Here's a suggestion. I'm not trying to steal the thunder of the guy in Knoxville who wants to make our hats. But if we expand to include other items like shirts, it will turn into a real coordination nightmare, no one will want to do it, and it won't get done.
Our local Britcar club (NABMS) is currently in the throes of trying to decide how to get shirts made. No one wants the headache of coordinating a big order, and the club can't afford the up-front fees and minimum orders that some of the shirt shops want.
Old-time SOLers will remember a similar situation when the SOL logo was first designed. Fortunately Pat Vilbrandt up in Washington state did some legwork and found a place with fit the bill perfectly. Image Graphics in Andalusia, Alabama agreed to accept the logo on a floppy disk and keep it on file. Since the logo was already designed and available in digital format, there was no setup fee. They also agreed that there would not have to be a minimum order size. Thus anyone could order any item, specify that they wanted the SOL logo, and voila, the items would magically appear in their mailbox. I ordered a coffee mug, mouse pad, and t-shirt with no problems.
I recently contacted Image Graphics regarding the shirts for NABMS and they offered us the same deal that they offered the SOL all those years ago. They have the NABMS logo on file and will put it on any item, not just shirts. Thus any club member can get the exact items they want with the club logo.
The big advantage in my mind with this method is that no one has to try and coordinate a big order, getting sizes right, and worrying about payments. It's everyone ordering for themselves, no club money is involved, and Image Graphics worries about the coordination. It's their living, so they can deal with it a lot better than some reluctant, harried volunteer club member. Plus, a year from now if a new member wants some items with the logo on them, all they have to do is call Image Graphics. The NABMS is out of the loop, both financially and coordination-wise.
The big disadvantage with Image Graphics is that they can't print on colored fabrics, only whites.
It must be noted that the NABMS has not yet decided if we are going to use Image Graphics.
I'd be willing to bet that Image Graphics would accomodate the Alpiners the way they have accommodated SOL and NABMS.
We can still choose to use the guy in Knoxville for the hats, but if anyone wants anything besides a hat, my advice is to use Image Graphics or a place which offers a similar deal. You will save yourselves a huge coordination headache.
The Image Graphics web site is at http://www.image-graphics.com. They show samples and prices. The person to contact is Allen Scofield, image(at)image-graphics.com.
I have no financial involvement with Image Graphics except as a customer.
-- T.J. Higgins tjhiggin(at)ingr.com Huntsville, AL