Startup Idea: Screen Printing Management Software

Startup idea to develop a software to cater to the screen printing industry. The system would keep track of all details of the printing process, allow for calculation of costs and profits, and effectively recreate and manage orders. The software would also link to necessary files and supplier websites, and allow for customer and supply management.

I do small scale screen printing and there is almost no software to cater to the industry outside of graphic design.

There are many steps and many different items that go into making just one piece of imprinted apparel. The image itself, the printed separations, the garment to be printed, the inks, the screens, and the specific information used are just a small example of what you need to keep track of.

It would be nice to have a software that keeps track of a database where you can put in the information required to recreate an order should the customer decide they need more product.

It would ultimately link the files needed or tell you where the printed separations are stored as well as possibly have a link to the required item from the supplier's website. You would need a place to keep information such as which inks were used or what inks were mixed to create the custom color as well as if an underbase was needed for them to show correctly.

I would like to have a place to input purchase and sale prices as well as details about how long each step took so you could determine a cost per man hour as well as show how profitable the job was.

If you look at www.t-shirtforums.com you will see that there are many opportunities for a software like this to be purchased and used.

The giant brands all the way down to the kids with homemade equipment in their garage could utilize this so simplify the process and keep track of required supplies and techniques.

There are a myriad of ways to get an image or design onto a piece of clothing and each of them require their own special equipment and supplies and information to keep track of.

Anything that would allow you to keep track of customers and supplies and garments and how to best complete the orders would be a welcome change to the industry.

So far there's nothing more than some modules for quickbooks that aren't very user friendly.