The 10-point checklist for vetting an onsite printing vendor.

Filed July 2026 · For procurement & ops leads

Onsite printing has a low barrier to entry — a heat press costs less than a conference booth — so the market mixes professional crews with hobbyists holding a free weekend. The checklist below is how you tell them apart in one email.

1. Certificate of insurance, before you ask twice. Ask for a COI at your venue's limits with your entity named. A pro sends it within a day. A shrug here predicts every later shrug.
2. Real photos of real deployments. Ask for photos from three past events in venues like yours. Renders and catalog shots are a tell.
3. A throughput number in writing. "How many finished pieces per hour, at my art size?" If the answer is vague, your line length will not be.
4. Backup equipment on the truck. Presses fail. The question is whether a spare rides along or whether your event waits on a round trip.
5. A written load-in plan. Arrival time, vehicle, dock needs, crew names. Vendors who improvise load-ins improvise everything.
6. Power specs stated, not discovered. The vendor should tell you the circuit requirement unprompted. You should never learn it from a tripped breaker.
7. Teardown on the clock, in the quote. Confirm who breaks down, how long it takes, and that it is priced. "We'll figure it out" means your staff will.
8. Named product brands. Bella+Canvas, Gildan, Richardson, Flexfit — specific blanks in the quote. "Premium tee" unspecified usually is not.
9. A single point of contact on the day. One lead operator with a cell number, not an office line that closes at five.
10. References from ops people, not marketers. Ask to talk to someone who managed the building, not someone who enjoyed the party. Facilities managers give honest reviews.

Two failed items is a negotiation. Four is a different vendor. And if you want to see how we answer all ten, send the checklist with your quote request — we will return it filled out, in writing, with the quote attached.