Since the inception of Campus Ink’s NIL Store arm in 2021, Steven Farag, CEO of Campus Ink and NIL Store, has arranged licensing deals with over 160 colleges and universities, as well as 30,000 individual athletes. 

With his expertise in the field and specialized Roland DG direct-to-film (DTF) digital printer, Farag has built a tremendously successful business around creating and selling custom T-shirts and accessories on-site and on-demand – also known as “hot market” apparel design and production. 

After producing thousands of customized garments during this year’s Big Ten Tournament, Farag and his team have turned their attention to March Madness, including the men’s Final Four matchups at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Women’s Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Merchandise is now becoming an experience, and how something’s made is just part of that experience,” notes Farag. You’re seeing on-demand customization and personalization popping up at events more and more – we’re taking it a step further by being able to design on the fly and show customers how it’s made. For the Big Ten games, we had athletes in our trailer, checking it out, working with our artists. Sometimes, we’ll show people an artist designing a shirt right there, and then rip it out in the trailer. It’s a huge shift in the printing industry to be able to get closer to the consumer and let them actually see how on-demand customized apparel is created. Plus, it definitely drives fan behavior – it gets people lining up.”

For the Big Ten and March Madness tournaments, Farag has relied on his company’s “mobile” direct-to-film capabilities to get the job done. He and his crew have towed their specialized trailer carrying their Roland DG TY-300 direct-to-film printer and necessary supplies to tournament sites, where they set up shop and begin producing customized apparel.

Being able to do this kind of rapid and on-the-spot customization requires the know-how and specialized equipment. 

According to Farag, he and his team needed to modify their trailer to create a mobile print environment that would allow them to transport and operate their TY-300 direct-to-film printer without any issues. 

First, they had to insulate the entire trailer and install baseboard heating, as DTF printers need to operate in a space within a specific temperature range and humidity level. The onboard heating system enabled them to run the TY-300 virtually non-stop.  

Overall, Farag was thrilled about the way his direct-to-film printing system has functioned during the Big Ten Tournament as well as March Madness, and he’s expecting a repeat performance during the upcoming Final Four games in Indianapolis.