Impressions - February 2019 - 31

Warrior Culture Gear at a GlanCe
C ompan y n ame: Warrior Culture Gear
address: 501 North Cannon Ave., Lansdale, PA 19446
Foun ded: 2013
n o. oF empLoyees : 6
deCoraTIn G meTH ods oFFered: Screen printing
C ompan y WebsITe: warriorculturegear.com

Anticipating future growth,
Juranis added two 18-inch
extensions to his infrared conveyor
dryer belt to improve workflow.

sellingT-shirts based on his design expertise
and experience."I put up a website and,
the first week, received orders for 300
pieces," he says.
Juranis immediately realized he was in
over his head."I had no clue what to do,"
he recalls."I was working a full-time job
during the day, having someone else print
the shirts for us, and then coming home
in the evening and shipping everything
as best I could."
A year later, he quit his job to focus on
his T-shirt business full-time."The prices
I was being charged to print shirts were
exorbitant," he says,"and I started thinking
this was something I could do in-house."
An internet search led Juranis to Vastex Intl., where he attended "Screen
Printing A to Z," a three-day, hands-on
screen-printing training class that detailed
the entire process.After the course, Juranis
was hooked. He immediately purchased
a manual press, conveyor dryer and the
prepress equipment necessary to start
printing T-shirts himself.
After the equipment was up and
running, Juranis spent 12-14 hours a
day learning how everything worked
together. "We made mistakes," he admits. "But eventually we learned a lot
of tips and tricks and - combined with
the basic training - started to feel very
comfortable operating the machines."
Improving Quality & Consistency
Juranis purchased theVastexV-2000 HD
six-color, six-station manual press and a
VRS pin-registration system, which allows
him to register film positives with the

screens off press and then position them
on the press with all colors in register.
"We use the registration system mostly
for four- and five-color jobs," he says."If
they didn't line up consistently, the whole
batch would be a disaster, so this ensures
that everything comes out perfectly."
The press's micro-registration system allows fine tuning of multicolor registration.
He says he is "able to line up the screens in
a precise fashion. Even if it's a millimeter
off, all you have to do is turn the knob a
tad, and it's right back on registration."
When printing multicolor jobs, Juranis
uses a RedFlash flash-cure unit with adjustable heat control.The unit also flashes
garments in between two applications of
the same color, thereby helping to achieve
a more vibrant look.
To accommodate his growing business,
Juranis movedWarrior Culture Gear into a
6,000-square-foot warehouse and invested
in a second six-color, six-station press.
While the two presses can print more
than 500 pieces an hour when running
simultaneously, Juranis prints about 400600 pieces a week due to the intricate
nature of his designs.
"We prefer to take our time and focus
on quality," he says. "Many of our designs have three-plus colors on the front
as well as the back, and some even have
sleeve prints. We also print the interior
of the collar for custom tagging. So the
work requires multiple screen and color
changes."
To improve workflow from the two
presses and anticipating future growth,
Juranis added two 18-inch extensions to
his infrared conveyor dryer belt. He plans

to add a heating chamber to the dryer and
purchase a BigRed V54 conveyor dryer
to accommodate the future purchase of
an automatic press.
"We're opening up the shop to outside
printing, so we're looking to double or
triple print capacity, depending on orders," he says.
Warrior Culture Gear also features an
E-2000 LED exposing unit and a DriVault screen-drying cabinet that holds
10 screens and can dry them in about
20 minutes.When he adds the automatic
press, Juranis plans to upgrade to a larger
cabinet that can hold 24 screens to keep
up with the increased production.
His intricate art, coupled with motivational quotes, have attracted a following
among veterans and military personnel, but
his messages also resonate with a growing
number of civilians.
"I started Warrior Culture Gear so kids
who've experienced the horror of war
could connect with like-minded people,
but I don't want to be pigeonholed as a
military brand," he says. "Every culture
has a warrior class, and it has nothing to
do with the military specifically. Even the
child who's battling cancer is a warrior in
my book; he's fighting a battle that no one
else understands. So if I can help people
feel better about their situation, then I've
achieved my goal." 
Mark Vasilantone is owner of Vastex Intl. Inc. and
builds on the legacy of his father, Michael Vasilantone, the company's founder in 1960 and an
inventor and pioneer in mass producing screen
printed T-shirts. For more information or to comment
on this article, email Mark at mark@vastex.com.
FEBRUARY 2019

P.31

http://www.warriorculturegear.com

Impressions - February 2019

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