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Supporting the Troops, ClassB style
January 12, 2010

Bob Williams a.k.a. 'Uncle Bob'

Bob Williams a.k.a. 'Uncle Bob'

ClassB was at it again! On Saturday, January 9, 2010, we volunteered to help Bob Williams pack and prepare care packages to send to troops stationed overseas.

The early birds arrived at Bob’s warehouse and listened to stories in his office. He told us of his experience as a sailor, how he started these successful efforts, and the luxuries of being in America.

It was an eye-opener to ponder on what my day-to-day life would be like without access to hot water or toiletries. It made me realize that my everyday conveniences were luxuries the troops yearned for while overseas. Bob, who I view as a noble man with these everyday acts of selflessness, makes a world of difference in these troops lives.

When everyone from ClassB arrived, Bob gave us the grand tour of his entire warehouse (which is a lot bigger than it appears). Bob receives donations from everywhere. He has coffee, flossers, toothbrushes, pens, paper, cookies, DVDs, candy, cigars, and even Wii consoles!
Some donated food items

Some donated snacks

See the Wii?

See the Wii?

Cigar Humidors

Cigar Humidors

Bob's warehouse is huge!

On the tour









Bob also told us that he doesn’t just send things that are donated. He makes an honest effort to get troops items they specifically ask for or what he feels they need. He has sent spotlights, flashlights, knives, and even red dot scopes. It seemed weird to me at first, but then I realized that these items were practical.

Bob told us the gifts have more of an impact than any of us know. He related a story about how a Beanie Baby saved Marines from certain death. They were trying to pass over a bridge, but there was a little girl playing in the middle with a Beanie Baby. They got out to talk to her and get her out of the way, only to realize that she was playing near a land mine. She saved their lives.

Another story Bob told us was more on the humorous side. Bob has a lot of cigar humidors in his warehouse. He sends them to the troops to give as gifts to leaders. Bob received a letter asking him to be careful about sending them; apparently, an Iraqi leader was so impressed with this gift, that he tried to give his daughter away in return. Again, the things Bob sends have more of an impact that any of us know, including Bob.

Gregg, leader of the bagger people

Gregg, leader of the bagger people

The cart we used to tote care bags

The cart we used to tote care bags

Sisco making boxes for the care bags

Sisco making boxes for the care bags

The finished boxes, ready to be shipped

The finished boxes, ready to be shipped










After the tour, we began to make the care packages. We divided ourselves up into three groups: baggers, runners, and boxers.

Baggers, using the assembly line method, filled 1-gallon Ziploc bags with candy, tooth brushes, thank you cards, and other various items on the table. Runners went back and forth between the tables taking empty boxes to be recycled and replacing the box with either the same item, or a similar one from storage on the second floor. Boxers took the cart full of finished bags and boxed them. We fit about 25 bags into each box.

Two other groups came in to help out, which made everything a lot quicker. All-in-all, I would have to say that ClassB successfully filled 50+ boxes. That’s at least 1,250 bags, and at least 1,250 troops lives we made a difference in.
Thank you Uncle Bob!

One of many 'thank you' notes Bob has. Thank you Uncle Bob!

Stickers brightened up the boxes and said various patriotic statements

Stickers livened up the boxes with patriotic statements

Look how fast Eddie is moving to get things done!

Look how fast Eddie is moving to get things done!

We made sure these bags were packed

We made sure these bags were packed with love!











We want to thank Bob Williams for including ClassB in his efforts. While he will never turn down a helping hand for donations to the troops, what Bob really needs is help with postage. Donate to his cause here. Thank you for supporting the troops!

The Paper Trail: Todays Paper is Tomorrows Insulation
January 11, 2010

Sarah making boxes for employee work stations. Notice the recycled paper boxes!

Sarah making boxes for employee work stations. Notice the recycled paper boxes!


Going green can sometimes be easier than you think. We have taken small steps that have made a  huge impact, not only within our company, but also in our community.
Almost every item used within ClassB is reused, reduced or recycled. One of those items is paper. Every piece is recycled and where it takes its final resting place is very interesting.
The coolest part about the paper recycling is that the school we donate it to makes money because of it! Makes money? Yes, MONEY! The process goes down like this:
  • We save up all the paper that would normally be thrown in the garbage. This includes magazines, catalogs and phone books.
  • Once we have a good amount, we take it to West Zephyrhills Elementary School where its placed in Green Fiber’s dumpster on their campus.
  • Green Fiber then picks up the paper at no charge and gives credit to the school for it.
  • Green Fiber takes all the paper to one of their processing plants and processes it into insulation for homes and businesses.
Everyone at ClassB is so excited about this new way we are recycling paper. Everyone is doing their part to help. All employees have a recycle box at their work station. This new process will allow us to never have to place another piece of paper in the garbage again.

WHAT IS GREEN FIBER?

Green Fiber Is a company that takes waste paper and recycles it into insulation for homes & businesses across the country. Considering the U.S. being one of the largest paper consumers in the world, it’s comforting to that know in the end it will not be in a landfill.

One ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees, saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill, and saves 4,000 kW of energy. That is a lot of space and energy saved.
The insulation that Green Fiber produces from the recycled paper is environmentally friendly, safe, and energy efficient. Get more information from Green Fiber’s website at www.greenfiber.com.
Written by Charlotte Suter

ClassB 2010 Tree Planting Service Project
January 7, 2010

ClassB Tree Planting 2010 Header Join ClassB® and Scouts all over the country as we plant a living legacy of Scouting’s commitment to the conservation of natural resources! Starting January 1st, 2010, make a $10 contribution to plant a tree in the BSA Centennial Forest in Flathead National Forest and ClassB® will match your contribution to plant a tree at storm-damaged Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation in Florida.

It’s our goal to plant 100 trees at each site to commemorate BSA’s 100th Anniversary!

Flathead National Forest Flathead National Forest When the 2007 Brush Creek and Skyland Fires added to existing damage from 2003 wildfires, a total of more than 322,000 acres was burned, destroying seed sources and critically harming wildlife habitat. In partnership with the Boy Scouts of America, the Arbor Day Foundation is helping plant 345,000 Douglas fir, western white pine, western larch, lodgepole pine, and Engelmann spruce to help restore wildlife habitat and protect the area watershed by lessening soil erosion and mass wasting — the downward movement of soil and rock — on steep mountainous terrain. Learn more about the Flathead National Forest replanting Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation The camp, located five miles east of Lake Wales, is within a mile of the point at which the tracks of hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne intersected in 2004. The camp’s skyline is splintered and ragged, bare in areas once thick with stands of pines and oaks. Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation is Gulf Ridge Council’s largest camping and training facility. Activity areas at the 900-acre facility include a climbing and rappelling tower, a rifle and shotgun range and three lakes with canoeing, kayaking and scuba programs. Learn more about the Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation storm damage

Please help replant both of these important sites!

Your $10 contribution, matched by ClassB®, will plant one tree at Flathead National Forest and a second tree at Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation. It’s our goal to plant at least 100 trees at EACH location for a total of 200 trees. Contributions can be made in your name, the name of your unit, or anonymously and will be recognized on the ClassB.com website.

Click here to contribute Arbor Day Foundation Logo

You can also donate $20 directly to the Arbor Day Foundation and they will plant one tree at Flathead National Forest and ship you a second tree that you can plant locally.

The Life of a Custom T-shirt Order
December 23, 2009

So, you just placed an order for 200 custom designed t-shirts. What happens now?
pc210003

Missy, our friendly CSR

Josie hard at work as well

Josie, hard at work



Well, your order starts at Customer Service. One of the Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) take your order and first determine whether or not you have ordered with us before.

If you have, the CSR will check to see if your previous artwork matches the new order you sent in. CSRs always check previous artwork for reorders.

If you have never ordered with us before, the CSR puts your information into the system, a step they call “setting up the rep.” They fill out all the information required for a work order that you have provided: colors for the artwork, the design, your name, address to ship the final product to, etc.

The work order is then printed. Three items come from CSR: an art ticket, a copy of the work order, and a packaging list. The art ticket goes to the art department. The copy of the work order and the packaging list goes directly to the production department. You receive an email with a copy of the work order as well!
Cory, one of our artists

Cory, one of our artists

Sisco, another artist

Sisco, another artist



In the art department, the artists check your work order over. They look for initial spelling errors, phone numbers, emails, and names. The artists will decide the urgency of an order by its received date. A work order received before yours is at a higher priority. Any order received after yours is at a lower priority.



The artists open our internal database to get all the information to start setting up your design. They proof the artwork, making sure designs match up and flow well together. Once the proofing is done, you receive another email which states your art is up on the web. Then, you proof what the artist has done to make sure its what you want your design to look like.

Essentially, you and the artist work together to come to a conclusion about your t-shirt order. Some designs just aren’t printable. Once you approve the artwork the artist takes the art ticket and sends it to the film department.

While this is happening in the art department, production has received the work order and packaging list. They take the work order and process it into the system. They order the blank shirts needed for printing well in advance for production.


Receiving

Eveie in Receiving

Terry, our Production Manager

Terry, our Production Manager


The receiving department, well, receives everything. From t-shirts to mail, they get it all. They go through the orders and make sure everything ordered is actually in the box received. The shirts are separated into boxes by work order number and labeled accordingly. The boxes are then brought back to production.

While the production manager is waiting on the shirts to come in, the film department is hard at work putting the final touches on your artwork. They check the spelling, sizing of the design and “bugs,” the ink colors, and make sure the design is centered. Bugs are the trademark symbols we put on the shirts. Film then sends their final product to the Production Manager for verification. Once it has been verified, they print the film sheet.

The film is cut down to size and measured out. The design on the film has to be able to fit the smallest garment in the order. Once the film is checked and finished, it is sent to production for printing.
Sara cutting film

Sara cutting film



The Production manager makes sure the artwork has been approved, the shirts have arrived, and you have paid for your order.

Once production has the film and blank shirts, they are ready for printing. The production manager schedules a print date for your order. Our production department uses a technique called screen printing to fill your order. Check out our blog entry about screen printing to learn all about it!

Once your order has been printed, the shirts are inspected, tagged, re-boxed, and sent to shipping.

The shipping department checks the boxes and the work order. If you’ve added shirts to the order, this is when we run your credit card for the balance due on those shirts.

The shipping department calculates how long it should take your order to reach you. We strive for all of our orders to arrive on the delivery commitment date. If your order is being shipped to your work, your order will arrive only on business days. If it is going to your home, it will arrive on all mailing days except Monday. There are several methods used to ship orders: FedEx ground, FedEx express, FedEx Next Day, and regular mail (which we further break up into first class or priority).
Ed in shipping

Eddie in Shipping



Shipping then takes your work order and verifies all the shipping information they have in their system to the ticket. Everything has to match, or there could be a problem with your order. If everything matches, shipping prints your shipping label and invoice. You receive an email with the tracking number for your order. A few days later, check your doorstep, you have a package!

Single T-shirt Orders Now Possible! Thanks, digital printing!
December 21, 2009

Customers have been asking for quite some time about single t-shirt orders. Thanks to digital printing, we can now fill those requests! What makes these t-shirt different from our other screen printed t-shirts? A lot of things are different! Depending on your preferences, some are good, others not so good:

With this new process the turnaround is much quicker, at least half the time of screen printed shirts. We want to decrease the turnaround time until we are printing and shipping in 24 hours (It’s one of our New Year’s Resolutions).

In comparison to screen printing, digital printing costs much less when ordering less than 10 shirts. Of course, we are always looking for ways to save our customers as much money as possible. With digital printing, we can also achieve a higher level of detail than with screen printing. This is great because we can now produce more complex designs!

As is in our screen printed shirts, the colors look great in digitally printed shirts. But, place the two side-by-side, one will look better than the other. These two processes differ so greatly from each other that getting identical results is impossible. The texture of a digital printed shirt is smoother and flatter than that of a screen printed shirt. This can be good or bad. When we print on white or very light shirts, we cannot use an under-base. This leaves the print sinking into the garment a bit. Its not a major issue, though.

Samples were sent out to customers to find out what people thought of the new process. Customers received a screen printed t-shirt and a digital printed t-shirt of the same design. This was done, primarily, to answer the question: “Is it as good as screen printing?” Most people liked the digital print, but felt it was not quite as good as screen printing. Less than 10% felt the digital print was bad.

digital-print-highlight1

Some ink colors cannot be reproduced: glow-in-the-dark, metallic inks, suede texture, fluorescent inks. For now, the online ordering system is not aware of this limitation. Don’t worry, we are working on fixing this issue. We will call you if there is a concern. Also, digital prints do not launder as well as screen printing. Washing and drying your shirt with hot water and high heat with rough texture cloths, like jeans, will tear up the image a bit. Doing that multiple times will result in the print looking horribly peeled after about 10 washings.

We are happy with being able to offer something that comes this close to screen printing. As technology improves, we hope to get the process so perfect no one can tell the difference.

To ramp up production we are limiting the single t-shirt orders to S110 (100% cotton t-shirts only).

You want to order? Make your design, and then click the ‘order t-shirts with this design’. Click the left hand ‘pick garment sizes’ button. Prices are $18.95 for a one-sided print and 26.95 for a two-sided print. Both come with unlimited ink colors. Shipping is free if you order over $50.

National BSA 100th Anniversary Events: What you may have missed, and what’s to come
December 17, 2009

Of course, you’ve probably already heard all about the Boy Scouts of America celebrating it’s 100th Anniversary! But just in case you missed out, here are a few of the many BSA 100th Anniversary programs:
  • The Generations Connection program was launched in April 2009. Striving to illustrate the influence of scouting across the generations, the Generations Connection program invites families to share their stories and experiences with a free BSA 100th Anniversary Generational Scouting Family Certificate.
  • The A Year of Celebration program kicked off September 1, 2009 and will run until December 31st, 2010. Through this program, participants will earn recognition with each of the five award ribbons from the BSA 100th Anniversary commemorative patch for making a difference in their community.
  • In conjunction with the Generations Connection program, the Arbor Day Foundation has official BSA 100th Anniversary trees for everyone to enjoy. For every tree purchased, another will be planted at the newly created BSA Centennial Forest in Montana. The Centennial Forest will aid in the replanting of the Flathead National Forest following recent fires.
  • On New Year’s Day, Adventure Base 100 is taking the Scouting experience across America. Starting in Pasadena, California at the Tournament of Roses Parade, the 10,000 sq. foot campus will travel to over 40 key cities, ending its journey at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York.
Units are also being encouraged to celebrate the 100th anniversary in their own way. What better way to show up to events than with a custom 100th Anniversary unit t-shirt? Check out the 22 BSA 100th Anniversary stock designs! 133779380squarefront Is your pack, troop or crew doing something spectacular in your local community? Let us know in the comments! We’re planning a special entry to highlight the most impressive unit-level centennial events and your unit could be featured!

Photo Caption Contest!!
December 16, 2009

pc140001_2


Post a short caption for this photo. Captions should be funny and entertaining. Friday, at 5:00PM, a winning caption will be chosen. Winners will receive a $50 coupon good for custom designed shirts for a group, or a digitally printed shirt. Have fun! We look forward to the captions!
**If you have a photo you would like to see in one of our contests, please submit them to simone.williams@classb.com

…and the winner is:

By a margin of just one vote, the winning caption is from Jack from Troop 108, in Wayne, New Jersey!

“You guys are going to Photoshop out those ropes before publishing this, right?”


Congratulations, Jack! You’ve won a $50 coupon. :)

How Does Screen Printing Work?
December 14, 2009

Here at ClassB, the majority of our custom t-shirts are created using the screen printing technique. Screen printing involves the passing of ink through a mesh screen onto which a film image has been applied. Screen printing allows for large, bulk quantities of shirts to be produced at a single time.
The first step in the screen printing process is preparing a screen by applying emulsion. Emulsion is a light sensitive gel which will harden on the screen when exposed to light. The number of screens used for a shirt depends on the number of colors on a shirt. For example, a shirt with red, green, and yellow requires three separate screens prepared.
Grunig Machine

The Grunig Machine

dsc_0002

Emulsion being applied to a screen

Using the Grunig machine, the screens are placed in carriages, and a single layer of emulsion is poured onto either side at once. The screens are then set on a rack to dry. This can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the temperature.

A screen

A screen



The dried screens then move onto the second step: exposure.The screen is place on top of a film on which the image has been printed to block light from passing through certain areas of the screen in the Tri-Light. The Tri-Light is a shuttered-light screen exposure system. The light exposure hardens the emulsion and brings out the image on the screen.

Drying screens

Drying screens



Depending on the mesh size, the screen will stay in the Tri-Light for approximately 3 minutes. The screens are then taken into the wash room where the excess emulsion is washed off. The image can now be seen! The screens are set on a rack to dry once again.

Once the screens have fully dried, they are prepared for the press machine. The borders are taped off to prevent ink from being applied to anywhere other than its designated area on the shirt. The screen is set securely in the press so the appropriate colors will line up according to the registration on the film. We use an automatic press capable of applying 8 colors.

Tri-Light with film

Tri-Light with film

Tri-Light with Screens

Tri-Light with Screens

The Press Machine

The Press Machine


The ink is squeegeed through the mesh and onto each shirt. In between each application of color, the shirt is flashed, or dried. After all the colors have been applied, the shirt is cured in the Radicure (kind of like a giant pizza oven!).

Color 1: Red

Color 1: Red

Red ink application

Red ink application

Color 2: Blue

Color 2: Blue

Blue ink application

Blue ink application



Final Color: Green

Final Color: Green

Green ink application and the curing process

Green ink application and the curing process

The Radicure

The Radicure


Ta-da! The shirt is complete, as is the screen printing process.
The Final Product

The Final Product

New Digital Printing: Single T-shirt orders now possible!
December 11, 2009

We are happy to announce the completion of a new process that allows for single t-shirts to be printed: Digital Printing. Customers have been asking for this for a long time now and, well…
pc070001

One of our first digitally printed shirts!


-The turnaround is much faster, at least half the time of screen printed shirts. We will be able to make that even faster as time goes by. Our goal is to print and ship in 24 hours!
-If an order is less than 10 pieces, the cost per shirt is dramatically lower in comparison to screen printing. We are always looking for ways to save our customers as much money as possible.
-We can achieve a much higher level of detail. This is great because we can now do more complex designs.
-Colors look great, just like screen printing but when the two are next to each other, one will look better than the other.  The two processes differ enough that getting identical results is impossible.
-Texture is smoother and flatter than screen printing. This can be good or bad.
-When we print on white or very light shirts, we cannot use an under-base. This leaves the print sinking into the garment a bit. Its not a major issue, though.

-Digital Prints do not launder as well as screen printing. Washing and drying your shirt with hot water and high heat with rough texture cloths, like jeans, will tear up the image a bit. Doing that multiple times will result in the print looking horribly peeled after about 10 washings.
pc070002

The Digital Print Machine


-Some ink colors cannot be reproduced: glow-in-the-dark, metallic inks, suede texture, fluorescent inks. For now, the online ordering system is not aware of this limitation. Don’t worry, we are working on fixing this issue. We will call you if there is a concern.
We sent out some samples to customers to find out what people thought of the new process. Customers received a screen printed t-shirt and a digital printed t-shirt of the same design. This was done, primarily, to answer the question: “Is it as good as screen printing?”  The results of the survey are in! Most people liked the digital print, but felt it was not quite as good as screen printing. Less than 10% felt the digital print was bad.
We are happy with being able to offer something that comes this close to screen printing. As technology improves, we hope to get the process so perfect no one can tell the difference.
digital-print-highlight

Click here!


To ramp up production we are limiting the single t-shirt orders to S110 (100% cotton t-shirts only).
You want to order? Make your design, and then click the ‘order t-shirts with this design’. Click the left hand ‘pick garment sizes’ button. Prices are $18.95 for a one-sided print and 26.95 for a two-sided print. Both come with unlimited ink colors. Shipping is free if you order over $50.
**Edited 12/15/09: Price for two-sided print is 26.95, not 27.95.

All Work and No Play Makes Us Duck & Cover!
December 8, 2009

Duck & Cover (front)

Amanda

ClassB.com attended the 1st Annual Tampa Corporate Dodge ball Tournament. The tournament, accurately named Dodge, Duck, Dip, and Dive, was held on Saturday, November 14 at the Temple Terrace Family Recreation Complex. Registration was $400, and all of the proceeds benefitted the Boy Scouts of America and Learning for Life, Gulf Ridge Council. As you might’ve guessed, ClassB dominated…in the team name department that is…

“Everyone was involved with trying to figure out the perfect ClassB.com team name. We needed a name that could fully describe our brutal playing style while at the same time showed our goofy sense of humor. A name that used dodge ball specific terminology so we would get to make different custom t-shirts for our next sports event… ClassB softball anyone? We most definitely needed a name better than our plan B name – ClassB All Stars. (yawn). After much debate, and with the added pressure of increasingly tighter deadline looming over our heads, the winning name was decided: Duck and Cover!

Thanks to our Sales Manager Robert and one of our talented artists Cory, they came up with the name and the design after a collective brainstorm.

Duck & Cover (back)

Amanda came up with the idea of "Duck, Duck, Ouch!"



Our lovely screen maker Amanda came up with the hilariously silly “Duck Duck OUCH!” for the back of the shirts. Even though it’s a reference to a completely different elementary school game, it somehow worked to make our shirts complete. They got printed and passed out – everyone loved them.” –Rachel K., ClassB

There were more than 16 teams competing, and more than 170 people in attendance. Competition was stiff, and we didn’t win. But, the entire event was fun, and we enjoyed supporting our local boy scouts.

Baby Duck

One of the most adorable members of our cheering section!

Missy says: I have to start by saying that I didn’t know quite what to expect when I heard that ClassB would be participating in a Dodge Ball Tournament. I mean, I haven’t watched or played dodgeball since the 6th grade. I soon realized that it was just as much fun as an adult as it had been when I was a kid. It was also just as competitive. When we arrived, it became very clear that these teams had come to play. I suddenly felt very nervous, and I wasn’t even going to be playing! These teams were serious, even though many were wearing colored tube socks and matching head bands. Even the referees had afros! Meanwhile, on the court, the ClassB team put up a serious fight. Some of their moves were very impressive. It’s no wonder that a few of them said they were sore the next day despite the fact that many of them play other sports on the weekends. Even though we didn’t not win, we still left the game feeling proud that ClassB played with a lot of heart. We were also there to help support a great organization, and at the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

Team Duck & Cover

Team Duck and Cover!

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