecting screens, platen setup, types of masks, types of platens, printing on a manual press, printing on an auto, and curing and handling.
4/22: Make Your Own Face Mask Platen
Face masks are booming right now. To cater to the current market, printers are offering face masks, giving the option to personalize them. While fulfilling face mask orders does help sustain a business, it won't completely replace the revenue other print jobs had brought in. If your business is printing on masks, but doesn't have the funds for a fancy face mask platen, Adam Funderburg of Brainless Tees created a DIY face mask platen and explains how to build the platen in their video.
4/22: Support Local Webinar — Printers Roundtable
Last week, a group of screen printers gathered to chat about what supporting local means to them. From building customer relationships to creating educational videos, these printers have a variety of ways they've continued to make an income while giving back to their community and the screen printing community.
4/21: Destroy Shop Germs with Handy San
I think it's safe to say that majority of us are more conscientious about germs and are more proactive on keeping the germs away. Washing your hands with soap is the best way to kill germs, but sometimes a sink and a bar of soap are out of the way. One way to fix that inconvenience is leaving a bottle or two of Handy San around your shop.
4/17: Press On Episode Four: Together Is Better
The latest episode of the Press On series is here! Ryonet continues the saga of bringing together some of the brightest and rad people in this industry to talk through some of the challenges and successes. We also want to share ideas as a community because Together IS Better. We’re looking at how to use your shop to serve your community, the fast-paced action necessary in the quick changing climate, and products and services needed during these times.
4/9: Support Local Webinar with Lee Stuart, Golden Press Studio, Cedar City House of Print, and Stark Screen Printing
Let's discover ways to help screen printers sustain themselves, give back to their community, and establish plans for the future. Join our live webinar on YouTube where we'll sit down with industry leaders to discuss what's happening at their shop, where they have found success, and how they've made strategic moves to diversify and generate revenue.
4/6: Press On: Real Talk with Print Shop Owners Amid COVID-19
Three weeks ago, our friends Tom, Rick, Pam, and Brett from the Ink Kitchen reached out to Impressions, Ryonet, and Bella+Canvas to help create a series that documents the journeys, thoughts, and opinions of different shop owners and garment decorators across the country as we all navigate through this together. The series launched on Bella’s YouTube channel with Episode 1 and continued on Ink Kitchen's YouTube channel last week.
4/2: Made to Make It Through COVID-19 Webinar
You are invited to tune in and learn how you can hit the ground running with tried, true, & tested business and entrepreneurial principles that will equip you to not just survive, but thrive through the current COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Join our panel on Tuesday to learn how to:
- Stick to your values
- Create value
- Fire bullets
- FEAR of failure is not an option
4/1: COVID-19 Survival Plan: Small Business Edition
Our friend Ryan Kintz of Afton Tickets and Afton Shows took the time to do thorough research to discover how small businesses can survive the pandemic. Originally written for his site, he graciously offered to share it on our channel in hopes to spread more information to save small businesses. Hope you enjoy the read!
RIGHT NOW is the time to do everything you can to help ensure your small business can sustain with low revenues (or no revenues) until this pandemic is over. I spent the past week talking to bankers, accountants, governmental agencies, other business owners, and other event organizers to develop a roadmap you can follow.
4/1: Viral Entrepreneur: How Positivity, Creation, Trial, Error, Perseverance and Entrepreneurship Can Beat COVID-19
"When you start at Ryonet, you get a squeegee. As the week ends I’m the last one out of the building, it’s quiet, too quiet, feels like the scene in #theavengers where half the world disappears.
All of these team members left us this week and left their squeegees behind, great team members who served #screenprinters and helped thousands, thank you for that and everything. We are not alone, overall our industry is going through massive cuts, no work, hearts broken, dreams slashed, and squeegees dropped.
But, with every disruption there is creation and I know that faith is anti viral. Hope is alive, but tonight, we raise our glass to these, shall you return or find greener pastures. Don’t give up, be strong, #pressonward #poweringtheprint 💚"
3/31: We Are In This Together: Support Local Campaign
News can spread by word-of-mouth, but what about spreading a message by word-of-shirt? Small businesses are hurting from the current situation. We need to do whatever we can do to help them out. Let’s empower printers and local businesses by downloading this free, “Support Local” design.
Use the design to promote, sell, or giveaway and support local businesses within your community. Encourage people to shop local, eat local, buy local. By working together, we will get through this.
3/24: UPDATE: Allmasks Are Here | Ryonet Makes Face Shields and Free Standing Floor Screens | Ryonet Manufactures Medical Equipment to Aid Hospitals
Ryonet continues to scale its capacity to meet the demand and needs of the healthcare community. Ryonet now offers face shields and free standing floor screens. Face shields further protects individuals and can be worn over other protective gear like googles and face masks. The free standing floor screens are ideal for social distancing requirements for a larger protection area. The floor screens provide a spray barrier for key operations or working areas for team members. Please visit our site to learn more information.
3/24: How to Make a Face Mask Out of a T-Shirt (and Screen Print on It)
The pandemic has struck fear across the globe. People have bought face masks in bulk. With the face mask shortage, hospitals are running low or out of face masks. Some have to reuse masks, while others are resorting to other options. As a printer or embroider, you can make a difference. Watch our latest video to learn how you can make a face mask to sell or donate to your local health care facilities, nonprofits, or citizens in the community.
3/24: Looking for Activities to Keep Your Kids Occupied? Try At Home Screen Printing
As a parent, you want the best for your child. You want to see them grow and succeed to their maximum potential. A way to help them expand their minds is to expose them to as many different activities as you can. One activity you should try is at home screen printing.
Screen printing is art and science. The printer needs to be creative; use their imagination to create a cool design that they'll want to wear forever. Science comes in when you start setting up – applying emulsion on a screen, using an UV light to expose the screen, learning the pressure and angle of the squeegee to make the best print.
It's challenging. It's thrilling. It's rewarding.
3/19: Don't Stop the Presses
As my mom always says, “What goes in, comes out”. I’m not advocating for you to disconnect, but what I am saying is find the positives in life, relationships, and business. It will “infect” – or better yet, affect – new positive ideas to come out of all of this stronger than ever before.
And so to this, we (and when I say “we,” I hope it includes everyone reading this post) should come together, lock arms virtually, and work to #dontstopthepresses. This campaign is meant to spread a positive message in the garment decorating community to strengthen and bring our community together.
3/18: This Too Shall Pass: A Message from President Brandon Schmunk
With all this focus on social distancing and physical events moving to virtual events, many of us are resorting to a looming end as we won’t connect with our customers and we will all lose a ton of business in this. In the event that your business does get quiet and you don’t get the same flood of new customers or jobs flying through your doors. I’m sure you can think of a hundred things that you have been wanting to do but simply never found time. Well, time found you.
Don’t fall victim to the doom and gloom and instead focus on all the potential you and your business have. It isn’t about what happens as much as how you let it affect you and your mission. This creates a major opportunity that through this crisis we are able and now willing to harness more of our technology in not only our personal lives but now into our professional lives as well. It makes me think about my own behaviors and my habits while I am working vs. not working. Why don’t we think about saving time/money at work as much as we do at home? Is it because it isn’t our wallet? Actually, it is.
3/16: Take Advantage of Downtime by Taking an Online Course
For Our Screen Printers and Future Screen Printers –
As the days have gone by, most of us have been glued to the T.V. or catching up on any information we can on the COVID-19. As of March 16th, we will be canceling all our Screen Printing Experience Classes until May. We are committed to the health and well-being of our students and instructors. We will be connecting with each student to find a suitable replacement time when we resume classes.
What do you do while you find yourself with extra time on your hands? And what about your employees? What do you do with them? Do something that allows you to take advantage of that downtime to sharpen your squeegee blades and skills.
3/4: Stay Healthy, Printers: Combating the Coronavirus
As the coronavirus spreads across the United States, it's more important than ever to keep yourself healthy and safe.
Also known as COVID-19, the coronavirus spreads between person-to-person, specifically through a cough or sneeze. It's also possible to contract the virus by touching a surface that has been infected with the virus, and then touching your own mouth, nose, or eyes, according to the CDC.
Want to keep printing and not be quarantined? To prevent getting the illness, the CDC has a few pointers: