Androidify T-shirts in two hours, then 1,500 tote bags for Mobile World Congress

The brief

Google had released an update to Androidify, the app that lets you build and share Android characters, and wanted to launch it with an event. The T-shirts had to carry the eleven characters used in the campaign and be with the team within two hours of the order.

After the launch, Google came back for 1,500 printed tote bags for its stall at Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, each with the Android logo on the front, to give away to visitors.

What we did

For the T-shirts the deadline decided the method: transfer printing gives a clean print with very little set-up, which is what a two-hour turnaround needs. We recommended the Gildan SoftStyle GD01 in white, our most popular T-shirt, and one that takes a print well.

The order went straight to our print location in Barcelona and the T-shirts were printed, packed and delivered to a pre-agreed address on a same-day service, inside the two hours.

The tote bags were a different problem: one logo, 1,500 times. Screen printing was the right tool for that, and once the first 1,500 had landed Google ordered a further 300, which we delivered directly to the event the next day.

Why transfer for the shirts and screen for the bags

With the timing as tight as it was, transfer printing was the only method that could produce the T-shirts at that speed. The tote bags went through screen printing, which suits a long run of the same design on a heavier fabric.

The garment was the Gildan GD01, tapered at the neck and sleeves and comfortable enough to be worn after the event rather than folded away. Google were pleased with the choice of shirt as well as the print, which is not always the same compliment.