COMPRESSED T-SHIRTS

Compressed T-shirts are an offshoot of an American icon; the screen printed T-shirt. It literally adds another dimension to the shirt design, making the shirt itself a sculptural element. Additionally, the compressed shirt package protects the shirt from dirt and handling and makes it much easier to inventory because of compact size and being able to label it for size and style. And, if prepared correctly, this package can be mailed like a postcard or shot like a cannon ball from a giant slingshot. The modest, ubiquitous T-shirt becomes a virtual communications weapon!

During the early years of the "T-shirt Craze" in the 1970's BookWear® (originally called Field Crafts) created shirt graphics with various themes. Designs were simple and virtually anything sold because it was new territory; using the T-shirt as an artist's canvas or as a billboard. A one-color print on the front of a shirt was a bold statement then. By the mid 80's and 90's T-shirt art became much more sophisticated and detailed. Four color, ten color, special effects, glitter/fluorescent/metallic/puff inks, front/back/both sleeves of the shirt were embellished. Anything fresh was printed with pizzaz. A screen printers' status among peers and the press was determined by their original art and how it was translated to the shirt with unique and technically-demanding methods. Field Crafts was recognized for beautiful, original colorful art with mostly outdoor, recreational, tourism and environmental themes. A national sales force of 60+ reps gave robust sales to a seemingly ever-growing business.

BookWear® Compressed T-shirts • 800-332-3131 • 9930 Honor Highway • Honor, MI 49640

Printing technology advances coupled with an explosion in retail franchising in the mid 1990's made the printed T-shirt as ubiquitous as a blank one in the 1970's. It seemed like nothing was selling because the national conventions we had been exhibiting at were now flooded with printers, sellers and great designs. Compressed T-shirts were virtually unknown in 1995 but one Field Crafts sales rep promised escalating sales if we developed a line of compressed T-shirts and shapes. We purchased compression services from one of the few companies in existence and at the same time worked at developing our own shirt compression methods. It was a pioneer technology and we developed an efficient T-shirt compression system. The same designs that we had been printing now sold again, in the compressed T-shirt package. In Maine our Lighthouse shape design doubled as a Lobster shape (same compressed outline but switching the paper graphic from one to the other). The famous hockey player Gordie Howe bought printed black T-shirts from us that we compressed into hockey puck-looking shapes (and we enjoyed showing him around our shop). We had a renewed business combining the printed T-shirt with shirt compression.

In the heyday of regular T-shirt printing Field Crafts had done a number of literary designs for libraries and book promotions. We pondered on combining the literary theme and the compressed T-shirt. We experimented with a number of ideas and developed what became a book cover inside the package, an additional step beyond compressing a T-shirt and shrink-wrapping it. We wrote the BookWear® patent in 1999 and it was granted in 2001. Thus the BookWear® chapter of the business was born. Colleges, universities and bookstores became the target markets and BookWear® commenced exhibiting to trade shows related to recruiting, marketing and fundraising for higher education. Symbolically, the compressed T-shirt in a book form was perfect for telling the college/university story. But the concept of a shirt in a book was so foreign that initial introductions were met with resistance and quizzical expressions of "Why would you do that?" and "Does it work?" Some buyers realized the potential of a surprise package that contained their message and a customized gift, seeing that their story received much more immediate and longer lasting impact. Those early campus buyers became the samples displayed for others to see the possibilities of a compressed T-shirt in a book for telling their message in a unique and fun (therefore effective) way.

BookWear® Compressed T-shirts • 800-332-3131 • 9930 Honor Highway • Honor, MI 49640

BookWear® has now worked with over 550 different campuses nationally, many of them on a repeated basis and with a variety of different departments. Oberlin University has ordered BookWear® every year for eight years in a row, as has Conservation Resource Alliance as a fundraiser for their environmental activities. The United Nations has ordered BookWear® 40+ times for various projects, including several orders for their Geneva, Switzerland office. In addition to compressed T-shirts there are now 24 different gift products inside BookWear® that include flash drives, mini-packs, tote bags, etc. Healthcare and corporate customers are increasingly using BookWear® for marketing, recruiting, fundraising and PR. BookWear® is a short story that lasts a long time. The message is remembered.

Compressed T-shirts are now common but BookWear® remains unique. We have purposely avoided mass-market distribution in order to maintain character and have a medium that's uncommon. The patent helps protect this niche and novel media. Also, BookWear® supports numbers of national associations by being a member, exhibiting at their trade shows and financially contributing. Thus, the patent indirectly supports them also.

The basic concept of BookWear® remains the same over the years; a small and surprising package that is a unique and creative media for your message, thus giving your story more sparkle. We have a creative and talented team that is happy to assist you in the conception and production of your message. Please call us at 800-332-3131 for information regarding BookWear®

See the Products section for the current gifts available in BookWear® that include compressed T-shirts, first aid kits, memo pads, nurses scrub shirts, etc. Go to Testimonials for a sense of the many happy customers. If you are brainstorming for your own BookWear® package a good place to go for ideas is our Gallery section where you will see many samples of cover layouts that can also give you ideas on your own composition.